"A" rather annoying problem

[grumpy-grapefruit]

Hi, i'm new hear and have a question for the masses of technical genius' that are on this forum.

I have just replaced my strings for the first time and i have suddenly developed a problem. all my strings are fine and all sound nicer and brighter then the old ones. However my "A" string buzzes. It buzzes when open and fretted and i know it's not Fretboard buzz. It sounds to me to be coming from the bridge. and raising and lowering the bridge has done nothing to remove this buzzing. Neither has lengthening and shortening it. Iv'e even tried tightening the bridge and still nothing happened. All help would be appreciated, as i have found nothing about this problem anywhere on the internet at all!




P.S apologies for the bad pun in the title

[Ou7shined]

What kind of bass and bridge?

[Gwilym]

[quote name='grumpy-grapefruit' post='903540' date='Jul 23 2010, 08:30 PM']Hi, i'm new hear and have a question for the masses of technical genius' that are on this forum.

I have just replaced my strings for the first time and i have suddenly developed a problem. all my strings are fine and all sound nicer and brighter then the old ones. However my "A" string buzzes. It buzzes when open and fretted and i know it's not Fretboard buzz. It sounds to me to be coming from the bridge. and raising and lowering the bridge has done nothing to remove this buzzing. Neither has lengthening and shortening it. Iv'e even tried tightening the bridge and still nothing happened. All help would be appreciated, as i have found nothing about this problem anywhere on the internet at all!



P.S apologies for the bad pun in the title[/quote]

i've had something similar happen in the past, and it was one of the grub screws in the bridge saddles (not necessarily the one on the saddle for the problematic string) that was loose and vibrating. it was just a matter of ensureing that all the screws we tightened so they were at least putting some pressure on the bridge plate. a quick way to tell is to put some pressure on each bridge saddle in turn while playing your A string. It could also be one of the bridge saddle springs vibrating due to being too loose. this has also happened to me

[deksawyer]

Check your strap buttons are tight.

D.

[grumpy-grapefruit]

it's a Cheap Nevada P bass knock off with a hardtail bridge.

[Al Heeley]

Some P basses have a bit of a reputation for buzzing A-strings, its caused by the shallow angle of the sdtring going over the nut to the tuning peg. When u fit the strings on, u have to make sure the string is wound on in a downwards fashion which helps maximise the string angle over the nut, the extra downforce pressure of the string seated in the nut slot cures the buzzing problem and allows proper transfer of energy to the guitar.
3 or 4 windings, each one going further down towards the face of the headstock should cure the problem.

[Toddy54]

[quote name='Al Heeley' post='903682' date='Jul 24 2010, 12:20 AM']Some P basses have a bit of a reputation for buzzing A-strings, its caused by the shallow angle of the sdtring going over the nut to the tuning peg. When u fit the strings on, u have to make sure the string is wound on in a downwards fashion which helps maximise the string angle over the nut, the extra downforce pressure of the string seated in the nut slot cures the buzzing problem and allows proper transfer of energy to the guitar.
3 or 4 windings, each one going further down towards the face of the headstock should cure the problem.[/quote]

+1

I had the same problem on my jazz, I put on a small string tree on the e and a strings and this worked a treat.

[The Bass Doc]

[quote name='Al Heeley' post='903682' date='Jul 24 2010, 12:20 AM']Some P basses have a bit of a reputation for buzzing A-strings, its caused by the shallow angle of the sdtring going over the nut to the tuning peg. When u fit the strings on, u have to make sure the string is wound on in a downwards fashion which helps maximise the string angle over the nut, the extra downforce pressure of the string seated in the nut slot cures the buzzing problem and allows proper transfer of energy to the guitar.
3 or 4 windings, each one going further down towards the face of the headstock should cure the problem.[/quote]

Agreed with the above until I noticed the string still buzzes when fretted - fretting ahead of the nut usually takes the shallow angle behind the nut 'out of play'. Perhaps a dodgy A string - try replacing it? (and remember the advice of 3 or 4 windings).

[grumpy-grapefruit]

ive tried all that has been suggested to no avail. and i cant replace the string cos i cant afford to.

[Paul_C]

[quote name='grumpy-grapefruit' post='904311' date='Jul 24 2010, 08:54 PM']ive tried all that has been suggested to no avail. and i cant replace the string cos i cant afford to.[/quote]

you could put the old one back on and see if the problem goes away.

[LawrenceH]

[quote name='Paul_C' post='904324' date='Jul 24 2010, 09:15 PM']you could put the old one back on and see if the problem goes away.[/quote]

Try swapping the bridge saddle between the A and E strings (flipping it round to make it fit) and see if the problem stays on the A