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Fret buzz
I have a Suzuki Sb10 ,from the late 80s early 90"s I bought it at a pawn shop some years back for 30$ it's actually a killer bass comparable to my Fender player series P,anyways,I had it tore apart in a box decided I'd rebuild it,so I got some GZR pups for it ,found an actual Fender p pickguard that fit perfect,some Rotosound swing bass strings,orange drop cap,and some descent off brand pots off of Amazon,Oh I put some vintage 80s law suit era tuning pege,this bass sounds and plays great….except on frets3 and 5 I get some bad fret buzz,I've tightened and loosened the truss in an attempt to fix this,I've shimmed the neck,maybe not a big enough shim,or it's on the wrong side of the neck pocket
Suzuki basses are very under looked and VERY underrated basses,I wish I knew more info on how to tell the years of them,as I've noticed the logos are different from the little info I do have,so if anyone knows anything about this PLEASE educate me here
Post some pictures.
Focus on the neck too.
Is the buzz coming from all the strings on those frets?
Could be several things. How old are the strings? Are the strings the right gauge for the nut? If the strings don't set in the nut properly you can get buzz from anywhere.
Fret dress required. Also, while the neck was off you should have backed the truss rod off, it's there to counteract the pull of the strings, no strings, no pull so truss rod is just bending, and possibly twisting the neck
On my fender jazz which I hated so much I get fret buzz on my A string. I got so pissed off one day I yanked on the string out of frustration and I noticed the bridge saddle moved over. Just a bit. Fret buzz was gone. Go figure. I still have to do that when it slips over. It starts to do the buzz and I yank on the string a little to move the saddle over and its fixed. Maybe you guys can tell me how to fix this other than getting a new bridge. Its a nice bass if I could just get it to do what I want. And also I have already told you guys I hate the natural sound out of this bass. Its dull and boring. Even with new strings. I just don't like the jazz pickups. I like the jazz with a precision pickup configuration and blend like I have on a couple other guitars. But not two jazz pickups. But after experimenting with my EQ and some minor effects. It is starting to sound pretty good. The frets are rounded at the end and perfectly smooth. I cant say that for a couple other basses I have that sound better but lack in craftsmanship. And the neck is great. Its a ten year old mex jazz. And the body is in great shape also. Would like to keep it. Just the buzz. Oh the horror. If I can fix that I think it will be a good guitar. When its tweaked a bit however !
This kind of tool is what you need.
Hi Jay thanks for the tip. Yes I need that tool. But that's not the problem with this bass. The saddle that the A string sits in moves down when I play any sort of bend. Then the string starts to buzz. I yank the string and its pushes the saddle back up and its good to go for awhile. Thing is I checked out my other guitars and there is no space between the string saddles on this type of bridge. But there is a gap in the saddles on the jazz that I don't think is normal. A very visible gap. Which is causing it to slip out of place. The saddles are loose. The saddles should be tight together but there not and I don't know how to move them together and adjust this or tighten them so they don't move. The E string and A string saddles are tight together and then a gap. And the D and G saddles are tight together. The problem is the A string saddle slips over in that gap next to the D string saddle and then its screwed until I move it back into place. I don't know how to tighten the saddles so they don't move out of place. Like I said before maybe I need a new bridge. Don't know. Any ideas from anyone would be appreciated.
Johnny - a few questions:
- How is the saddle height set? Are they low or high? Low saddle height reduces the force of the string pushing them into the body, and could allow them to move.
- Is the saddle level? If it is lower on one side than the other that could give it room to move.
- Is the E string saddle the problem? If it is out of alignment that could also cause the extra space for the A saddle to move (of course then you have the issue of the fret buzz on the A string, but it is a possibility)
- How is the string spacing when the A saddle is next to the E, and how is it when it is next to the D? That should tell you which spot is “wrong”
- Can the A and E strings be adjusted across the saddles themselves? There are usually multiple grooves on the saddle - moving those strings one groove to the left will move the saddles to the right (looking up the string from bridge to nut, assuming a right handed bass), which might tighten up the saddles, preventing movement, without changing the string spacing
- Can you put something in the space between the A and D saddles to keep the A saddle in place? What it is may matter, as it could dampen vibrations in the bridge saddles and change your sound a bit.
A new bridge might be the ultimate answer, but there's a lot you can try with what you have before you go to that.
After some messing around I replaced the nut and found out one screw that holds the neck on was shorter than the other 3,it plays beautiful now
Thanks for the update Hoosefosses - it's always nice to know how the story ends!
Quote:
Johnny - a few questions:How is the saddle height set? Are they low or high? Low saddle height reduces the force of the string pushing them into the body, and could allow them to move.Is the saddle level? If it is lower on one side than the other that could give it room to move.Is the E string saddle the problem? If it is out of alignment that could also cause the extra space for the A saddle to move (of course then you have the issue of the fret buzz on the A string, but it is a possibility)How is the string spacing when the A saddle is next to the E, and how is it when it is next to the D? That should tell you which spot is “wrong”Can the A and E strings be adjusted across the saddles themselves? There are usually multiple grooves on the saddle - moving those strings one groove to the left will move the saddles to the right (looking up the string from bridge to nut, assuming a right handed bass), which might tighten up the saddles, preventing movement, without changing the string spacingCan you put something in the space between the A and D saddles to keep the A saddle in place? What it is may matter, as it could dampen vibrations in the bridge saddles and change your sound a bit.A new bridge might be the ultimate answer, but there's a lot you can try with what you have before you go to that.
Hi Nick. I am sorry. I did not see your post until now. I am not on the computer every day. Many thanks for getting back to me. Its a nice bass. Just needs a fix. I will go over what you said and pick the darn thing up again, play it, and try to explain to you whats happening with it. Thank you.
When a thread moves into the archives or away from the hot topic box. Not being on the computer that much I tend to forget about it unless someone brings it back up. I am happy Hoosefosses did just that or I wouldn't have seen your comment. I will get back to you. Thanks.
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