fret buzz between frets 5 and 10 when i lower the action.

racefaceec90

i recently got a squier affinity jazz bass which i love i have to say (ordered via amazon).

 the action when i got it was a bit high at 20th fret on all strings  so i just lowered the string heights. the only problem is that there is fret buzz on all strings between 5th and 10th frets.

there was relief when i sighted down the neck and i have tightened the truss rod a 1/4 turn clockwise but the problem is still there (i have raised up the saddles again so no fret buzz now but the action is high again). am wondering if the neck may need a fret dress or something?

any advice as to how to solve the issue will be most welcome (am no expert at adjusting stuff on a guitar/bass i must admit).

thanks in advance 

sweepy

You need to slacken the truss Rob a quarter of a turn and see how that is

ICBM

There’s a hump in the middle of the neck, which may be caused by the truss rod being too tight. It sounds like the nut is also too high if it wasn’t buzzing below the 5th fret, which will make the action feel very high.

Don’t sight down the neck, you won’t be able to tell anything useful unless the neck is totally bowed. Hold the bass normally and fret the D string at the 1st and 17th frets with both hands. Look at the gap between the string and the 7th-8th frets, it should be about half the diameter of the G string.

To check the nut, fret each string at the 3rd fret and look at the gap between the string and the 1st fret. If it’s any more than about the thickness of a business card it’s too high.

racefaceec90

thanks for the replies :-)

i did check the nut and the string spacing etc (also loosened the truss rod a quater turn). the nut seems fine actually (not high). also the spacing from checking with my eyes didn't seem too much,gap under string. unfortunately the issue is still there.

i will be heading off to john holmes music in swindon on friday to get it looked at as they will definitely be able to see whats going on with the buzzing (also need a gig bag for it,2 birds one stone etc).

thanks again 

FelineGuitars

I'd wager there being a need for some fallaway being dressed into the top frets anyway , so you can have a sensible action in the middle and still have that zone play cleanly

prowla

My guess was loosen the truss rod a smidge. 

I recently bought a bass which was like that as a punt; fortunately loosening it did the trick, so I saved £100.