Buzzing on low E after DIY setup

JamieWakehamJamieWakeham Frets: 39
I've just finished a DIY setup on my old Fenix Jazz bass.  It always had a horribly high action at the first few frets, and was strung with very old and heavy strings.

I've carried out a setup - the nut needed quite a bit of filing to bring the string heights down to a sensible level.  I've also fitted a new set of Newtone 042-096 roundwound.

The playability is massively improved; I'm no longer having to actually work at applying pressure to fret in the first few positions!  However the low E is buzzing.  The buzz seems to be the same regardless of where I fret it so I don't think it's do to with the nut.  I can make the buzz disappear by pressing firmly on the string behind the saddle, so I wondered if there was something loose in the bridge assembly - but I've gone over it all and there's nothing free to vibrate.

Any ideas?  The only worry I have is that the strings were all very long, and I had to shorten them before installing - apparently this is a bad idea with Newtone strings, but I couldn't see any other way to install them.  Not cutting would have left about twelve wraps around the post... could cutting the string before it was under tension have caused this?
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Comments

  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71951
    JamieWakeham said:

    Any ideas?  The only worry I have is that the strings were all very long, and I had to shorten them before installing - apparently this is a bad idea with Newtone strings, but I couldn't see any other way to install them.  Not cutting would have left about twelve wraps around the post... could cutting the string before it was under tension have caused this?
    It does sound like it might have. Newtone specifically instruct you not to cut the strings before fitting them to the posts - or at the very least, you must bend the string sharply through a right angle before the cut (I use pliers). Cutting them without a bend like that will allow the wrap to unwind from the core.

    But if the problem is at the saddle end, that sounds less likely unless the whole wrap has shifted on the core right down the length of the string... maybe possible, I don't know - I've never cut a Newtone before fitting it.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • JamieWakehamJamieWakeham Frets: 39
    edited July 2020
    Bugger. Sounds like it's my own silly fault then. The buzz seems to come from the whole string, but only pressing behind the saddle makes it go away.  Perhaps the discontinuity between winding and core has shifted down to that end..?

    I was trying to avoid having to wind it up to tension with a foot of spare string flapping around!

    I'll get a replacement low E ordered and see if that fixes it.  Thanks for your help.
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  • MattBansheeMattBanshee Frets: 1498
    ICBM said:
    JamieWakeham said:

    Any ideas?  The only worry I have is that the strings were all very long, and I had to shorten them before installing - apparently this is a bad idea with Newtone strings, but I couldn't see any other way to install them.  Not cutting would have left about twelve wraps around the post... could cutting the string before it was under tension have caused this?
    It does sound like it might have. Newtone specifically instruct you not to cut the strings before fitting them to the posts - or at the very least, you must bend the string sharply through a right angle before the cut (I use pliers). Cutting them without a bend like that will allow the wrap to unwind from the core.

    But if the problem is at the saddle end, that sounds less likely unless the whole wrap has shifted on the core right down the length of the string... maybe possible, I don't know - I've never cut a Newtone before fitting it.
    This is sound advice for any bass strings, btw.
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  • FunkfingersFunkfingers Frets: 14320
    Try applying damping material under the string, between saddle and anchor point.

    If the Fenix bass has through body stringing, there could be a problem where the string meets the lip of the hole through baseplate of the bridge.

    Finally, how high is the saddle adjusted? On some Gotoh (and clone) bridges, the low E saddle can end up adjusted all the way down, resting on the baseplate. There is an argument for shimming the neck so that the bridge saddles can be adjusted upwards.
    Be seeing you.
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  • Try applying damping material under the string, between saddle and anchor point.

    If the Fenix bass has through body stringing, there could be a problem where the string meets the lip of the hole through baseplate of the bridge.
    It's a toploader.  Do you mean between the string and the saddle, or between the saddle and the bridge plate?

    Finally, how high is the saddle adjusted? On some Gotoh (and clone) bridges, the low E saddle can end up adjusted all the way down, resting on the baseplate. There is an argument for shimming the neck so that the bridge saddles can be adjusted upwards.
    They're all adjusted pretty damn low - I actually did wonder about shimming the neck to give me a bit more adjustment range but decided to do without that for the time being:



    I have made sure that all the saddle screws are tight, so they're not what is rattling.
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71951
    You definitely need to shim the neck. There isn't enough height at the bridge to set the saddles to the correct radius, assuming the A and D strings aren't rattling. I would probably want to use shorter screws as well, at least for the G and E - or cut those down.

    If you cut, remember to do it from the bottom ;). A friend of mine didn't :).

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • JamieWakehamJamieWakeham Frets: 39
    edited August 2020
    It's pretty close to correct, but yes, I could do with dropping the E and G strings a little further. This setup was such an enormous improvement over where it was before (I must have filed more than a mm from each nut slot) that I figured I'd leave it where it was for a bit before taking it all apart again!

    Good call on shortening the saddle screws. I don't tend to have my hand there when playing but it'd be good to reduce them anyway.

    Edit for the benefit of future readers of this thread: replacing the E string did indeed get rid of the buzz, so it looks like the problem was caused by cutting it before it was under tension. I must have been lucky with the other three.
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  • FunkfingersFunkfingers Frets: 14320
    I would shim the neck before shortening any saddle height adjustment grub screws.

    Another way to avoid the shimming job is by changing the bridge to a vintage-style bent steel type.
    Be seeing you.
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71951
    I would shim the neck before shortening any saddle height adjustment grub screws.
    Me too, but there's no way the screws on the G and E saddles aren't far too long :).

    The only question is how much to take off. (Or simply replace with shorter ones, if you know the thread size.)

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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