Help! Stingray Special 4HH: almost too much buzz and rattle.

[Philthy]

Looking for some help, advice and opinions from those that may be in the same boat as me. Back in 2018 I bought a new Stingray Special 4HH (dropped copper finish / roasted maple fretboard) when they first came out. I love almost everything about this bass.....the finish, the weight, the neck, the electronics......probably the most comfortable bass I have. But it just seems to have much more rattle and fret buzz than my other older stingrays; all over the fret board. Not just in one particular area. Not sure if that's just how it is? Is it because of the stainless steel frets? Or maybe there's an issue I cannot diagnose. This is something I've been living with for the passed 3 years. I had a gig this passed weekend and listened to a recording and actually heard the buzz coming thru the amp. I am predominately a pick player. Over the years, I've tried various things to remedy it. I've tried lowering the pickups, as I've seen suggested in some of the forum posts. I currently have them at bridge (from pole piece to open string): 6/32" on the G, 7/32" on the E, Neck pickup: 8/32" on the G, 17/64" on the E. My relief is set at .012" (measured at the 8th fret with the first and 18th fret held down). String height is 3/32" on the E and A at the 15th fret, 7/64" on the D and G at the 15th fret. I've tried different types of strings EB Regular Slinky, EB Regular Cobalts, DR Lo-Rider Nickel (45-105), Dunlop Nickel (45-105).

Anyone else have the same experiences with the Stingray Specials? Is it just me? Thanks all!

 

[mynan]

IMHO, this sounds like a neck setup issue. I've had issues like this with various basses and have been able to work it out with a combination of truss rod adjustment and bridge saddle height adjustment after doing some research, but it can be a bit of a headache if you don't know what you're doing. Alternatively, you could find a reputable luthier/technician in your area and they should be able to fix it.

 

[Philthy]

@mynan - Thanks for the advice. Much appreciated. I've been setting up my own basses for over 25 years, so I'm pretty familiar with trussrod/saddle height adjustments. I've got several other Stingrays of various years and I set them up perfectly to my liking. But I will certainly consider a luthier as there could be something well above my skill level happening here.

 

[DrKev]

String height we measure over 12th or 15th fret is really a combination of saddle position, neck relief, and string height at the nut. Neck relief and nut height are small components but can be important. My guess is that if the strings are higher at the nut on your newer Special compared to the older basses, the action you measure over the 15th fret is actually inflated a little. But if you adjust the saddles to get the number you want at the 15th fret, the saddles will have to be *lower* than on the other basses to achieve the same string height. And lower saddles = less clearance = more clank.

Can you check the height of the strings at the nut, e.g. clearance over the 1st fret, or even visually hold the strings down at the 3rd fret and look at the clearance over the 1st fret. Compare to your other basses.

Alternatively, measure string height on all the basses at the 15th fret with a capo on the 1st fret (to take away the effect of the nut on string height) and neck relief set the same on all basses - does the string height the new Special measure lower than the others? If so, then you know the nut slots need to come down a little.

If all that checks out, and all the basses are really identical in terms of string height, neck relief, and nut, and *still* one is clankier than the others, then it's either the pickups and preamp transmitting those frequencies differently, or fret level issues, or some sort of magic. You got any unicorns in your home?

 

[kevins]

I’d take it in, my guess is probably needs a shim or a different size shim, probably was good enough to send out at factory string height but setting it lower would require a shim or a different gauge shim!

Neck relief and string height are two different things unrelated to each other, you gotta have someone set the relief and work out the string height. It might be a case where the neck relief when set correctly won’t accommodate a low string height, this is when you bring in the shims!

 

[DrKev]

Hi Kevins, sorry but no, this is not a shim issue. I appreciate your eagerness to help, it’s the core of our forum community! But shims are possibly the most common red herring/misunderstanding. Use of a shim is only required if appropriate string height cannot be achieved with normal adjustments of the saddles (because the saddle cannot be adjusted high enough or low enough). Philthy is not having that issue and his neck relief and string heights are in normal range and very similar to his other instruments.