Dumb question

[azzy_wazzy]

When I'm tweaking my bass (set up - saddles and trussrod etc), do I do this acoustically or with the amp plugged in?

Only ask as I'm trying to eliminate some buzz around the 12th fret (only really hanging around on the D string now) and can't shift it! Thought it may be as I wasn't plugged into my amp...

Which is it? (Apologies for the blondness in advance)

P.S. Blame it on trying to find a free program to let me stick the DVD of my jump online! Yay! Youtube should have it up shortly and will post a link asap.

Geez... look at me hijacking my own thread

 

[bassmonkey]

Unplugged.

You should still be able to hear the buzz.

 

[RockinRayDuke]

I do both ways, playing with the same attack as usual.

BTW, that's not a dumb question at all, Az.

 

[azzy_wazzy]

Unplugged.

You should still be able to hear the buzz.

So as long as it's buzz-less on the amp, it's ok??? Even if I can hear it unplugged?

I've read loooooads of set up qus on here today but none seemed to cover this

Gah I have brain-ache... got my jump footage into viewable format, but the damn file is too big to upload... Youtube has a limit of 100MB, and this file is 800 and something!!!

I think I'm gonna go to bed and forget about all this till the morning

 

[bassmonkey]

So as long as it's buzz-less on the amp, it's ok??? Even if I can hear it unplugged?

Nope, should be buzz-less(is that a word?) acoustically.

I sometimes get buzzwhen I am playing sloppily, make sure your technique is tight when you are making the adjustments.

 

[bovinehost]

I don't give a ratzass, personally, if my bass makes a little noise unplugged as long as it sounds good amplified.

Because I always gig it with an amp, I guess that's why.

 

[bassmonkeee]

I don't give a ratzass, personally, if my bass makes a little noise unplugged as long as it sounds good amplified.

Because I always gig it with an amp, I guess that's why.

I'm the same way. If I can't hear it through an amp or headphones, it isn't there.

 

[RockinRayDuke]

That's why I listen to it both ways. There's no way my Bongo will be completely without a little string buzz but on the whole it's pretty buzz-free. Sometimes on the G for example it buzzes from my crummy technique but I like where the string is and can compensate for it.

Plus I like the neck almost straight which can be a problem on other basses but on a Bongo (and any other EBMM bass I've had) isn't really an issue. I put a very slight amount of relief in and tweak the saddles. I played the BP Bongo after Jack got it and it had amazingly low action and didn't need tweaking for quite a while. That's what I shoot for on mine.

 

[adouglas]

I don't give a ratzass, personally, if my bass makes a little noise unplugged as long as it sounds good amplified.

+1...if the action is high enough to get rid of all buzz, all the time, no matter what, it's too high for comfort.

One of the coolest things about EBMM basses is that fantastic little adjuster wheel...tweaking the trussrod is so easy that if it's just a hair off I'll go ahead and give it a nudge at the drop of a hat. With other basses, where I'd have to remove a cover and go find a special wrench, I'd only adjust it with major changes in the weather. So I'd wind up adjusting it higher than it needed to be. I don't need to do that any more.

I've gotten to the point where I no longer need to pull out the mechanic's scale (little steel ruler, graduated in 64ths of an inch) to check string height. I can tell if it's right just by looking at it. I'm sure I'm not as accurate as the ruler, but it's plenty close enough. Anybody else find this to be so?

 

[bovinehost]

I never measure anything. Ever. And never will, probably.

Just a quirk, I guess.

 

[Aussie Mark]

I never measure anything. Ever. And never will, probably.

Just a quirk, I guess.

Not a quirk at all Jack. I don't measure either when I'm setting up a bass. If I'm using power tools I'll measure, so I don't get electrocuted or lose a limb. Setting up a bass is not going to kill me, so I go by feel rather than dimensions.

 

[Max]

Whenever I set up my bass, I always try to eliminate all fret-buzz whatsoever, including accoustiacally, but really I guess it only matters if it doesn't come through on the amp.

As for measuring, I don't recal my bass ever touching a ruler of any sort.

 

[SteveB]

When I setup my guitars, I don't mind some buzz acoustically, as long as it can't be heard through the amp. So, there's one guitard's view.

 

[strummer]

Azzy, It's really up to you.
Personally, acoustic buzzing isn't a concern, but you may feel otherwise.

 

[Bill]

I generally set up mine acoustically. I pluck the strings slightly harder when the bass isn't plugged in, so if I eliminate buzzing that way, I'm guaranteed to not have buzzing when I'm plugged in. Works great for me! My Stingray neck feels absolutely perfect.

 

[hankSRay]

My Red Sparkle buzzes a lot unplugged because of how I set the action, plug it in and you wont hear any buzzing. Go Figure.