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danny-79

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So I’m still having trouble getting this one set up. I hate asking questions regarding setups on forums but I’m getting pretty close to having to take it to a tech, something I’ve not had to do for many years as I’m usually pretty good at sorting it myself.

The symptoms are: buzzing, all over the neck. I’ve had it in every position possible, shimmed neck, remove shim not needed.
saddle heights are nice, and the relief in the neck is generous but not too much, action is a little higher than I’d like but cant get it any lower.
It’s playable but only just.
Any thoughts and suggestions appreciated.
It’s going to be a few weeks before I can get it looked at if it comes to that
 

five7

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Nov 24, 2008
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What worked on a couple of mine including the sterling 5 HH that I play now is finding the right thickness of shim, making the neck straight with next to no relief and using super slinky strings. Action is low with no buzzing. It took awhile but am very happy with it.
Normally I would have relief and use regular slinky's. But, with this one I wanted low action. Try a straight edge and see if you have any high frets. Also check the nut and make sure it is cut right, not to low or not enough. My bongo 5 had the G string slot cut too deep and not until I put a drop of super glue in it could I get the action set right.
 

danny-79

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What worked on a couple of mine including the sterling 5 HH that I play now is finding the right thickness of shim, making the neck straight with next to no relief and using super slinky strings. Action is low with no buzzing. It took awhile but am very happy with it.
Normally I would have relief and use regular slinky's. But, with this one I wanted low action. Try a straight edge and see if you have any high frets. Also check the nut and make sure it is cut right, not to low or not enough. My bongo 5 had the G string slot cut too deep and not until I put a drop of super glue in it could I get the action set right.

I’ve got it better than it was but it’s still not perfect. I took all the relief out of the neck , set it straight then put just enough back in for it to function then raised the saddles accordingly. That was at 3am !
It’s much better, near perfect in standard EADG. it doesn’t like the half step down and like you say it might benefit from lighter strings but don’t want to go down that route, I use the same strings on everything (Coated stainless steels 105-50)
 

DrMatthewCross

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The buzz happens on all strings and all frets? Does it get better (or worse) in some areas of the fingerboard?

PS: I also have a bass that is making me mad to the point I'm thinking about bringing it to a tech, so I understand your frustration. Mine is a very strange problem though. Yours seem more common and I'm sure it's solvable. Mine... I'm not so sure.
 

danny-79

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The buzz happens on all strings and all frets? Does it get better (or worse) in some areas of the fingerboard?

PS: I also have a bass that is making me mad to the point I'm thinking about bringing it to a tech, so I understand your frustration. Mine is a very strange problem though. Yours seem more common and I'm sure it's solvable. Mine... I'm not so sure.

Yes it’s all over, just worse in some places.
I’ve got it something like but it’s still not as good as it can be. Tech is a very last resort. It’s playable just not up to my standards
 

mouth

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Dec 9, 2017
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Shimming is only necessary when you want a lower action than the saddles can give you (i.e. your saddles are lowered all the way down, but your action is still too high). It changes the angle of the neck, it's not a fix for buzzing, for warped neck or anything of that sort. It's only meant for one thing - action height correction. Or - if you want your saddles set higher, but keep the low action. It will not fix bad frets or neck issues.

Your neck relief must be set correctly, along with the string action. You might have issues with the nut height, uneven frets or even warped neck (ski neck perhaps). How it buzzes all over is weird though. What exactly is your wanted string height action? For example, my string height on both of my Stingrays is E: 1.5 mm A: 1.25 mm D: 1.0 mm G: 1.0 mm (measured at the 12th fret). I consider this a fairly low action and I was able to get it on both of my rays without buzzing. If I dig in a lot, of course, I get just enough fret clank which I want anyways, especially with roundwounds. Standard playing however, no real buzz through amp.
 

danny-79

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Shimming is only necessary when you want a lower action than the saddles can give you (i.e. your saddles are lowered all the way down, but your action is still too high). It changes the angle of the neck, it's not a fix for buzzing, for warped neck or anything of that sort. It's only meant for one thing - action height correction. Or - if you want your saddles set higher, but keep the low action. It will not fix bad frets or neck issues.

Your neck relief must be set correctly, along with the string action. You might have issues with the nut height, uneven frets or even warped neck (ski neck perhaps). How it buzzes all over is weird though. What exactly is your wanted string height action? For example, my string height on both of my Stingrays is E: 1.5 mm A: 1.25 mm D: 1.0 mm G: 1.0 mm (measured at the 12th fret). I consider this a fairly low action and I was able to get it on both of my rays without buzzing. If I dig in a lot, of course, I get just enough fret clank which I want anyways, especially with roundwounds. Standard playing however, no real buzz through amp.

Thanks for reply. I fully understand how a shim works, if anything it needs to go the other way. I don’t know the exact measurements of string heights, it’s just got to feel right.
I’ve reset the truss rod and in the process of letting it settle then start again. The neck is straight with no corkscrew going on.
It’s definitely a challenging one.
My only other conclusion is it’s haunted by its previous owner :p
 

Daniel

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Hi Danny,
What year is your bass? If it's a newer Stingray Special with the 18volt system, you may want to check your pickup heights. The pickups on the Stingray are very strong and if they are set too close, they can pull the strings down and cause the bass to buzz. If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me an email at [email protected] and I'll help you out.
 

danny-79

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Hi Danny,
What year is your bass? If it's a newer Stingray Special with the 18volt system, you may want to check your pickup heights. The pickups on the Stingray are very strong and if they are set too close, they can pull the strings down and cause the bass to buzz. If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me an email at [email protected] and I'll help you out.

Thanks for reply. The bass is a 2006. 9v. I have tried winding the pickups all the way down as a process of elimination before setting them to factory height (5 and 7mm. I’m pretty sure that’s the correct height)
I’ve got the bass a lot better but, still a few buzzes and the action is a little higher compared to the other but it’s playable so going to put some miles on it and see how it goes.
Apparently it’s spent the last few years, quite a few years under a bed not being played so hopefully it will come back to life !
 

danny-79

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So....... after much fiddling and faffing about I’ve got it sorted.
This one really tested me but I can happily say now that it is finally sorted.
I took it to practice last night (along with another just in case), it’s playing perfect.
Now I’m enjoying the full HH experience, being new to it. Position two, outer coils is about my favourite so far, it seems to really cut through.
Think I need a HS now to complete the collection
:p :cool: :D
 

TKbASSMAN

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Jan 2, 2022
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Mooresville, NC
Hi Danny,
What year is your bass? If it's a newer Stingray Special with the 18volt system, you may want to check your pickup heights. The pickups on the Stingray are very strong and if they are set too close, they can pull the strings down and cause the bass to buzz. If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me an email at [email protected] and I'll help you out.
What is the proper height for the NECK pickup and the BRIDGE pickup for a special 4?
 

danny-79

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Feb 6, 2009
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England U.K
5mm & 7mm (that’s what mine are set to anyways)
Set the bridge pickup to standard single pickup height then balance the neck pickup so the volume is even when you go between the two
 
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