Hi Gang,
Well my little de-fret project just seems to keep going downhill, and I definitely have a new-found respect for professional Luthiers that do this stuff for a living.
Long story short – after bolting everything back together and tuning the bass with D’Addario Half Rounds, my D & G string have this horrible “twang” when depressed anywhere along the fret board but especially more-so in the higher fret region.
Open they both sound fine, all four sound great open, but as soon as I press down on the frets starting just below the nut all the way up the neck the twang gets more & more pronounced. (especially on the “G” string)
Yes, I’ve changed the nut several times, and the “bone nut” presently residing there is sitting perfectly square at the right height with the strings sitting at the correct depth.
Yes, the scale is set up perfectly (34” scale) and I bought a brand new HipShot bridge that I had to re-locate a little further back to get the 34” scale because the neck I’m using is a 22 fret neck and it’s a little shorter than the original neck.
Yes, the neck is straight, and the fret board has the correct radius. I sanded it with the correct curvature size block that I bought from Stewmac.
Everything adds up and she sounds great as long as you don’t push down anywhere on the "D" or "G" string but of course you can’t play a bass that way.
Here’s the question: (as I have completely given up tweaking and fussing over this thing anymore)
What is the average cost a Luthier would charge me to rid the bass of the annoying “twang”?
I realize that’s an impossible question but I’m talking rough ballpark numbers here, not dead-nut accurate numbers.
I have a lot invested in this old bass, and I have a lot of sentimental, emotional crap into her but I can’t keep at it if she's going to cost me another small fortune to make her right.
Please note, it’s not a buzz like fret buzz…….it’s a “twang”
Any and all answers are welcomed, thanks in advance……
Average Luthier Cost's
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Fretless Wonder
- Posts:7
- Joined:Wed Sep 03, 2014 9:04 pm
- Location:Connecticut
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FretLessSince68
- Posts:307
- Joined:Tue Dec 19, 2006 2:29 am
- Location:On an Island, WA, USA
Sounds like your neck relief is adjusted too flat or even into back-bow. To have perfect action you need a perfect neck/fingerboard. This is an almost unattainable level of perfection that we fretless bassists seek but rarely achieve.
First thing, press down the G string at the first position and at the top of the fingerboard to observe your relief. Expect some relief, perhaps as little as 1mm, or as much as 3 mm. Very few necks are so good that they can be set to actual straight and expect it to perform well. Next, put an accurate straight edge on the fingerboard and observe for undulations such as "S" bends, dips, bumps, or twists. Twists are bad.
If the neck/fingerboard has even slight imperfections then you will get poor response when the action is set low. Try increasing the neck relief (loosen the adjusting rod nut slightly).
If the relief is normal and you see no defects then try raising the action at the bridge until the noises you hear go away.
If, after doing these things you still have problems, or the action is way high, then the neck may have a defect. If it is really bad a luthier might recommend neck replacement.
If you have minor neck/fingerboard defects the luthier procedure you may need is called a fingerboard or neck planing. Not terribly expensive but is a fretless specialty. Most guys only into fretted instruments are not practiced at this so find a fretless bass luthier or a violin maker willing to stoop down to our level.
How much? I don't know, I do my own.
I hope this helps.
First thing, press down the G string at the first position and at the top of the fingerboard to observe your relief. Expect some relief, perhaps as little as 1mm, or as much as 3 mm. Very few necks are so good that they can be set to actual straight and expect it to perform well. Next, put an accurate straight edge on the fingerboard and observe for undulations such as "S" bends, dips, bumps, or twists. Twists are bad.
If the neck/fingerboard has even slight imperfections then you will get poor response when the action is set low. Try increasing the neck relief (loosen the adjusting rod nut slightly).
If the relief is normal and you see no defects then try raising the action at the bridge until the noises you hear go away.
If, after doing these things you still have problems, or the action is way high, then the neck may have a defect. If it is really bad a luthier might recommend neck replacement.
If you have minor neck/fingerboard defects the luthier procedure you may need is called a fingerboard or neck planing. Not terribly expensive but is a fretless specialty. Most guys only into fretted instruments are not practiced at this so find a fretless bass luthier or a violin maker willing to stoop down to our level.
How much? I don't know, I do my own.
I hope this helps.
One good note makes my day.
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Fretless Wonder
- Posts:7
- Joined:Wed Sep 03, 2014 9:04 pm
- Location:Connecticut
Thanks so much for the reply,
I actually already tried almost everything you mentioned.
I must have tweaked the relief back & forth a 100 times using a straight edge steel ruler as a guide raising & lowering the action.
And no matter what the relief or action is I still get the “twang”.
I think the culprit could lie in the fret-board having a dip or un-level area sanded into it accidentally by me.
What I mean by that is: when I applied poly to the neck (to get that Jacko affect) I applied way too much and it never really cured properly so I had to sand it all off.
There was a section between the 16th and 22nd frets where I really had to dig in hard to get the poly off and yes…it was on the “D” / “G” side of the board.
So I think I may have accidentally taken too much material off the fret board, and introduced an un-level area into it.
My gut is telling me that may be what’s causing the “twang” to persist regardless of the relief of the neck.
I’m traveling on business now but when I get home I’ll make some more tweaks, and follow your suggestions, but if I can’t get rid of the “twang” I’ll contact some Luthiers to see if anything can be done and at what cost.
Once again, thanks for the reply……
I actually already tried almost everything you mentioned.
I must have tweaked the relief back & forth a 100 times using a straight edge steel ruler as a guide raising & lowering the action.
And no matter what the relief or action is I still get the “twang”.
I think the culprit could lie in the fret-board having a dip or un-level area sanded into it accidentally by me.
What I mean by that is: when I applied poly to the neck (to get that Jacko affect) I applied way too much and it never really cured properly so I had to sand it all off.
There was a section between the 16th and 22nd frets where I really had to dig in hard to get the poly off and yes…it was on the “D” / “G” side of the board.
So I think I may have accidentally taken too much material off the fret board, and introduced an un-level area into it.
My gut is telling me that may be what’s causing the “twang” to persist regardless of the relief of the neck.
I’m traveling on business now but when I get home I’ll make some more tweaks, and follow your suggestions, but if I can’t get rid of the “twang” I’ll contact some Luthiers to see if anything can be done and at what cost.
Once again, thanks for the reply……