chrisaxe

Just wanted to give an update on this - took my bass to a luthier and they identified a slight ski slope at the bottom of the neck. Took the frets out, sorted out the bump and re-fretted the neck. After putting the same La Bella strings back on, the buzz reappeared. The fretwork has certainly helped as it now plays much better in the higher register, but the strange sitar like buzzing from the G string is still present. The luthier did a great job and is very experienced but even he couldn't get to the bottom of it. He suggested it might be an issue with the strings themselves. Went down a bit of a rabbit hole and discovered that this is an issue that some others have experienced with La Bella strings - particularly the G string. Sure enough, if I string my bass with different strings then the issue disappears. Furthermore, putting the buzzing string on another bass creates the exact same issue - so I am certain that it is the string. I have tried a couple of sets of La Bellas and unfortunately all have had the same issue. I've been in touch with the shop I purchased them from, as well as La Bella themselves, and both have shown great customer service - should have some replacements coming soon. I'm hoping that I have just been unlucky here, as I've never had any issues with La Bella's in the past.

Yep tried adjusting the truss rod to no avail. Thought the neck might be too concave resulting in the higher frets being buzzy, but adjusting the truss rod isn’t helping. I’m now wondering if I’ve got a high fret on the G side of the neck that only noticeable with new brighter strings. I think I’ll have to get it looked at!

Just to add to this - the bass has a neck shim which was added to lower the action a little and make the bridge more useful. I tried removing this, which obviously raised the action a fair bit across all strings, and the buzzing remained. I have since put the shim back in as it didn't seem to make any difference to the buzz.

Hello, Having some issues with my precision bass and was wondering if anyone could help me out... I had a set of LaBella flatwounds on my bass for around four years, and unfortunately the low E broke on a gig the other night. I immediately changed the strings for the same gauge of LaBellas (45-105) and began to have some serious buzzing on the D and G strings from around the 12th fret onwards. I have raised the saddles slightly which didn't seem to make much difference, and the neck relief feels and looks fine - it should be the same tension as the old strings? Any suggestions would be much appreciated as I'm a little baffled as to why this has suddenly become a problem. Played absolutely fine before and I'm using the same gauge of strings. Thanks, Chris.

Interesting! I had no idea. I'll open up the control plate soon and see if there are any capacitors that suggest this is what is happening. Thank you for your help!

Hi all, I was just wondering if anyone would be able to help me please! I have recently bought an early 60’s Hofner 500/3 Bass, with the one knob control panel. I understand that this features a volume pot, as well as the usual three treble / bass / rhythm and lead switches. My question is how this worked with only the one pickup, as my understanding is that usually the treble and bass switches were on/off switches for the two pickups. I can’t seem to find any information about how this control panel works with a one pickup bass such as mine, as there is no treble pickup to turn on and off. Currently the volume control works but the switches do not seem to do anything, so I was looking gain an understanding of how these controls worked on a one pickup bass before I open it up and check the solder joints and wiring. Many thanks in advance!