Funky Dunky Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Changed strings on both my basses today. First set went grand. Second set went horrendously awry. I replaced the strings with a set of identical gauge, and when I brought them up to tension, the strings remained flat against the fretboard and sound dead and buzzy rather than a musical note. All I did was change the strings. I didn't touch the bridge, nut or truss rod. Any ideas what has happened, and how I fix it? It played fine, I changed the strings and now it's jiggered. Quite bizarre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbird Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Could be a bad set of strings do you have another set to try? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 When you say identical gauge, do you mean identical gauge and also identical in every other way too, i.e. same manufacturer and model etc? Because if not then the tension will likely be different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funky Dunky Posted September 18, 2014 Author Share Posted September 18, 2014 Different manufacturer and nickel as opposed to stainless steel. What do I do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 [quote name='Funky Dunky' timestamp='1411066664' post='2556207'] Different manufacturer and nickel as opposed to stainless steel. What do I do? [/quote] You need to do a setup. It sounds like you have lower tension strings so you'll need to slightly loosen (anti-clockwise) the truss rod and adjust the bridge height accordingly plus check the intonation. If you aren't familiar with this there are lots of guides on YouTube e.g. http://youtu.be/cIzV9462xeE http://youtu.be/D4MdWzN_100 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 By the way, it's a very common error to think that tension is straightforwardly dependent on string gauge alone. It is mass per unit length of string that matters and therefore the tension is affected by the materials used and the nature of the construction of the string. Gauge is merely [i]one[/i] aspect of string construction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funky Dunky Posted September 18, 2014 Author Share Posted September 18, 2014 Wow, thanks for the tips. I had no idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funky Dunky Posted September 18, 2014 Author Share Posted September 18, 2014 As an aside, I changed one bass up a gauge with the same strings and there were no problems whatsoever, but the bass with the problems I changed but to the same gauge. Why would the first bass accommodate a gauge higher quite happily and the second bass wouldn't accept the same gauge? One a Squier VMPJ and Two, the problem bass, a Jim Deacon P copy (don't mock me, it was a freebie!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 [quote name='Funky Dunky' timestamp='1411072771' post='2556324'] As an aside, I changed one bass up a gauge with the same strings and there were no problems whatsoever, but the bass with the problems I changed but to the same gauge. Why would the first bass accommodate a gauge higher quite happily and the second bass wouldn't accept the same gauge? One a Squier VMPJ and Two, the problem bass, a Jim Deacon P copy (don't mock me, it was a freebie!) [/quote] This is a guess but ... perhaps the Squier VM, which is a very good bass for the money, is simply more stable such that a small change in gauge of same make/model of string, so small change in tension, leaves you with a bass that is still functional even if it might still benefit from a setup. Meanwhile, the Deacon, which I know nothing about except that they are cheap even compared to the Squier, being less stable in its neck wood and truss rod, is going to suffer greatly from a change of make/model and gauge of string and will definitely need a full setup to be playable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funky Dunky Posted September 23, 2014 Author Share Posted September 23, 2014 I adjusted the truss rod and all is well. Many thanks for the info and advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefyst Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 Happened to me once...turned out the saddles had flipped over and I didnt spot it for about 3 days Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 Happy ending! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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