12 fret action on p bass

[Geek99]

Sorry - the clear note is when plucked between third and nut 

found a reference measure of .07mm at fret 1

[Downunderwonder]

That's some pretty exotic tapping. I now have precisely no idea what's problematic.

 

Do over time.

 

If you play it and report which notes have buzz maybe all will become clear.

[Reggaebass]

Just so I understand it correctly, if you set the neck dead straight with the strings at tension and 2.5 mm gap at the 12th fret , what happens then ?, by rights you should get no buzz anywhere unless there is a fret problem , all my basses are set  at about 1.5 with no buzz unless they are played hard 🙂

[dmccombe7]

My Fenders are at 2mm at 12th fret and neck very very slightly concave but i play quite hard live. 

Dave

[Geek99]

I think I have a ski jump

most strings buzz from 15th up with 2.5mm at 12th . Relief is .3 at eighth with 1 and last fret held 

 

my stingray clone is down to 1.75 mm at 12th and it’s the same radius - so it can work 

 

unless it’s one high / low fret around 13

Edited October 17, 2021 by Geek99

[Geek99]

38 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

Just so I understand it correctly, if you set the neck dead straight with the strings at tension and 2.5 mm gap at the 12th fret , what happens then ?, by rights you should get no buzz anywhere unless there is a fret problem , all my basses are set  at about 1.5 with no buzz unless they are played hard 🙂

I’ll try that - by dead straight you mean no relief at all so the string is resting on fret 8?

[Reggaebass]

Just now, Geek99 said:

I’ll try that - by dead straight you mean no relief at all so the string is resting on fret 8?

With the neck straight and  no relief your strings shouldn’t be touching anywhere if your saddles at the bridge are set right 🙂

[Geek99]

9 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

With the neck straight and  no relief your strings shouldn’t be touching anywhere if your saddles at the bridge are set right 🙂

Clarification- strings touching fret 8 when held down at first and last frets - is that what you meant ?

 

i should have made my question clearer 

Edited October 17, 2021 by Geek99

[Hellzero]

According to all you say and all you've tried, @Geek99, that's now obvious that your neck has the typical ski jump or heel raising. Go to a luthier and he will fix the problem quite quickly. It can go very fast or take a bit more time if he needs to remove the 3 or 4 last frets, dress the end of the neck, put the frets back, level them and crown them.

 

Don't worry it's an easy job when you have the right tools and know what you're doing.

[Reggaebass]

12 minutes ago, Geek99 said:

Clarification- strings touching fret 8 when held down at first and last frets - is that what you meant ?

 

i should have made my question clearer 

Yeah basically, Sorry geek I have to go to work now, but if you set the neck straight and it still buzzes on the upper frets then it sounds like the heel is raising 🙂

[Geek99]

15 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

Yeah basically, Sorry geek I have to go to work now, but if you set the neck straight and it still buzzes on the upper frets then it sounds like the heel is raising 🙂

I’ll give it a shot tonight, thank you 

 

is heel raising something I can check with a straight edge ?

Edited October 17, 2021 by Geek99

[lonestar]

16 hours ago, Geek99 said:

I’ve set the relief to 0.3mm at the 12th and the upper frets are still buzzing 

unfretted distance at the 12th is approx 2.5mm 

 

wondering if the nut is badly cut ? 
I can get a clear note from each string when fretted at 3rd by pinging the string with my finger nail 

Relief is normally measured at the 7th/8th fret. 10 thou in my setup 

 

 

[Stub Mandrel]

8 hours ago, Geek99 said:

I’ll give it a shot tonight, thank you 

 

is heel raising something I can check with a straight edge ?

 

Should be able to.

[Geek99]

3 hours ago, lonestar said:

Relief is normally measured at the 7th/8th fret. 10 thou in my setup 

 

 

You’re right - I meant eighth

[dmccombe7]

Might be worth getting a decent luthier or shop to do a full set up if you're seeing so many issues with it.

Dave

 

[lonestar]

4 hours ago, lonestar said:

 

Edited October 17, 2021 by lonestar

[lonestar]

58 minutes ago, Geek99 said:

You’re right - I meant eighth

 

You could check the nut height: fret at 3rd fret and measure gap on first fret. It should be around .76mm or 3 thou in old money

[Geek99]

9 minutes ago, lonestar said:

 

You could check the nut height: fret at 3rd fret and measure gap on first fret. It should be around .76mm or 3 thou in old money

Isn’t that 0.076? I checked the fender specs 

[Stub Mandrel]

7 minutes ago, Geek99 said:

Isn’t that 0.076? I checked the fender specs 

 

0.08 mm

 

There's no such thing as a thousandth of a millimetre in the real world 🙂

 

0.004 mm is about five wavelengths of deep red light.

 

A 'hair's breadth' ranges from about 0.017 to 0.180 mm.

 

A thousandth of an inch or 0.025 mm is a fairly demanding maximum precision when dealing with things made largely of wood.  I used to know a very skilled engineer who once worked making piano mechanisms - they were the only wooden thing he ever dealt with that demanded 0.001" accuracy. I imagine people using ebony bearings on clocks (Harrison's Chronometers) would aspire to similar accuracy.

[Geek99]

6 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

0.08 mm

 

There's no such thing as a thousandth of a millimetre in the real world 🙂

 

0.004 mm is about five wavelengths of deep red light.

 

A 'hair's breadth' ranges from about 0.017 to 0.180 mm.

 

A thousandth of an inch or 0.025 mm is a fairly demanding maximum precision when dealing with things made largely of wood.  I used to know a very skilled engineer who once worked making piano mechanisms - they were the only wooden thing he ever dealt with that demanded 0.001" accuracy. I imagine people using ebony bearings on clocks (Harrison's Chronometers) would aspire to similar accuracy.

Sure - it’s 0.08 I agree - I was just questioning lone star about his suggestion of 0.76mm in his post 

[lonestar]

44 minutes ago, Geek99 said:

Sure - it’s 0.08 I agree - I was just questioning lone star about his suggestion of 0.76mm in his post 

Sorry Got my point in the wrong place. Always do setups in imperial as I’m a fender man and my feeler gauges are ancient !

Edited October 17, 2021 by lonestar

[Stub Mandrel]

44 minutes ago, Geek99 said:

Sure - it’s 0.08 I agree - I was just questioning lone star about his suggestion of 0.76mm in his post 

 

Just having a bit of fun under the affluence of whisky 🙂

[Geek99]

32 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

Just having a bit of fun under the affluence of whisky 🙂

No more whisky for me … or anything else 

been teetotal for three months now 

[Geek99]

Anyway - both my basses, one with acceptable action and the one in question here, which does not, have first fret clearances of 0.3mm!

[Geek99]

3 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

Might be worth getting a decent luthier or shop to do a full set up if you're seeing so many issues with it.

Dave

 

Money and time I’m afraid