Nasty fret buzz after receiving bass.

[aldaa]

Hey, everyone. So I just received my new (to me) bass, and it has some pretty nasty fret buzz on the first 5-7 frets. The seller has pretty good feedback... so I doubt he sent me a lemon. Also, this is the 2nd time I've received a bass with bad fret buzz on the first few. Could this be the truss rod shifting during shipping?

Thanks in advance

 

[Doctor J]

Different climate conditions will cause the wood in the neck to expand/contract. It sounds you need to loosen the truss rod a smidge. Easy to do and youtube has countless videos to learn from.

 

[Trouztrouz]

Hey, everyone. So I just received my new (to me) bass, and it has some pretty nasty fret buzz on the first 5-7 frets. The seller has pretty good feedback... so I doubt he sent me a lemon. Also, this is the 2nd time I've received a bass with bad fret buzz on the first few. Could this be the truss rod shifting during shipping?

Thanks in advance

Were the strings loosened when you received the bass? It's best to ship a bass with stings under normal tension but some people loosen the stings. This means the truss rod tension is not balanced, and will cause the neck to bend back a bit. It may come back on its own with time, so maybe give it a day or two under normal tension before you tweak the truss rod.

 

[buldog5151bass]

I would PM the seller and ask. In case there IS an issue, better to bring it up now than after a few weeks. Seller may have some thoughts. If you bring it up two weeks later, after playing with the truss rod, seller may be less likely to do something.

 

[Axstar]

The trussrod is there to be adjusted, so adjust it first. It isn't an 'in emergency break glass' type of situation, you literally adjust the rod to get the relief back on spec. Buzzing in the lowest frets suggests a mild backbow in the neck, which you correct by backing off the rod.