Hi,
I've always stalked these forums but never posted anything, so this is my first post. I taught myself how to play bass years ago by reading all over this place and I found talkbass to be a great resource, and I check here first for anything bass. I was wondering if anyone could help me out. I tried searching my question in different places but I wasn't able to find anyone with the exact problem I'm having.
I have an old beater 2001 MIM Fender P Bass. Although I have other and better MIA basses I could play, I've been wanting to revive it and make it more playable. I recently changed the pickups to the Fender Original '62, gave the entire body a shine/polish and next on the list was adjusting the action. I don't play this bass that much and it had extremely low action which resulted in pretty short sustain. I do like my action a little on the lower side, but that was just too low. I couldn't remember the last time I adjusted the action on this bass.
I spent hours trying to get the strings to a decent height that felt consistent across the neck. I really could not settle, nothing felt right. I tried making it a bit higher, and though it helped a bit, the action was too high (much higher than any of my MIAs, though I do understand they have much better QC). At about the 3rd fret, up to the 11th, there's a good amount of fret buzz on the A string. If I play the 12th and above it's mostly gone. I have similar issues on the other strings, random pockets of fret buzz (between the 2nd and 7th on the D string for example). I'd think if it was a truss adjustment issue there'd be a pattern, like they'd all buzz around the nut or past the 12th fret.
I was thinking maybe something's wrong with the neck, since I do take it outdoors often in the summer/winter, switching between warm/cold fast. It doesn't have a case either, just lays around, thought maybe buying a new neck would do it but it's a bit costly for a bass like this. I've read up a bit and began thinking maybe it just needs some fret leveling. That could make sense to me since it's nearly 20 years old, I bought it used around 7 years ago, and looking at it, it has taken a bit of a beating over its lifetime. I've never done it myself nor heard of it before this, but I wouldn't mind the risk of screwing up the frets if it means I learn something. I'm just not sure what else I haven't tried yet.
Basically: weird action on the neck, buzzes in different places on different strings, truss rod adjustment doesn't fix it for me, maybe needs fret leveling?
Any comments/suggestions would be helpful. I can provide clarification if needed. Thank you!
I've always stalked these forums but never posted anything, so this is my first post. I taught myself how to play bass years ago by reading all over this place and I found talkbass to be a great resource, and I check here first for anything bass. I was wondering if anyone could help me out. I tried searching my question in different places but I wasn't able to find anyone with the exact problem I'm having.
I have an old beater 2001 MIM Fender P Bass. Although I have other and better MIA basses I could play, I've been wanting to revive it and make it more playable. I recently changed the pickups to the Fender Original '62, gave the entire body a shine/polish and next on the list was adjusting the action. I don't play this bass that much and it had extremely low action which resulted in pretty short sustain. I do like my action a little on the lower side, but that was just too low. I couldn't remember the last time I adjusted the action on this bass.
I spent hours trying to get the strings to a decent height that felt consistent across the neck. I really could not settle, nothing felt right. I tried making it a bit higher, and though it helped a bit, the action was too high (much higher than any of my MIAs, though I do understand they have much better QC). At about the 3rd fret, up to the 11th, there's a good amount of fret buzz on the A string. If I play the 12th and above it's mostly gone. I have similar issues on the other strings, random pockets of fret buzz (between the 2nd and 7th on the D string for example). I'd think if it was a truss adjustment issue there'd be a pattern, like they'd all buzz around the nut or past the 12th fret.
I was thinking maybe something's wrong with the neck, since I do take it outdoors often in the summer/winter, switching between warm/cold fast. It doesn't have a case either, just lays around, thought maybe buying a new neck would do it but it's a bit costly for a bass like this. I've read up a bit and began thinking maybe it just needs some fret leveling. That could make sense to me since it's nearly 20 years old, I bought it used around 7 years ago, and looking at it, it has taken a bit of a beating over its lifetime. I've never done it myself nor heard of it before this, but I wouldn't mind the risk of screwing up the frets if it means I learn something. I'm just not sure what else I haven't tried yet.
Basically: weird action on the neck, buzzes in different places on different strings, truss rod adjustment doesn't fix it for me, maybe needs fret leveling?
Any comments/suggestions would be helpful. I can provide clarification if needed. Thank you!
