Cen Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 I got the hartke startup kit two months ago.. and I ive wondered why two of my strings are more buzzy sounding, but two others are more of a muffled sound.. I am so new that I really can't explain it any better.. but if I played a note on the 5th fret to compare with the ajacent string, they would be the exact frequency.. but just sound.. different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky McDougall Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 Hi Cen, I will try to help you if I can. Could you please tell me your age and if you have any musical experience prior to buying your Bass. Have you had any instruction in playing the bass? Do you have any lesson books? The sound I think you described is called fret buzz. This is caused by improper string adjustment. I assume you know how to tune your instrument. Rocky "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb, voting on what to eat for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb, contesting the vote." Benjamin Franklin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thanny XIII Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 Change the stock strings, they consistantly suck. Buy good ones and then properly adjust and tune your bass. I knew a girl that was into biamping,I sure do miss her.-ButcherNburn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cen Posted June 18, 2006 Author Share Posted June 18, 2006 I am 21 years old. I just began playing the insturment. While I don't actually have an electric tuner, I tune by ear from the internet, and the starter CD/Book I have. I still need to get a tuner. In terms of musical experience? Not much. I learned to read music in grade school.. horrificly, ive retained all the knowledge to this day. Now, there are two kinds of buzz I get. Sometimes my pinky is so patheticly weak that when I use it to hold the string down it buzzes. I don't know if thats the bass or my finger being too weak. The other problem I have is, 5th fret notes don't sound entirely the same. While two of my strings have a more muffled sound, the other two have more of a "ping" or just.. well its really just a different tone.. while the frequency (or notes) are exactly the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cen Posted June 18, 2006 Author Share Posted June 18, 2006 I would change my strings, but I am very worried I will fail or do something wrong. I don't trust myself to do it.. and its going to suck to pay a large fee for someone else to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cen Posted June 18, 2006 Author Share Posted June 18, 2006 Oh and.. the CD/Book is the Hal Leonard bass method (I have book 1) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thanny XIII Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 Which two are muffled? the e and a. They are sorta supposed to be that way. people play notes on the fith fret and above to get that sort or thicker tone. Did you change the strings? Buy a tuner. and music reading is not horrific it is highly useful. I knew a girl that was into biamping,I sure do miss her.-ButcherNburn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMan99 Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 There is some difference in "tone" between strings, so 5th-fret E will sound different from A. Some string-sets sound more different string-to-string than others. The buzzing with your pinkie is likely finger-strength (bass takes strong hands), but may be compounded by a poor "setup" on your bass. Your bass-strings may be too high off the fretboard. When I go to Guitar Center, all the Fenders seem to have ridiculously high "action" on the strings (hard to play). I've heard similar things about other brands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky McDougall Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 Cen, A bass player needs to know how to set up his own bass. There are web sites that really cover this "How To" quite well. New, higher quality strings would be nice but you should be able to get your bass playing well without them for now. Not having strenth in some of your fingers is quite common for a new player. Playing the scales is great exercise but be patient it does not come quickly. The Hal Leonard book is fine. Rocky "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb, voting on what to eat for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb, contesting the vote." Benjamin Franklin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky McDougall Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 Cen, Here is a pretty good website on bass set up. I would go ahead and get a tuner, even the very inexpensive tuners are very accurate and will help you to set up your action. http://garywillis.com/pages/bass/bassmanual/setupmanual.html "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb, voting on what to eat for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb, contesting the vote." Benjamin Franklin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cen Posted June 19, 2006 Author Share Posted June 19, 2006 Thanks for your help. Your saying there are tuners that help set action? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cen Posted June 19, 2006 Author Share Posted June 19, 2006 I also notice I have no truss rod. Which isn't a big deal because I also notice the relief seems to be at an ok amount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke73 Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 I can recommend the Korg CA-30 tuner. It's very cheap, and very good. http://www.myspace.com/twoshortrocks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruiser_dup2 Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 Originally posted by Cen: I also notice I have no truss rod. Which isn't a big deal because I also notice the relief seems to be at an ok amount. You sure about that? Maybe it's under a little plastic cover at the head end of the bass? You might have to take out a screw or three to see it. . . Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruiser_dup2 Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 The reason I ask is I've never seen a bass guitar without a truss rod. Here's the description I just found for the Hartke SB15 kit: "The SB-15 Bass guitar constructed of a contoured Basswood body and maple neck features a rosewood fingerboard with 24 frets, P-J pickup configuration, black hardware, ADJUSTABLE TRUSS ROD, two volume and one tone controls, dot position markers the fingerboard and side of neck and is available in black or red." Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonathanD Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 You can get different tones while playing the same note in different parts of the bass. For a simple experment, try plucking or picking the string really close to the bridge(the part where the strings end at the bottome of your bass) and then slowly move up the string closer to the neck(your left hand) while picking/plucking and see if you hear a differance. In general, an open string has a different sound than a fretted string(when you are pressing on a fret). I call this timbre. I think this is the term most people use for it, but i could be wrong. say a man and a woman both sing the same note, it will register as the same note on a tuner, but still sound different. This may be what you are talking about on your bass. good luck, Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlrush Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 Howdy Cen. Welcome to the forum. If I understand what you are describing, an A note played on the open A string WILL sound different and more clear than an A played on the 5th fret of the E string. The open A will have more sustain also. The Gary Willis site is helpful in learning how to set up your bass. As you're learning that info read it enough times so you understand what he's saying before making adjustments. A tuner is a must for a bass player, so invest in one as soon as you can. Good luck! Visit my band's new web site. www.themojoroots.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky McDougall Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 Originally posted by Cen: Thanks for your help. Your saying there are tuners that help set action? A TUNER WILL MAKE YOUR TUNING VERY ACCURATE. IT WILL ALLOW YOU TO CHECK ANY NOTE AT ANY FRET FOR IT'S ACCUARCY. ALSO. WHEN SETTING THE INTONNATION ON THE 12TH FRET, IT MAKE ADUSTING THE SADDLES (BACKWARD OR FORWARD) VERY ACCURATE. JUST REMEMBER, WHEN YOU RAISE OR LOWER THE STRINGS, THE INTONNATION WILL CHANGE AND NEED TO BE READJUSTED. ROCKY "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb, voting on what to eat for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb, contesting the vote." Benjamin Franklin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Thumb Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 Here is the link to the Gary Willis setup pages - very helpful. http://garywillis.com/pages/bass/bassmanual/setupmanual.html Mighty Thumb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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