Should i be worried...?

Nemesis_2509

Nemesis_2509

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Hey guys.

So i was playing my thumb a little yesterday and noticed a really strange rattling noise that sounds like its coming from (inside) the neck. I know its not a fret-buzzing sound, i even adjusted everything to be sure that i ruled that out. Its louder and more present on some notes (frequencies) than others. I know its nothing on the headstock rattling and i noticed for some reason it doesnt rattle if i hold the bass upright, only horizontally like on a strap. its not coming through the pickups or anything so you cant hear it through my amp so thats now whats worrying me, im just scared it may be a warning that my neck and/or truss rod is not right and might fail on me.

you guys have any idea what it could be? im really kind of worried :(
 
If you are THAT sure that it's coming from IN your neck - chances are big for some trussrod failure. Don't know what screws or other parts that could get loose should be in there.
 
:cry: That wouldn't be good. could it be anything else? I mean, it doesnt really sound like a loose screw or anything fumbling around in there, just a really weird rattling, could it just be the neck actually vibrating with the string or something else...maybe the trussrod rattling against the wall of its route through the neck, would that be something to worry about?
 
It happened to me with an older bass. 1/8 turn clockwise and it was gone :-)
 
I've had this experience,

although of course I'm not sure it's 100% the same, with my Yamaha bass, and with my 4 string Thumb NT. With my 4 string Thumb NT, it was audible when I played the open A string, and 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th fret. Only on the A string. The rattling sound, very similar to fretbuzz, seemed to be coming from behind the trusrod cover. The sound is heard best when played unplugged. I started thinking about it, and thought that it's a part of the trusrod, most likely the spring (which is made from steel, and is very slender) is resonating against another metallic part. Hey, all parts have a resonance frequency, and once it resonates against another metallic part, you should here something similar to a fretbuzz I figured. Interesting, after a couple of days, the rattling disappeared. This should not be harmful to the bass I thought.

I just checked (30 seconds ago) on my Thumb 4 NT, and the rattling was audible again, but it was more subtle. I pluck the open A string, and after about a second, you hear a subtle "zinging". Hey, it's an open string, so it ain's fretbuzz !!
Anyway, I never thought it was a faulty trusrod................If my theory is correct, then I suspect that removing the trusrod, and greasing it would help a lot: the grease will add weight, but most importantly, it will function as a damper that will suppress the resonance. And hey, the trusrod is a metal; surely the metal will only appreciate added grease.

I AM NOT AN EXPERT; THIS IS ONLY MY THOUGHT !! PLEASE CONSULT A PRO !! :D
 
Florin said:
It happened to me with an older bass. 1/8 turn clockwise and it was gone :-)
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I tried this too; I adjusted the trusrod 45 degrees clockwise and counter clockwise too, but this didn't help in my case. But the idea is pretty much related to what I've described above. :wink:
 
If your Thumb is a bolt on check the screws. look down the neck and check for straightness. Keep us posted, good luck.
 
I've had that after adjusting my K5. persisted for about 2 weeks, then it got less and was ultimately gone after a very tiny trussrod adjustment.
 
gerrywarwick said:
If your Thumb is a bolt on check the screws. look down the neck and check for straightness. Keep us posted, good luck.
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No, my bass is a NT so its not a bolt or anything, and ive checked all other screws and it wasnt that.

Thanks for the suggestions guys, i will try checking my trussrod relief again (even though it was spot on last time i checked) to make sure that isnt what it is either. I wouldnt trust myself to remove the trussrod to grease it though, sounds like a reasonable explaination though. ill try the little things first and see if it just goes away on its own, if not then ill take it to someone, just to be sure my neck isnt messing up. only thing is i dont know a good guitar tech that id trust with my Thumb, but ill find one. Thanks again! :D
 
Yo, check to see if all the little screws on your bridge to make sure that thi is not the cause. I had this problem to, and was stumped as to where the sound was coming from. Oddly enough it turned out that the rattle was coming from the tiny intonation springs on the bridge. A quick little rub on them, to reposition, fixed the rattle. Strange but true.
 
You can check to see if your truss rod's broken by doing the following.Press your ear hard up against the back of the neck,mute the strings & knock on the bass.If you hear the rod rattling,it might be broken.
The Warwick truss rod is in a lubricated rubber tube to prevent binding with the wood.
The best thing to do is check every screw on the bass incuding taking the bridge off & tightening up the base it sists on.The rattle might sound like it's coming from one end of the bass where it's actually coming from the other.
Good luck mate.
 
thumperton said:
The rattle might sound like it's coming from one end of the bass where it's actually coming from the other.
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Good call,

my bass is maybe playing mind tricks on me...............hehe, I'm gonna check for some loose screws too.............. :wink:

Edit: *sigh*..............just check the bass a minute after posting the above......... I plucked the open A string.............no rattling whatsoever...........now I can't test it !! Ah well, it will come back.......... :lol:
 
Hey guys, I'm back, been gone for awhile. Lots of school (FINALS), gigging ect. As far as your bass problem, check to make sure it is not the straplock. I find that I can hear the straplock rattle if playing somewhat aggressive. I get this all the time when playing unplugged late at night.
 
gerrywarwick said:
Oops, should have read your signature :oops:
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Now worries :)

And i checked the truss rod yesterday but that still is on so i dont think its that. I will make sure my truss rod isnt broken though, i didnt know that about the rubber sleeve it sits in. and ill check all the bridge screws and springs too, i could swear its coming from the neck though but i know what you mean about sounds coming from places it doesnt like its coming from.

Thanks so much guys! :D
 
Anyhow,

apparantly you're not the only one, and so far it doesn't seem to be a faulty trusrod, so that should be good news. :D
 
I forgot to mention,sometimes the JAN 2 can warp slightly & need filing.It's this warping that can cause the adjustment screws in the nut to rattle slightly at different times.You can fix it by upgrading to the new JAN 3 or use a small amount of Locktite on the rattling screws.
Cheers people. :wink:
 
thumperton said:
I forgot to mention,sometimes the JAN 2 can warp slightly & need filing.It's this warping that can cause the adjustment screws in the nut to rattle slightly at different times.You can fix it by upgrading to the new JAN 3 or use a small amount of Locktite on the rattling screws.
Cheers people. :wink:
Click to expand...

Funny you mention Locktite,

I was thinking about it yesterday; I was looking at my JAN3 which I will install Sunday I think, and I noticed that the adjusting screws can be altered with very little torque..................I thought that maybe when it's installed, the nut will lower itself after a while................hence the Locktite. :wink:
 
Yes Locktite,stay away from nail polish,glue or anything else that dries hard.Locktite is designed to be removed easily where nail polish dries hard & needs quite a bit of torque to loosen the scew risking a nasty gouge in your fingerboard or headstock.
 
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