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Topic starter
01/12/2005 2:18 am
I play a Rogue Violin Bass through a Fender Bassman 25 watt amp. I just purchased a Behringer Ultrabass BX600 Bass amp and my strings buzz whenever I play the A, Ab, and A# notes anywhere on the top three strings. The strings buzz only on those notes, regardless of where they are played. They didn't buzz with my old amp, and they don't buzz on my other bass through the new amp. I'm going to send it back unless I am missing something. Please Help!
01/12/2005 2:06 pm
Layman here.
Have you given any thought that it might be a harmonic frequency that is "buzzing?" Perhaps that bass and amp combination have a certain vibration characteristic that is causing a vibration buzz in the amp, like a loose screw or (if metal) the speaker grill might be causing the problem.
Just some curiosities to investigate.
Bish
"I play live as playing dead is harder than it sounds!"
Topic starter
01/12/2005 8:00 pm
Thanks for the tip. I'll check into that. Why would that happen only on certain harmonics?
02/12/2005 5:12 pm
As an example, it would be kind of like why a snare drum buzzes to certain frequencies. It's the resonate vibration that might be more noticable with those specific pickups coupled with the sound emitted from the speakers. Different combinations of instruments (ie certain guitars with certain amps have unique sounds / effects) and can similarly transmit certain frequencies that another combination might not achieve.
A simple test might be to position the amp in a different situation. Lay it on its back or its side and see if the harmonic characteristics go away or become less noticable. Even the room might have something to do with it. Echo's and reverberation from the wall accoustics might add/take away from the problem.
Just speculating at this point.
Bish
"I play live as playing dead is harder than it sounds!"
02/12/2005 5:19 pm
It's a good thought - that the speaker cone is vibrating in sympathy with the strings - but your other bass is tuned to the same notes, and it doesn't buzz.
On the other hand, other causes don't make sense either... since it happens on those notes no matter where they're played, it's clearly related to frequency, not frets/action/relief.
So I'd start by checking your tuning with an accurate tuner - if your problem bass is off a couple cents from the other one, that might be hitting the resonant frequencies of the speaker cone.
Guitar teacher offering lessons in Plainfield IL
13/12/2005 3:21 pm
is this not a setup problem with the string height (intonation) and action?