Bass diagnosis questions

[diablo175]

A friend of mine brought his Aspen bass over and asked if I could help him get it playing better. He stated that fretted notes buzz and the pick ups hum when a hand is not touching the strings. This says to me that there's a grounding issue but is it possible that the pick ups are similar to single coil p'ups and hum naturally?

The neck appears straight, the frets seem okay, though, seemingly low to the board. Worn down maybe? I haven't put them to a proper test. Fretted notes do tend to buzz/ rattle but when the string is pushed down firmly, this ceases to be an issue. The nut looks to be in good shape - string grooves not too worn down far.

The control cavity reveals little other than an absence of anything I can discern as a grounding wire.

Any thoughts on what I should be looking for in resolving the buzz/hum issues?

[Andrew]

It's normal to get a hum when you don't touch the strings as you are the earth. That means there is a ground to the strings.

Buzzing means either:

it may need a fret dress;

action is too low;

the neck is too straight and needs a small amount of relief by loosening the truss-rod a little;

or has too much relief and the rod needs tightening;

learn to play nearer the frets rather than mid-way between them, you need more pressure on a bass string (and that's easier near to the fret) hence pushing down hard stops the buzz.

Possibly.

[velorush]

learn to play nearer the frets rather than mid-way between them, you need more pressure on a bass string (and that's easier near to the fret) hence pushing down hard stops the buzz.

Possibly.

Coming to bass from years of torturing guitars, this was one of the first and most helpful things I learned (from TalkBass.com, no less!). It's taken a lot of practice, but pressing the string just headstock side of the fret really helps to relieve the buzz.

ETA: I had to learn to ease up on my right hand attack, as well. Big strings don't necessarily have to be beaten on to get a good sound. I play fingerstyle 99.999% of the time - getting the right hand right was another huge learning curve for me.

[Ethan]

The ground wire may be under the bridge-this is how it is on my P basses.

[mc2]

If the bass IS from Aspen, the buzz is likely from all the pot.

[JohnnyB]

Did the pickups hum at your house too? Does your friend live in an older house or building? I've experienced various levels of hum w/single coil instruments depending on how new or old the building was. Old buildings (e.g., pre-WWII) weren't wired to the same code with the same amount of grounding as newer ones are.

[Steve Haynie]

Does the string buzz come through an amp? A little string buzz/rattle when unplugged is not necessarily bad.