What size fret wire do you prefer?

[Vics]

I've got a Jazz bass that needs a bit of work on the neck. I've never been able to get the action quite to my liking without getting string buzz or rattle going on and I wonder if the larger frets have anything to do with it?

Maybe a tweak of the truss rod along with having the current frets dressed up by a pro tech (of which I know) will help the situation and all will be fine. If not I'm wondering if using a much smaller fret wire would do the trick?

I was at my local music store today and for kicks tried a Sting model bass. The first thing I noticed was how small the frets were but man, did it play great! The action was very low due to the frets being so small and I got no buzz or rattle when playing with my fingers or with a pick. Kinda reminded me of a Rickenbacker 4000 model bass I use to have. Very small frets (that lasted a long time too) with action to die for.

Would smaller fret wire help with the action on my Jazz bass, if it came down to it? Any help would be appreciated. thanks.

[cre2403]

I 've had a jazz for 20 years and have had to seriously adjust the neck twice. The Fender necks seem to go out of whack more easily than other basses I've owned, and every time I notice the action getting crummy is when the neck goes into a back bow. What usually happens is that I tweak the truss rod (you loosen it to eliminate back bow), and it helps but isn't quite enough to get a flat neck. Then I resort to a technique published years ago in Bass Player magazine by Dan Erlewine.

You get a nice straight 2x4 and cut a few thin pieces off it. Then you completely loosen the truss rod nut. Now put a thin piece of wood over the strings at the first fret, another on the neck at the body joint, and the 2x4 on top. Then you clamp the 2x4 with a large C clamp, using the third thin piece of wood between the clamp jaw and the back of the neck(to protect it). The clamp should be approximately in the middle of the neck. Now you can force the neck flat by cranking the clamp - careful - it doesn't take much. Once you have it flat, leave it alone for 24 hours with the clamp on it. Then before removing the clamp, tighten the truss rod nut just until you begin to feel resistance. Now you can remove the clamp and it should stay flat. You may need to adjust the bridge to tweak the set up to your liking, and then intonation.

Of course, if this sounds like too much trouble - just pay a qualified tech to do a complete setup for you. But I have performed this little adjustment trick on 3 other basses over the years - and they are all still holding flat (more than 10 years).

[Vics]

Hey, thanks for the info. I've heard of a way to straighten the necks out before...just did'nt realize it's done by the way you described.

The problem I'm having is.....when I set my action right to where I'd like it to be I get buzz and rattle on all 4 strings from the 11th fret up. Never had that problem on the Ric bass I mentioned.

Your method of clamping the neck for 24 hours...do you think that's what my bass needs?

[chuckocaster]

sounds like you need a fret level. on guitars i like the standard small fretwire fender uses. on a bass, it doesn't matter as much.