Help Please!!

Ok, I somehow managed to drop my two week old MTD Kingston Heir-5 on a wooden floor. Don't even ask how this occured cause it's rather lame. Anyway, now most of the frets are buzzing; not really bad but that annoying buzz. The first 7 frets seem to be ok but the upper frets are pretty noticable especially when you grind down when soloing. It's even present when I try doing arpeggios on the higher frets past 12. I tried adjusting the truss rod and the bridge settings and it got slightly better, but I emphasize the world 'slightly'. Of course, I am from the caribbean country of Belize and because of that, I don't have any access to professional guitar techs whatsoever. Any advice people? I would really appreciate your help. I am seriously next to tears at this point.

Lowell

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Joe Roberts on June 17, 2009 at 6:47am: Yikes!

You should send an e-mail to Mike Tobias, I'm sure he can help you diagnose what's wrong.

Keep us posted!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by XxNekroNegroxX on July 28, 2009 at 9:58am: I already sent an email explaining what happened to Mr. Tobias and received no reply. I am guessing he is an extremely busy man. I took my bass to a 'technician' of some sorts and he only managed to butcher it even more. So I had to try and get it back to a playable degree on my own. Still a crap load of fret buzzing happening beyond the 12 fret on most strings and frets. Even if I take the action ridiculously high, it still buzzes at most frets. It's really disappointing and I feel that the bass itself can never be brought back to its original setting. I have no idea what to do as I am in another country and don't have any access to an experienced technician.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Joe Roberts on July 28, 2009 at 11:59am: Wow - I'm shocked that Mike didn't reply, what email address did you use?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by XxNekroNegroxX on July 28, 2009 at 4:09pm: I used the 'MIKE@MTDBASS.COM' one. That email went off on June 16th. I will try and resend it just to be sure. Thanks for your interest in my dilemma Mr. Roberts.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Joe Roberts on July 29, 2009 at 12:24pm: Let me know if you don't hear back from him on the second try. Cheers!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by andrew Jordan on August 3, 2009 at 9:22am: Question #1 Where did it hit on the bass?
#2 did it slightly buzz at all before?
#3 did you check the to see if the bridge or nut shifted?
#4 Check bow on the neck. And check for cracks as well.

Please let me know what you find.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by XxNekroNegroxX on August 3, 2009 at 10:29am: Question #1 - Whenever it fell, it hit the upper part of the body. There is a slight blemish where it had impact so you can tell exactly where it hit. Then the neck had the secondary bit. I can't recall exactly where in the neck it landed but my good guess would be the upper part of it.

Question #2 - It definitely did not buzz before. I checked the bass thoroughly before purchasing it while in San Fran. That was a very strict criteria for me as all my basses before had buzz somewhere or the other and I certainly did not want that on my MTD.

Question #3 - That would be a negative on the bridge or nut shifting.

Question #4 - I couldn't tell you how many times I checked for cracks on the entire bass. Everything seems to be in tact as far as the naked eye goes.

I just really think it's an re-alignment problem. Just probably some small adjustment that I can't comprehend. I am going to Houston in November; I will have to take it to see if I can get someone who is experienced in this type of stuff to work on it. That's the only solution I can think of at this point to try and get it back to factory status at least.

What do you think is the problem from what you have read from my posts so far? Thank you very much for your interest in my dilemma. I very much appreciate your concern.

Lowell; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by daegan bolster on August 3, 2009 at 7:53pm: Hi Lowell, Daegan from Los Angeles here. There is a possibility that the truss rod may have shifted in it's tension. I had that happen to a Ken Smith once years ago by accidently dropping it as well. It had shifted slightly and ended up binding in that position. Has the action changed at all since the misshap? The only other place it could have moved would be at the neck joint. Even though it's bolted with four screws it could still shift the string path ever so slightly to the left or right of the neck. A little goes a very long way when it comes to alignment, especially if you play with a low action as I do. But if you haven't, this is another place to check for damage. Ofcourse though, this would require removing the strings and CAREFULLY lifting the neck out of the body pocket. Even when you change strings, it is advisable to change one string at a time to avoid the neck backbowing temporarily as it could take several days to re-adjust. I'm sure your baby is ok if you find no visible damage; Mike's basses are suprizingly resilient. Are there any dents in the upper frets under the strings in the areas where the buzzing starts to occur? There is one other possibility; My 535 was brand new when I purchased it. Made in N.Y. then shipped to California. Completely differing weather systems. After about a month of ownership, it started to buzz slightly, but annoyingly above the 12th fret. Unfortunately, some necks under certain conditions do still move as they are still settling in. It has nothing to do with the quality of the wood or construction, it's just something that happens every now and then regardless of maker. The finest woods in the world are not COMPLETELY predictable. These slight changes can sometimes just ever so gently push a few frets high here and there. 1/200th of an inch would do it. A fairly inexpensive fret leveling job out here in L.A. and it was better than the day I received it. If this is what occured in your case, dropping it might have just set it off. Sorry for taking so long to input my two cents worth, I just want to be sure to get across anything that might be of help to you. I freak out when my bass isn't in my lap and playing perfectly. Whatever the problem is, it will be resolved, rest assured!

Peace,
Daegan; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by XxNekroNegroxX on August 3, 2009 at 9:18pm: Daegan,

Thank you so very much for your input and ideas as to what might be the problem with my bass. I now actually feel very relieved from your words to be completely honest. I am also strongly thinking about the drastic weather shift from varying temperatures San Fransisco to the very hot and humid all year long caribbean country of Belize where I presently reside. I am definitely leaning more towards taking it to the states for a leveling job by a trained professional. Unfortunately, we don't have anyone that does this kind of stuff here; and trust me, I've combed the entire country. lol. Thanks once again for your input and encouraging words on this matter. It is very much appreciated on this end.

Lowell; ▶ Reply to This