I have an Ibanez fretless acoustic/electric bass. When I play F, F#, G the E string seems to buzz. I can’t even figure out where on the fretboard it is making contact. I previously had a fretted Ibanez, and it did the same thing so I returned it. I figured the frets were too close to the string, but now I’m thinking the string itself is too close, and it’s just the way this bass is built…with the relation of the thickness of the E and the height of the nut, etc.
I don’t have any problems with my electric bass, so I think I’m pulling across the string effectively. Is this a problem others have noticed with other basses or with Ibanez in particular? I don’t want to have to return another bass if it is user error.
How old is the Bass? Could be the nut is ground to low… That would cause buzzing on other frets though and this is a fretless. Something odd… where or what area is the string buzzing from?
It’s brand new. I can’t tell where the buzz is happening, but I suspect it is close to where I’m pushing the string down. As soon as I get higher on the neck than the G it stops. And, none of the other strings have this problem. That’s what makes me think it’s the distance between the E string and the neck.
Adjust your neck relief. Add in more forward bow until the harsh buzz goes away. Then adjust the bridge saddle height to get the action everywhere low enough for pleasant “Mwah” buzz.
I found I need a touch more forward bow with fretless than I can get away with on a fretted bass.