Action

[Jay2U]

I'd just like to know what the average action is with regard to the playing style. So would as many bass friends as possible let me know: a) palying style (finger or pick), b) hight of the E-string, above the 12 th fret.

Keep on playing subsonically!

[darkstorm]

I play allmost allways with a pick & prefer pick playing. Action at 12 fret for E string is just tiny bit more then 1/16 inch. Maybe 1 & a half sixteenths at the max. I have no clue what that is in 32'nd inches. Lol.

[Jay2U]

That's low, darkstorm! Translated to metric this is some 1.6 mm. I play both, 60% pick, 40% finger. The action of my E-string is 2.8 mm (7/64 inch). The remaining strings are at decreasing distances: 2.6, 2.4, 2.2 mm. This should be more than enough, but I'm still picking strings against the fretboard of my Ibanez GSR200EX.

Keep on playing subsonically!

[darkstorm]

Jay2U. You may have a high fret or one with a burr on it. if you can find which fret it is it can be lightly filed to even it with others. I do get fret buzz, but no fretting out. I kinda like the little sound add some buzz gives.

[carlos840]

I play pretty hard, both pick and fingers, action E strings 12th fret is 3mm to 3.5mm depending on the bass.

No idea what that is in inch, sorry!

[Jay2U]

Darkstorm, I already inspected the neck for high or otherwise abnormal frets, but nothing was found to worry about. It's not a truss rod related problem, as I carefully adjust it to almost straight with just three or four tenth of a mm (1/80 inch) between fret 8 and the E-string, while fretting the string at the first and last fret simultaneously. I suppose it comes from my playing style.

Carlos840, your action is a lot bigger. Doesn't that affect the intonation, as the strings have to be pushed down a little further, increasing the tension, rising the pitch?

Keep on playing subsonically!

[Big Benner]

Taken from the Ernie Ball Music Man web site:

First check relief in the neck by holding the lowest string down on the 2nd fret with your fretting (left) hand. Then, hold the same string down on the 12th fret with your plucking thumb and tap on the string in the middle to see how straight the neck is. There should be no more than the thickness of a business card between the string and the frets. If there is no relief in the neck, a little pressure in the middle of the neck (after adjusting the trussrod wheel) should help.

The standard string gauge is .45-.100 with a .130 on the low "B" for the 5 string at 440 tuning. If you decide to tune down, typically you would increase the gauge for every 1/2 step downward that you tune. This will keep most of the measurements close by having more tension on the neck.

Factory String heights for a 4 string bass are: Bass side 3/32" to 7/64" Treble side: 5/64" to 7/64" from the top of the 12th fret to the bottom of the string. The rest of the strings should have the radius of the fretboard when looking at the top of the string, (with the A string hidden from view by the E string, etc.), rotating the bass at the same time. The "right" string height is, of course, ultimately determined by your playing style.

The same holds true for 5 string basses except the low B is set to 7/64".

For the Bongo 6 set the C string to 2/32".

If you have a single pickup bass set the pickup height to 6/32" from the plastic pickup cover to the bottom of the G string. Adjust the bass side of the pickup to be level with the pickguard.

If you have a dual pickup bass set the bridge pickup to the specs above. Follow the same procedure for the neck pickup except set that to 8/32".

For triple pickup basses you'll set the bridge and neck pickups to the specs above. The middle pickup is set to 7/32".

If fret buzz occurs from the open to the fifth fret, the neck needs more relief. If it buzzes between the 5th fret and the 12th fret, the neck needs to be straighter (turn the wheel slightly clockwise). If it occurs all over the neck, the string height need to increase (by turning the trussrod wheel slightly counter-clockwise).

For intonation: Compare the harmonic to the fretted note at the twelfth fret. If the fretted note is sharp, you need to make the string longer by turning the saddle screw counterclockwise, and vice versa. Make sure that the strings are coming off of the saddle straight and not in an arch. All measurements must be rechecked after each adjustment.

[JimmyM]

I set my basses up pretty much like what it says to do on Fender® Guitar: Electric, Acoustic and Bass Guitars, Amplifiers, and Pro Audio 's support guide for bass. Works well for me.

[AmadeusXeno]

After adjusting my neck I always set the action as low as I can get away with before getting fret buzz. Not sure what the measusment is though and it's slightly different on each of my basses but pretty close.

[carlos840]

Originally Posted by Jay2U

Darkstorm, I already inspected the neck for high or otherwise abnormal frets, but nothing was found to worry about. It's not a truss rod related problem, as I carefully adjust it to almost straight with just three or four tenth of a mm (1/80 inch) between fret 8 and the E-string, while fretting the string at the first and last fret simultaneously. I suppose it comes from my playing style.

Carlos840, your action is a lot bigger. Doesn't that affect the intonation, as the strings have to be pushed down a little further, increasing the tension, rising the pitch?

Keep on playing subsonically!

Never noticed any intonation issues!
A bass is never in tune by design so i guess it would take a really really high action to have it be noticeably out of tune when fretted!

(also the measurements i gave you where without fretting the 1st fret! would be a bit lower if i did...)

[JB696]

I set mine up to the Fender set-up guide specs as well. 3/32 at the 17th fret. I use a little strip of pickguard material 3 x 1/2 inches that is .095 thick. Lots handier than feeler gauges or guessing. And I check it with the bass in playing position as it makes a difference. The Fender specs seem to work well with a variety of necks and changes in temperature and humidity. I guess that's why they recommend them as a good baseline starting point.

[Jay2U]

I also noticed a little difference in the action measured, caused by the position of the instrument. I always fine tune the action with the instrument in my preferred playing position. My set up varies a little with the string gauge I use. I didn't notice temperature related issues with my Ibanez GSR200EX. Relative humidity does cause some detuning, but that's only a fraction which can be measured, but not be heared.

Keep on playing subsonically!

[Edgar664]

The action of my E string at 12th fret is 1.5mm and my G string 1mm I really don't know how many inches are but is really low!! I play 80% fingers and 20% pick. I play with a very light touch.

[Jay2U]

Maybe this would be a nice subject for a poll!

[Razman]

My friend's Cirrus was our church bass for years; it's set right at 2mm for all strings and plays great, even with my heavy hand and using a pick.

As such it is the standard by which I judge all other basses. I got my own Jackson fiver and I was able to get the B to just under 3 mm (2.8-2.9??) and the rest of the strings from ~2.4-2.5 for the E down to about 2-2.1 for the G.

I recently acquired a custom bass that is set up close to the Cirrus (except for the B string, the Cirrus is a 4) and it plays just as good with slightly more fret buzz. My custom is 34" scale, whereas the Cirrus is 35".

I owned a Dingwall Voodoo in the past and the B was at ~2.2-2.3 mm with the rest at 2mm. I shouldn't have to mention that it played exceptionally well. With the *slightly* lighter hand I play with now I could get by with even lower action.