Do you do your own set up?????????

#1 05-04-2009, 11:57 PM

Personnally I do and before you vote im talkin straighten the neck adlusting saddles and pickups ect . .

#2 05-04-2009, 11:58 PM

also any special or unusual tips would be nice to

62bass · #3 05-05-2009, 05:08 AM

What's the purpose of the poll?

DanFold · #4 05-05-2009, 05:13 AM

I don't. I just get one with the playin and writing me! Leave everything else to the techie's! What they get paid for!

BrianKrashpad · #5 05-05-2009, 05:36 AM

I voted yes, but I leave truss rod adjustments to my tech. Those scare me.

fenderx55 · #6 05-05-2009, 05:45 AM

I do as much as I can on my own....... There's no greater joy than working on your own gear!!!!!!!!!!! However,,,,,,,,, every now and then I encounter something that flumoxes me-----complicated wiring and such---- and that's when I bring it to a tech. ¡¡¡¡Ay Carumba!!!!!!!

wagstaff · #7 05-05-2009, 05:47 AM

I do everything but the neck, so I voted yes.

Doing the neck would scare me, other then that I prefare doing everything myself because I know exactly what I want.

The Nameless · #8 05-05-2009, 05:55 AM

I do every single facet of my setup, from truss rod adjustments to intonation to nut adjustments to neck shimming my bolt ons for different feels between fretless and fretted, and 4 or 5 or 6 strings, and for fingerboard radius. Started cuz where Im located, there are no techs I trust. When first arrived, a guy who has a great rep as a setup man and tech set my bass up. Terrible. Since learnin how to do all this, not only do I get to know my basses, and what I need out of a bass to get my sound, intimately, but, turns out all the money I save on setups, and all the cash I make from doin others', affords me lots of new basses and gear. I set up each bass every time I change strings. Like wit dishes, do them after a meal and ain't so bad. Let them go for a week and it's a chore. Set ups easy, you only have ta conquer one thing. Fear. Heh.

mikeyswood · #9 05-05-2009, 06:00 AM

I build my own so that may be cheating

GBassNorth · #10 05-05-2009, 06:07 AM

When I buy a new bass I usually have the shop I bought it at do the initial setup (normally included in the cost of the bass). But for the rest of the life of the bass I do everything else. The only exceptions are nut and fret work. I don't have the tools to do a proper fret set, level or bevel or nut groving so I leave that to the pros. Everything else (neck removal, shims, truss, saddles, strings, intonation, pickup height, general hardware and electronics) I do myself.
I have wanted to try a PLEK service for one of my basses to see how much difference it makes vs a good manual setup but it costs a couple hundred dollars and I'd have to ship the bass to the nearest PLEK authorized shop - which I'm not fond of.

Linkert · #11 05-05-2009, 06:12 AM

I do it all. It's not hard.
I want my bass to be adjusted to my need and not some "standard".

droskobass · #12 05-05-2009, 06:44 AM

I do everything except saudering, for that I get someone to help...but I'm getting better!!

next job will be a nutt replacement! (first one)

dmrogers · #13 05-05-2009, 07:57 AM

I do all the setup and adjustments/repairs on my equipment. So far, haven't needed any help.

kevinmoore73 · #14 05-05-2009, 08:09 AM

I do everything except fret work, and that includes electronics and truss rod adjustments as well as the obvious things like bridge adjustments. I do not understand why people are scared of truss rods.

Speaking of fret work, I'm hand-delivering my Lakland to Dan Erlewine's shop in a few weeks for a Plek job. I was going to have Lakland do it, but I didn't really want to have FedEx or UPS give my bass a ride to Chicago and back.

excane · #15 05-05-2009, 08:14 AM

JTE · #16 05-05-2009, 08:30 AM

Of course I do.

It's too easy to do for me to pay someone to do it. And a lot of what makes a "proper" set up is highly subjective, and everything interacts so I'm the only one that knows what "right" is for me. There's simply no mystery nor anything scary about any of this.

If you're afraid to do a truss rod, then maybe you should start playing drums-

Seriously- invest in a copy of Dan Erlewine's Complete Guitar Repair. Sit down and read the whole thing while your bass is safely locked up. Then read the parts about set-up again while your bass is in your hands and the tools are locked up. Then read it again, and work on YOUR bass. Besides being able to get it exactly the way you want it, it's a wonderful way to learn more about YOUR bass.

Plus, you'll learn a lot about what makes a great bass different from a medicore one. And you'll learn what aspects of that elusive thing some folks call "playability" are inherent in a particular bass, and which are factors of a good set up. That'll help you a lot in buying basses.

So, it's easy, it makes the bass more comfortable for me, it saves money directly (not paying someone else to do it) and indirectly (I've gotten a few good deals because the way a bass was set up in the store was atrocioius and it wouldn't sell, plus I've saved on GAS because I know more about great basses), and you get to know YOUR bass better.

Go for it!

jte

Foamy · #17 05-05-2009, 08:32 AM

A to Z

anonymous101511 · #18 05-05-2009, 08:45 AM

Absolutely do all my own work.
Great satisfaction coupled with always getting exactly what you want!!

mikeyswood · #19 05-05-2009, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by droskobass

I do everything except saudering

Is that where you put the furniture together from a box?

bass349 · #20 05-05-2009, 09:56 AM

I do it all, except fret work - which i would love to get into one day when i own the right tools and have the know-how. I'm not sure why people wouldn't do setups themselves? I believe it's about being connected with the instrument and the music - if you don't know how your own instrument physically functions and how to make adjustments to improve the playability and sound, then, unless you're taking it to the tech frequently, then i believe somewhere along the line your music or your playing will suffer.