Esp viper 104 action too high

[redmagictones]

I picked up an esp ltd viper 104 bass today. The bass sounds great. The problem I am having with this bass is that the action from about the 9th fret to the 21st is really high and the strings are extremely tight feeling. It came with a set of really heavy gauge strings already on it.

The saddles were already set as low as they can go, intonation is set, there dosent seem to be any strain on the neck or any kind of bow.

I was wondering if anyone knew what can cause this and how to fix it.

I was reading online about making shims for a bass, would that help it at all.

Thanks in advance

[darkstorm]

Sounds like the problem the B50 series had when I had one long ago. I fixed this by adding a shim in the rear of the neck pocket. Then readjusted the pups up slightly to get them back in desired postion. Without adjusting the bridge saddles your action will now be lower down the neck. Giving you the ability of lower action. When Ive done shims I do them about 1/4 inch wide or slightly wider. 1 or 2 playing card or bussniess cards thick for shim.

The same trick is useful for folks who replace fender stock bridges with himass ones on some of fenders basses.

[JLS]

Originally Posted by redmagictones

I picked up an esp ltd viper 104 bass today. The bass sounds great. The problem I am having with this bass is that the action from about the 9th fret to the 21st is really high and the strings are extremely tight feeling. It came with a set of really heavy gauge strings already on it.

The saddles were already set as low as they can go, intonation is set, there dosent seem to be any strain on the neck or any kind of bow.

I was wondering if anyone knew what can cause this and how to fix it.

I was reading online about making shims for a bass, would that help it at all.

Thanks in advance

Heavy strings will feel tight, and put more forward tension on your neck, causing it to bow. I would suggest that you take this bass to a knowledgeable pro, and have it set up. That you brought up, "Shims", before, "Trussrod adjustment", leads me to believe that an intervention is appropriate.

[darkstorm]

JLS, his post did say the neck was straight, no sign of bow, so its not trussrod adjustment.

[redmagictones]

Thanks darkstorm. I was checking around online and it seems alot of other people have had the same issue with the neck and action with other esp's in the same range.
I ordered a set of medium gauge strings to put on. When those get here I will grab a few cards, measure it up, and see if it helps out.