A few questions about making some changes to my bass

[RayO5421]

Hello all, I've got a few questions about changing up a few things on my bass. First off I just got a new-to-me Fender MIA Deluxe P bass. I've took it to two setup guys, the first set it up low and really buzzy, he also put a slight twist in the neck (deffinately not going to him anymore!). The second did an ok job but I just wanna make a few changes to it.

This is what I want to do:
1) Adjust the pickup height- the split bothers me a little bit because its not exactly flat when I play and I'd like it to just sit even. Incase you don't know the Deluxe Ps have two pups- a split and a humbucker. Could you see a problem with this, will it change the sound much?

2) Change up the action- The guy set it up a little lower than I'd like it to be. I play rock so people tell me my bass is buzzing because I play to hard, last time I checked it was my bass right? Do I need to adjust the truss rod after I do this or can I just do it at the bridge?

3) Adjust the truss rod- I get buzzing at the lower frets (about 0-5). Could that be the twist in the neck or can I do something with the truss rod? Right now the neck has a slight bow, not enough to shoot arrows off of but its not completely straight. Could I do something to stop the buzzing or will I need to get the twist out?

I'm not going to do this now but its another question for you-the twist is the the lower frets. Above fret 5 the bass plays decent but it pretty buzzy 5 and below. Think this is the neck 6-22 ___, obviously not as extreme but this is 5-0 /. Its twisting so the E and A are low while the D and G are high.

The strings are .110 La Bellas. A guy in a small shop told me I could swap the E and A for a lighter guage string and I could leave the heavier guage D and G on so that could balance the twist by bringing the D and G lower and the E and A higher.

I have no idea what to do and the La Bellas are relatively new so I'll leave them on for a while but I'd like to get the twist out somewhere down the road.

Tell me what you guys think and any help is appreciated, peace
ryan

[meev991]

1) the pickups don't have to be flat, that's how you create balance. The way i set up my P, is to have the relative distance between string and pup to be the same "I.E. the A and D are higher up than the E,G, therfore, I setup the pickups for string balance"

2) there's a difference between having fret buzz and having the strings slap back against the frets, making a little noise. I like the clatter as the strings hit the fretboard, it sounds organic and growly. If u dont' like it, play softer. And if ur experiencing buzz, fret harder.

3) buy a new neck

[GlennW]

If I understand what you said, I think the guy in the shop told you backwards regarding lighter E and A strings. I doubt if changing to lighter or heavier strings will do much to the twist anyway.



If you hold the bass flat with the body towards you and the fretboard pointing at the ceiling, does the twist go down towards the floor between the nut and 5th fret on the left side (E and A)?

If so, I'd try this before swapping strings. You might want to try shimming up the nut slots for the E and A with thin plastic (for experimental purposes) and possibly lower the E and A saddles as well - kind of a hit or miss approach, but I think if you tinker with raising the strings at the nut and lowering them at the saddles you might come upon something tolerable. You might not have to mess with the saddles - you'll just have to feel your way through it.

There's also the heat lamp route, but I'd try this first. Good luck.

[RayO5421]

Originally Posted by GlennW

If I understand what you said, I think the guy in the shop told you backwards regarding lighter E and A strings. I doubt if changing to lighter or heavier strings will do much to the twist anyway.



If you hold the bass flat with the body towards you and the fretboard pointing at the ceiling, does the twist go down towards the floor between the nut and 5th fret on the left side (E and A)?

If so, I'd try this before swapping strings. You might want to try shimming up the nut slots for the E and A with thin plastic (for experimental purposes) and possibly lower the E and A saddles as well - kind of a hit or miss approach, but I think if you tinker with raising the strings at the nut and lowering them at the saddles you might come upon something tolerable. You might not have to mess with the saddles - you'll just have to feel your way through it.

There's also the heat lamp route, but I'd try this first. Good luck.

Thanks for your replies, I'm not really looking to buy a new neck right now but I'll try what Glen said, it kinda makes sense to me and a nut is more easily replaced than the 22 fret neck is.