First "Do It Yourself Setup" need some advice.

[f1canada]

Hi all,

Well for those that provided advice on the purchase of my first cheap 5 string, I ended up with an ESP B 155. Used, but in what appeared to be very good shape. I've decided that this would be my first setup on my own, and have already run into issues. The bass has a brand new set of Chromes on it, and the first thing I decided to try was taking some relief out of the truss rod to see if I could get the action down a bit. No more than a 1/4 to 1/2 turn I assure you. Well the decrease caused the E through G strings to buzz at the 1st fret when played open. "No worries" I thought and proceded to return the truss rod to it's original position to see if I could get it back to it's original state. Well, no luck there either, still buzzing at the 1st fret. In fact it's buzzing in various other positions now as well.

So, do I keep screwing with it, or do I back off and seek pro advice....or pay for a setup.
This is something I would really love to learn how to do properly, as well the bass was really cheap, so I'm not too concerned about it either.

Thanks again!

Luke

[mwiles30]

Don't use the truss rod to ONLY adjust the action.

Basically, the neck should be almost straight, with a very slight bow from about the 9th fret to the nut. Once you get it to this position, adjust the height of the saddles to set the strings at the desired height.

Also, give the neck some time (about 20 minutes) to re-adjust after every truss rod tweak. Then re-tune, play it, and determine if the truss rod or the bridge needs adjustment.

With DIY set-ups, you're going to run into a good amount of trial and error. I've been doing my own set-ups since are started playing, and it took me a while before I found the perfect combination of truss rod and bridge adjustment. As long as you don't crank the truss rod way to tight, you'll be fine.

[f1canada]

Thanks for the reply.

Definately didn't turn the rod too tight. The thing is that with the rod set in it's new position, or it's current position, I'm still buzzing at the 1st fret. That tells me that the action is too low at this point, however, it appears too high. If raising it is the only option, it kind of defeats the purpose.

Cheers,

Luke

[heytrid]

it means the nut has been cut down too much or is worn out. when it buzzes only on the first fret,

[f1canada]

I guess that confirms my fears that I might need a new nut. Bitch of it is that it didn't do it a few hours ago.

[heytrid]

well it wouldnt, but woudl start as you lower the action, but to get it nice and low then you will need a new nut, my advice is to order 2

I have before used a shimming material in the nut before the "try" to make it better and then you know for sure, before i used a little piece of tinfoil and I am not going to say to continue to use it like that but it is cheap and can get you closer to the setup tonight. Most manufacturers will give you the measurement they expect the action to be as well as the string/first fret measurements.

[f1canada]

I guess 2 nuts are always better than one eh? Would that be a generic part in general, or a model specific/custom part?

[202dy]

Some information is needed here before anyone can give you any credible advice. Buzzing at the first fret might indicate the nut is cut too low. But if that were true, it probably would have buzzed before the adjustment. Let's eliminate this problem right away. Press the E string at the third fret (G) and observe the clearance at the first fret. There should be enough space to slide a piece of notebook paper between the top of the fret and the bottom of the string. If there is, the problem is not the nut.

As far as the rest of the set up goes, some data will help. Measuring the relief and the string heights at the twelfth and last fret will go along way in getting some useful advice. Check out the stickies at the top of the page. Mr. Gearhead will give you a lot of information and tips about doing setups.

[mwiles30]

Doublecheck and make sure your neck doesn't have any backbow to it. It's possible to tighten the rod too much and make the neck bend too far in the wrong direction (this is a possibility because you don't have to tighten it to the extreme for this to happen).

Best of luck.