How crazy do you get with the technicalities of a bass setup?

[MistaMarko]

I've entered this recent stage of super obsessive-compulsiveness about setup and find myself making tedious (and probably pointless) adjustments every 5 minutes because I'm convinced that I have to have a perfect setup...it's driving me nuts. I've been having a few issues:

1) I'm having trouble getting the strings to follow the exact radius of the neck. I play a 7-string and my B string is a .135 (pretty large) and my F string is pretty tiny, obviously. If I were to make the F and B strings the same height, the B would be way higher than the F due to the difference in size, easily. Also, if I make the G/D strings the height they "should" be according to this, it's like pressing down power lines. How crucial is this setup method? It just seems pointless to me. Normally I make my strings perfectly flat all the way across and that seems best, but I'm just wondering if it could be even better or if my current way is politically incorrect, if you will.

2) My neck has 2 truss rods. I have no idea how much relief I need. Also, does one truss rod change the relief on one half of the neck or what? Around frets 13-14 I have some serious fret buzz (ONLY on those 2 frets), but I've loosened the rods significantly and have a bit of visible relief, but it doesn't change anything. I'm unsure of what an average amount of relief "looks" or even "feels" like.

Are these all things people generally have perfect to the ruler measure or am I wasting my time? I figured it was all feel-based but I feel like I'm being plagued the more and more I read and learn about it.

[loinmute]

I spend A|LOT of time getting it right, but once it's set presto.
I will due alot of precision measuments for action, neck relief, and proper string to board radius. I do a quick check of my neck relief almost daily. (1st and last fret held gap of string to 8th fret). But I don't see this as a bad thing. I have 1 guitar and I want it perfect, when it is: I feel better.

Edit: Op, you need the Jerry Drozd setup guide, it's online and free as a pdf. I believe it covers dual rods. As for the string radius thing; if you prefer them all equal so be it, it's not a crime it's your preference and that is all that matters. Lemme link you the Jerry Drozd site.

http://www.jerzydrozdbasses.com/akcn...ide_ver100.pdf

[Rockmusician]

I always laugh when I read or hear about bassists who spend countless hours tweaking their setups. I have been playing for 33 years and have never had to do anything other than clean my bass and dresss the fretboard if it is made of ebony or rosewood. I honestly do not understand why so many of you are constantly messing with your basses. Is it possible that you get so used to hearing it a certain way and even though it sounded great at one point, otherwise you wouldn't have bought it, that you think it has to change over time? I almost never tweak my bass and I have a ton of touring experience.

[loinmute]

Originally Posted by Rockmusician

I always laugh when I read or hear about bassists who spend countless hours tweaking their setups. I have been playing for 33 years and have never had to do anything other than clean my bass and dresss the fretboard if it is made of ebony or rosewood. I honestly do not understand why so many of you are constantly messing with your basses. Is it possible that you get so used to hearing it a certain way and even though it sounded great at one point, otherwise you wouldn't have bought it, that you think it has to change over time? I almost never tweak my bass and I have a ton of touring experience.

Then why are you in the Hardware, Setup & Repair forum

[Joe Nerve]

I set my basses up when I first get them, and then I give my truss rods a twist one way or the other a couple of times a year. I, like rockmusician, also don't understand how people get obsessive about this. For me, it would take a lot of the fun out of playing if I were constantly concerned with how every note on the fretboard was playing and ringing out. I've probably played close to 2000 gigs in my life, and I never even considered taking a ruler of any sort to neck of my bass. And I'm sure there's just as many people here that think that's just as crazy as I think tweaking your setup with a bunch of different tools once a week is.

[Mr.Bassie720]

The best thing for a setup is a PLEK. Your bass will thank you for it.

[AmadeusXeno]

I spend as much time as it takes to setup my bass. For setting the string heigth I go by how high the string is above the frets. I don't go by the top of the strings in compairison to each other.

To Rockmusician a proper setup isn't about how your instrument sounds. It's about intonation and playability.

[SMILEYSIXX]

I get my intonation within a few cents and leave it. My truss rod isn't easily managed because the adjustable part is on the heel and can scarcely be accessed without removing the neck.

[lokikallas]

Originally Posted by Rockmusician

I always laugh when I read or hear about bassists who spend countless hours tweaking their setups. I have been playing for 33 years and have never had to do anything other than clean my bass and dresss the fretboard if it is made of ebony or rosewood. I honestly do not understand why so many of you are constantly messing with your basses. Is it possible that you get so used to hearing it a certain way and even though it sounded great at one point, otherwise you wouldn't have bought it, that you think it has to change over time? I almost never tweak my bass and I have a ton of touring experience.

Major Troll. Didn't your mother tell you if you don't have anything nice to say then shut the hell up you a-hole?

Anyway, I usually do a quick tune up when I restring or detune. If I'm using the same strings then It's not much at all. If I get a new bass I do get a little obsessive for the first few weeks until I'm happy.

[KingRazor]

I take my bass in to the shop every time I re-string. Which is about twice a year. I don't trust myself to setup my own basses.

[FunkMetalBass]

I'm pretty anal about it, and I also play ERBs (6- and 8-string basses, specifically).

Firstly, you are limited by your uneven string tensions. Since the thicker strings have less tension, they are floppier and will require more height from the fretboard. This creates inconsistencies and can only be remedied through technique adjustment or strings of more even tension (like Circle K).

Next, I've found that there should be more relief on the bass side than the treble. I tend to keep my treble truss nearly flat and with the lowest action possible.

Finally, I match the curve of the fretboard (note, this is from the BOTTOM of the string, not the top) (also note, the radius of the string bottoms cannot be the same as the radius of the fretboard - it has to be larger), but I offset the under-string radius. I find the lowest possible action I can get on the lowest and highest string, then do the radiusing from there.

The black is the fretboard and the green is your under-string curve. The left is with consistent string height, the right shows a gradually decreasing string height as you move from lower to higher strings. The right is what I strive for. You'll notice that the green curves both have the exact same radius, but it's much more ergonomic.

[AmadeusXeno]

Originally Posted by FunkMetalBass

Since the thicker strings have less tension, they are floppier and will require more height from the fretboard.

You have that backwards. Thinner strings get more flop, otherwise you'd see thin strings for the E string and thicker strings for the G. Why do you think people who down tune use thicker strings and not thinner.

[Zooberwerx]

Originally Posted by AmadeusXeno

You have that backwards. Thinner strings get more flop, otherwise you'd see thin strings for the E string and thicker strings for the G. Why do you think people who down tune use thicker strings and not thinner.

The illustration makes sense as you're looking up from the neck heel (not the headstock down) on a right-handed bass.

Riis

[JLS]

You're mistaken. Check out a string tension chart.

[Pilgrim]

Close enough is, by definition, close enough.

If it feels good to play, the setup is fine.

If you can't hear anything wrong with the notes, the intonation is close enough.

People obsess a LOT too much about these things, especially intonation. Electronic tuners can hear things that the human ear can't, and when you get into that range, you're tweaking for no practical result.

I'm not anal at all about it, I don't worry about it, and I don't assume I need to change the setup when I change strings...although I put ONE set of strings on each bass and never change them. I only change the setup if the instrument feels odd after I put on the set of strings I want to play. Some need it, some don't.

[JLS]

Close enough is, by definition, close enough.

If it feels good to play, the setup is fine.

If you can't hear anything wrong with the notes, the intonation is close enough.

This is called, "The Voice of Reason".

There was an intonation thread awhile back, someone had bought a rackmount tuner, checked every note
on the neck, and discovered that--gasp!--some of the notes
were off by a few cents!
Could he hear it? No. Did he get himself all torqued over it?
Take a guess...

[Turnaround]

Years ago a player brought me his bass complaining that the intonation was off. He said he was very sensitive to the out-of-tuneness and brought the bass to me because he heard that I had an accurate strobe tuner and I could get it right. He left the bass with me and I checked it the next day. The intonation was about as close as you can get, so I did nothing. He came by a couple of days later and tried his bass and was thrilled at how good a job I did.

I told him there was no charge, but I didn't tell him that I hadn't done anything. I know he went away much happier than if I had told him.

Sometimes the problem isn't in the instrument.

[JLS]

Originally Posted by Turnaround

Years ago a player brought me his bass complaining that the intonation was off. He said he was very sensitive to the out-of-tuneness and brought the bass to me because he heard that I had an accurate strobe tuner and I could get it right. He left the bass with me and I checked it the next day. The intonation was about as close as you can get, so I did nothing. He came by a couple of days later and tried his bass and was thrilled at how good a job I did.

I told him there was no charge, but I didn't tell him that I hadn't done anything. I know he went away much happier than if I had told him.

Sometimes the problem isn't in the instrument.

The Power of the Placebo...

[bolophonic]

I just built a bass and after slapping on a used bridge, I can't hear any problems with intonation even before doing any type of set-up. So as long as it sounds good and feels good, I don't care about how technical the set up is. The bridge on my older Fender at some point was re-positioned at least 3mm off of where it should be and I don't even care about that.

[winegamd]

Intonation is not a big deal until you play with a keyboard. When you have something that has exact pitch with every note even a few cents of a pitch becomes very apparent.