How many times a year do you have your #1 bass set up?

[capnsandwich]

I just stuck my bass in the shop to have it set up today. It seems as if the neck is really moving on me here lately. The guy at the shop says that's typical for a birdseye maple neck to do that for the first couple of years. I played it this past weekend and the bottom 3 strings were unplayable on the first 3 frets.

So, how many times do you have your #1 bass set up per year? Just curious.

[bassbully]

If it needs it i do it if not i leave it alone. My classic 50 is almost 2 years old and has never needed a setup since i bought it.

[Grizzly700]

I have never had a setup on any of my basses, they have all had nice action since i got them.

[seanm]

I will check the setup once in a while, not sure I would do it every year though.

I mainly do setups on my other basses. Every time I try new strings, or just feel like trying different settings. This would happen a few times a year.

[Osborne Instr]

I think it depends on the player, being a luthier i set up my bass at least once a month. And replace frets once a year. But i like that brand new feel.

[unclemeat]

Birdseye necks tend to move around a lot... I think it's a pretty porous wood. Luckily my bass has a walnut neck, which seems to be like stainless steel. Even with our sub-zero winters and 90% humidity summers, I never run into problems that I can't fix on my own.

Even so, I do my best to do all the setup myself. I've taught myself how to do neck adjustments, intonation and even some fret work (although I need a lot of improvement).

[20db pad]

I've been playing the same basses and the same gauge/brand of string for years. I do my own setups and usually check it before every gig and check the intonation before recording sessions. This is not major surgery and rarely requires more than a little nip and tuck here and there.

For those who don't do their own work, it's usually advisable to go in twice a year, once the climate gets really cold and once it gets really hot.

[All_¥our_Bass]

2-4 times a year, basically I do a setup after every string change which is about two times a year. The other two times are when the weather changes, and it might need some minor tweaks.

[Brad Johnson]

Since I do my own, whenever I feel like it.

[JTE]

Whenever they need it. That's another reason I do it myself. I used to BE "the shop". I'd much rather have taken people's money to teach them how to do a good set-up themselves than keep taking money to do it. Especially if it's a simple truss-rod tweak. No reason at all to take the instrument to the shop, leave it for a few days, and pay money to have someone else look at the neck, put the correct tool on the nut, and turn it a little.

jte

[prokfrog]

No matter what bass i've owned in the past 20 years, the pattern I find (for the most part) living in New Jersey, is every May, and December. So the short answer is two times per year.

[wildhorse]

My 86 Peavey Fury has been set up once and the strings changed twice. Bought it new in 88.

[iriegnome]

Mine get set up every other year or so. Just about how long it takes me to buy a new set of strings.

[madbassplaya]

I had a Fender Jazz V that I had to have setup every couple of months. The neck on that thing just was not stable.

This is an interesting thread. I am about to custom build a bass and was looking at the birdseye maple. Now, i'm thinking twice!

[Mr. Mig]

Once a year.

[Nakedfish]

I do my own setups, so whenever they need one I do it. Probably twice a year due to seasonal changes for most of my basses.

I have found Birdseye maple boards and necks need the most attention too.

[Bardley]

I set up my own whenever they need it. I used to take my Warrior in to the shop a couple times a year since I purchased "Warrior Care" when I bought it for the lifetime of the instrument. They limit it to a few years now. in the seven years I've had the bass I've had the frets re-crowned twice, setups twice a year, a pickup replaced, all for a one-time fee of like $250-300. I cannot remember what the exact price was.

I'm amazed at how many people do not do any work on their own basses. Just last week I had a guy at church tell me he was going to take his bass in to the shop because he had a loose knob. I grabbed his bass and showed him how to take the knob off and tighten the nut on the pot in like 30 seconds. No telling what the GC guy would have charged him for that.

[Steve Bennett]

Whenever it's needed, which is almost never. I set mine up with medium action, so I rarely notice seasonal changes. They change a little, then they change back. So I usually don't need any adjustment unless I change string gauge/type.

[CapnSev]

Originally Posted by Brad Johnson

Since I do my own, whenever I feel like it.

+1

[bassteban]

I got my main player(a MIA 96 Jazz 5)used- it was set up fairly nicely, although I added a shim to get a bit more neck angle, to get the B saddle to intonate. That was a year & a half ago; other than that I've done(or had done)nothing.