If I attempt to lower the action on my bass is neck adjustment involved?

danharris86 · #1 02-08-2009, 03:36 AM

Is lowering the action on my bass simple a case of using an allen key on the bridge to lower it down or will it involve fiddling around with the neck and stuff?

I really need it lower but if it involves neck adjustment i'm going to have to take it to a shop to get it done.

I've got the Rockbass by Warwick Streamer Std 2 pickups.

Anybody adjusted the action to make it lower on one of these? Am I likely to mess something up if I attempt?

atheos · #2 02-08-2009, 03:42 AM

If the truss rod is OK when the strings are in tune you shouldn't need to adjust it when adjusting action and/or intonation.

tom once dead · #3 02-08-2009, 03:50 AM

if you press down on the first and last fret (on the same string) and there is a significant gap from the strings to the fretboard, its the neck. But dont freak out, you just get an allen key, take off the truss rod cover, put the allen key in there and turn it, no need to take it to a shop.

12stringbassist · #4 02-08-2009, 04:25 AM

Hopefully, you won't need to touch the truss rod. But if you do feel that you have to,
I would suggest no more than quarter turns and that you allow a couple of minutes for
the neck to settle into any new position to check progress.

danharris86 · #5 02-08-2009, 05:00 AM

Managed to lower it without touching the truss rod. Went to low at first but then brought it back up, had to lower the bridge soapbar pickup a bit though because it was a bit high and the E string caught it ever so slightly.

I've come to the conclusion that this bass is rubbish if you want really low action lol. COuld just be my inexperience in adjusting it, but i've tried other basses with action lower than this and they were great.

Might change my bass, had this for like 5 years anyway lol. I like it but the Peavey Cirrus BXP is in the same budget price range as it and whoops it.

Masher88 · #6 02-08-2009, 05:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by danharris86

I've come to the conclusion that this bass is rubbish if you want really low action lol. COuld just be my inexperience in adjusting it, but i've tried other basses with action lower than this and they were great.
.

That's a pretty harsh statement coming from an inexperienced setup guy. You should have it looked at by someone who knows what they are doing before blaming the bass. As far as I know, Warwicks are decent basses when set correctly.

A poorly set up Fodera is worse than a well set up Squire.

danharris86 · #7 02-08-2009, 05:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Masher88

That's a pretty harsh statement coming from an inexperienced setup guy. You should have it looked at by someone who knows what they are doing before blaming the bass. As far as I know, Warwicks are decent basses when set correctly.

A poorly set up Fodera is worse than a well set up Squire.

I've had the bass for like 5 years and love the tone from it, I wasn't really hating on it. I think it sounds great and know it's just due to me being inexperienced at setting up a bass.

A real Warwick would be a lot better than my "Rockbass by Warwick" but for a budget instrument I think it sounds amazing and a lot of the parts are the same as the German made warwicks.

As far as I know the machine heads, bridge, and pickups are the same parts as a "real" warwick.

But don't think i'm sayin the bass is rubbish, I didn't mean it seriously but suppose I could of been a bit more clear on that.

Good budget bass and sounds better than it should for that price. I always get people sayin if it isn't a £1000 Warwick then it's no good, but it's better than most basses in the price range.

mongo2 · #8 02-08-2009, 07:32 AM

Ask in the setup forum and you'll probably get more answers.

wvbass · #9 02-08-2009, 07:38 AM

I've liked every Rockbass I've played. Granted that's not a huge number, but I've actually preferred them to the "real" Warwicks. (Although there was a bolt-on thumb 5 in a local store that I would have loved to own) The use of more "traditional" woods and the apparent difference in neck profiles has me thinking this way. It's hard to find a more beautiful production instrument than I real Warwick, though. (IMHO)

If you've had your Rockbass for five years, it may well need a little bit of truss rod adjustment. Adjusting the action on a bass (for me) is a matter of setting the truss rod, saddle height, pickup height, and sometimes filing the nut just a bit. I stop short at filing frets myself. I have no training or experience with frets and can't fix it myself if I screw it up.

The most nerve-wracking setup I've done involved sanding the fingerboard on my upright bass, but that's a topic for another forum, I guess.

stingray69 · #10 02-08-2009, 08:23 AM

Every time I feel the need to do a setup, I always take a look at the neck to see if time and/or climate changes may have affected the amount of relief and in turn, string height. IMO, it's worth familiarizing yourself with trussrod adjustment (via how-to articles, TB advice, hands-on), since a properly setup bass has a properly adjusted truss rod to start with - bridge saddle adjustments are only part of the equation & may not be sufficient to get the bass playing its very best.

Bongolation · #11 02-08-2009, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mongo2

Ask in the setup forum and you'll probably get more answers.

Yep.

Better ones, too.

**Mark Wilson** · #12 02-08-2009, 09:00 AM

Moved to Setup and Repair.

Johnny Mack · #13 02-08-2009, 04:03 PM

i usually fret first and last frets. with a thumb, pluck the string over the fingerboard. if it vibrates nice, you have enough relief, but maybe too much.

i then take down the saddles as far as i can without a lot of buzzing. if the buzzing is in one specific area, i adjust. shouldnt happen with adequate neck relief, but if you have buzzing up in the first 5 frets, loosen the truss rod. buzz up in the high frets? tighten the truss rod. just a tad at a time. if the buzzing is all over, just raise the strings a bit.

i then play every fret to check any buzzing and play a few slap licks to see if its where i like it. i usually like a little high action as i play aggressively, but i do get some fret buzz all over, though none that comes through the amp.

if you play light and want super low action, youre going to have to put little relief in the neck to bottom out the saddles. if they bottom out and its still too high, you may have to shim the neck.