Neck relief Set Up on Jazz or P.

[sammyp]

How do you guys like to set up a Jazz? I just got a new MIA and my buddy suggested i let the neck bow and lower my action rather than go with a relatively straight neck/ medium action which is my usual.

My Warwick plays great - nice and tight and zero buzz with a very straight neck but i found the jazz a little loose and buzzy with a straighter neck. However, my hands don't really like the stiff feel in the middle of the neck when it's not super straight.

[georgestrings]

I also like a fairly straight neck, but realize that all necks need a little relief to play their best... I start out with around .014" of relief when fretting at the 1st and 12th fret, bring my saddles down as low as possible without causing a ton of buzz, then let the neck tell me what it's relief will end up at... If it buzzes between the nut and 5th fret, it needs more relief, if not I straighten it 'til it does, then back off 'til it doesn't buzz down there when playing normally, but will buzz a tiny bit if I really dig in...

When I get to that point, I typically raise each saddle a tiny bit for a low-medium action, because I feel my basses sound better that way than with an ultra low action... I typically end up with around .010-.012" of neck relief to play perfectly for me - that's also provided that I've got a good straight neck with very good fretwork...


- georgestrings

[Rocky McDougall]

I'm with Georgestrings, there is a point where lowering the action further will hurt the tone even though you may not have any buzz. The amount of relief is a personal thing that each player must discover by trial and error. How low an action you can achieve depends on how true and flat the frets are. I find that about .012" is about right for me.
Rocky

[Slammin]

I adjust my necks to be as perfectly flat as possible and use saddle height to adjust to my liking after that. I only own one bass that will not let me go perfectly flat. I like to stretch notes and as long as I can stretch the note w/o it choking out, I keep lowering the action using the saddles.

Action is really low and requires a very light touch to keep that generic bass sound w/o string clanking. Great for effortless slap too!

[Jay2U]

Proper adjustment is a little of everything. The set up according to the manual should fit the design of the bass and be the starting point for further refining. One should not forget that just a tiny bit of bow is required to give the strings the required space to resonate freely. Then there are a lot of variables, like personal preferences, playing style and the strings installed. Those strings can make a hell of a difference. The half rounds I tried on my cheap Ibby were clanking all over the place, no matter what I tried. With flatwounds, however, it plays like a $1000 instrument.

Sometimes the player has to adjust himself instead of his instrument.

[conqr]

Originally Posted by sammyp

How do you guys like to set up a Jazz? I just got a new MIA and my buddy suggested i let the neck bow and lower my action rather than go with a relatively straight neck/ medium action which is my usual.

My Warwick plays great - nice and tight and zero buzz with a very straight neck but i found the jazz a little loose and buzzy with a straighter neck. However, my hands don't really like the stiff feel in the middle of the neck when it's not super straight.

+1, something about the (especially 4 string) Jazz profile just doesn't feel really good to me unless the neck is flat as possible and the action low. Feels like I'm pushing wire against a broomstick

Other neck profiles, especially flatter 5 or 6ers feel just fine however.

[Ed Storer]

I set up my 86 MIJ Jazz Bass with the neck dead straight with the strings off. Actually, the neck was off the guitar (it's a '62 RI)

With the strings on and tuned, the relief and action feel near perfect. No buzz.

I was told that the factory setup is done this way, but that is "hearsay".

[jacojbass]

I hear so many ways to measure relief, why 1-12? and where do you measure 6frt?

[irishryno]

On my MIA I set the neck straight with strings tuned. I then rotatate the allen wrench from touching a string to just touching the d string. I then retune. I then drop the saddles all the way down till the string rests on the frets. Fretting at the second fret I adjust the saddle hieght until there is no fret buzz. I then fret at the second fret and continue raising until there is no longer buzz. This works no matter your attack style. Once that is set I retune and check the bow of the neck by fretting the 1st and 16th fret simultaniously. You should see just enough of space between the string and 9th fret that they are not in contact. I then set the intonation adjusting the tuning to get the open and 12th fret till they are a harmonic match. Detune and retune and check again until you have it perfect. I then adjust the pickup heights. Use a 3/8 allen wrench as spacing between the strings pickups. This will cause the pickups to sit at a slant, but trust me, it is perfect for optimum height adjustment. Then plug and play. Hope this helps. Take your time and don't hurry. You will be astonished by the playability improvement, height, and clarity of tone. Hope this helps.

[Rocky McDougall]

Originally Posted by irishryno

On my MIA I set the neck straight with strings tuned. I then rotatate the allen wrench from touching a string to just touching the d string. I then retune. I then drop the saddles all the way down till the string rests on the frets. Fretting at the second fret I adjust the saddle hieght until there is no fret buzz. I then fret at the second fret and continue raising until there is no longer buzz. This works no matter your attack style. Once that is set I retune and check the bow of the neck by fretting the 1st and 16th fret simultaniously. You should see just enough of space between the string and 9th fret that they are not in contact. I then set the intonation adjusting the tuning to get the open and 12th fret till they are a harmonic match. Detune and retune and check again until you have it perfect. I then adjust the pickup heights. Use a 3/8 allen wrench as spacing between the strings pickups. This will cause the pickups to sit at a slant, but trust me, it is perfect for optimum height adjustment. Then plug and play. Hope this helps. Take your time and don't hurry. You will be astonished by the playability improvement, height, and clarity of tone. Hope this helps.

Very interesting and very strange.
Rocky

[irishryno]

Yes I am

[CPplaysBASS]

I have 3 MIA P-Bass and an MIJ P/J and have previously owned an MIA Jazz. I've experimented, and found that keeping exactly with Fender specs results in perfection. I'm experienced at doing my own setups, but still use a feeler gauge and 6-inch rule to get it spot on. No buzz anywhere, assuming level frets. Fender specs are .012" relief measured at the 8th fret, and 6/64" action at the 17th fret for the E-string and 5"64" for the G.

Warwicks, and I've owned one of those as well, have a much flatter neck radius which means you can have less neck relief without buzzing (assuming no other issues with the nut, bridge, etc).

[Growly Lytes]

Winters just about here & its cold already i saw the neck had moved.It took me 3 days of tweaking the rod & saddles to get it right.
Its not so simple sometimes as it being flat or curved.

[CPplaysBASS]

Originally Posted by Ed Storer

I set up my 86 MIJ Jazz Bass with the neck dead straight with the strings off. Actually, the neck was off the guitar (it's a '62 RI)

With the strings on and tuned, the relief and action feel near perfect. No buzz.

I was told that the factory setup is done this way, but that is "hearsay".

Possibly, but if you switch to a higher gauge, tension increases, and so will the amount of bow. Switch to a lower gauge and it will be buzz city. Even changing brands of strings within the same gauge usually have varying degrees of tension.

[stubish]

Originally Posted by irishryno

On my MIA I set the neck straight with strings tuned. I then rotatate the allen wrench from touching a string to just touching the d string. I then retune. I then drop the saddles all the way down till the string rests on the frets. Fretting at the second fret I adjust the saddle hieght until there is no fret buzz. I then fret at the second fret and continue raising until there is no longer buzz. This works no matter your attack style. Once that is set I retune and check the bow of the neck by fretting the 1st and 16th fret simultaniously. You should see just enough of space between the string and 9th fret that they are not in contact. I then set the intonation adjusting the tuning to get the open and 12th fret till they are a harmonic match. Detune and retune and check again until you have it perfect. I then adjust the pickup heights. Use a 3/8 allen wrench as spacing between the strings pickups. This will cause the pickups to sit at a slant, but trust me, it is perfect for optimum height adjustment. Then plug and play. Hope this helps. Take your time and don't hurry. You will be astonished by the playability improvement, height, and clarity of tone. Hope this helps.

Hey there, you mentioned fretting at the 2nd fret and raising till no buzz, then you said the same thing again.. did you mean to fret at the 12th or something the second time? I think I might give this a go on my VM squier I just got (and cleaned out a neck pocket full of shavings to elimenate the hump!).

Thanks for the advice, it makes sense to me (except that one bit!).

[96tbird]

Set it up how you like it and tell your buddy to worry about his own axes. You are the owner and the guy that plays it, not he.

But of course you have to set it up to play buzz free which is highly dependent on how perfect the fret work is on it. The flatter the neck the better the fretwork needs to be.

[irishryno]

Originally Posted by stubish

Hey there, you mentioned fretting at the 2nd fret and raising till no buzz, then you said the same thing again.. did you mean to fret at the 12th or something the second time? I think I might give this a go on my VM squier I just got (and cleaned out a neck pocket full of shavings to elimenate the hump!).

Thanks for the advice, it makes sense to me (except that one bit!).

Yes. I fret at the 2nd then the 12 th frets. Sorry for the typo.

[Zooberwerx]

I like the .012" relief reference....makes for a great starting point.

Sidenote for those north of the equator: the colder winter months ahead are the best time of year to get those pesky fret ends dressed.

Riis