need help setting up my Stingray

[DaS HaaS]

I think the action on my bass is too high and would like to lower it a bit. I have no fret buzz at the moment, and I dont want to ruin it by lowering it too much. I fretted the strings at the first and last fret and the height at the seventh fret was pretty low. but when I have the strings open it still seems a little high for me. Would the next plan of attack be to lower the string height from the bridge? I am assuming that the A & D strings need to be a little higher than the E & G to compensate for the curvature of the neck. Am I going in the right direction or am I about to ruin my bass? Since I got it from the factory I have not had it set up but at the moment cannot afford to pay someone $40+ to have it set up

[megadan]

You are correct. My Stingray has very low action (though I don't mind a bit of buzz) so you should have no trouble getting it adjusted.

My advice (my own personal opinion) is to set your neck to flat or within a few mm, then adjust the action at the bridge for the desired height.

[walterw]

Originally Posted by DaS HaaS

I think the action on my bass is too high and would like to lower it a bit. I have no fret buzz at the moment, and I dont want to ruin it by lowering it too much. I fretted the strings at the first and last fret and the height at the seventh fret was pretty low. but when I have the strings open it still seems a little high for me. Would the next plan of attack be to lower the string height from the bridge? I am assuming that the A & D strings need to be a little higher than the E & G to compensate for the curvature of the neck. Am I going in the right direction or am I about to ruin my bass? Since I got it from the factory I have not had it set up but at the moment cannot afford to pay someone $40+ to have it set up

MM basses are easy. crank that thumbwheel til the neck is almost straight, like maybe one or two business cards under the 7th-8th fret when holding down first and last like you're doing.

once that's done, you can begin sneaking down the bridge saddles til you start getting buzz on the higher notes. yes, you want the strings to follow the curve of the frets, but you'll end up with the thin strings a little closer than the thick ones.

try 3/32" from the bottom of each string to the top of the 15th fret to start with. from there, you might be able to cheat the high strings a little lower, but you might need to back the big strings up a little.

it might be high at the nut. (is it way higher at the first fret when open than holding down the string at the first fret and looking at the second fret?) if that's the case, take it in. (you'd need $100 worth of special files to even try to fix it, and then one wrong move means time for a new nut $$)

[DaS HaaS]

Originally Posted by walterw

MM basses are easy. crank that thumbwheel til the neck is almost straight, like maybe one or two business cards under the 7th-8th fret when holding down first and last like you're doing.

once that's done, you can begin sneaking down the bridge saddles til you start getting buzz on the higher notes. yes, you want the strings to follow the curve of the frets, but you'll end up with the thin strings a little closer than the thick ones.

try 3/32" from the bottom of each string to the top of the 15th fret to start with. from there, you might be able to cheat the high strings a little lower, but you might need to back the big strings up a little.

it might be high at the nut. (is it way higher at the first fret when open than holding down the string at the first fret and looking at the second fret?) if that's the case, take it in. (you'd need $100 worth of special files to even try to fix it, and then one wrong move means time for a new nut $$)

I straightened the neck a little from the truss rod then lowered the bridge saddles. The bass is fairly new, i got it in August and took it on the road where I really beat it up for a few months. Feels pretty good now, i can probably fit only one business card under the string @ the 7th fret when I hold down the first and last fret. Is that too low?

thanks for your help

[megadan]

It's not too low if you works for you. Like I said, I keep the action on my basses very, very low. Far less than a business card in most cases.
It buzzes evenly across the neck unplugged, but there's no buzz when plugged in.

[walterw]

Originally Posted by DaS HaaS

Feels pretty good now, i can probably fit only one business card under the string @ the 7th fret when I hold down the first and last fret. Is that too low?

Originally Posted by megadan

It's not too low if you works for you. Like I said, I keep the action on my basses very, very low. Far less than a business card in most cases.
It buzzes evenly across the neck unplugged, but there's no buzz when plugged in.

yup, if it sounds good through the amp and doesn't bug you, it's good.