New Music Man Has Extremely Low Action

[Billy Talent]

Is it just me or does the Music Man Stringray 4 have very low action. I just bought one and I'm getting a lot of fret noise and the strings click agianst the fretboard if I even put a slight bit of preassure on the string when im playing. Should I take it in and get the action raised? Anybody else with similar problems?

[Lindsey]

3/32" on the e side is "standard" string height for EBMM.

[tadawson]

+1 to Joshua . . . the first thing I do when I get a new instrument in is check the relief and adjust the truss . . . . climate differences as well as just shipping can cause things to shift . . . . and of the 4 MM basses I have, none were so low as to be noisy - most I actually lowered. Note that two of these came to me direct from the factory . . . .

- Tim

[PilbaraBass]

Originally Posted by Joshua

Do you know how to measure relief?

uh oh...here we go again...LOL..

how I check relief...

capo 1st fret...hold down 15th fret...check @ 8th fret...gap should be present, and should be about the with of a credit card

Instead of a gauge, I measure relief with my eyes...but then, I do it constantly, so I have really a pretty good idea

[PilbaraBass]

Originally Posted by Lindsey

3/32" on the e side is "standard" string height for EBMM.

That's pretty standard action...I shoot for 2.0 to 2.5mm (please note, i set my action by feel, and then measure only for discussion purposes)

3/32 = 0.094 inches
2.5mm = 0.098 inches (effectively 3/32)
2.0mm = 0.079 inches (effectively 5/64)

[Disco_Gee]

Originally Posted by PilbaraBass

uh oh...here we go again...LOL..

how I check relief...

capo 1st fret...hold down 15th fret...check @ 8th fret...gap should be present, and should be about the with of a credit card

Instead of a gauge, I measure relief with my eyes...but then, I do it constantly, so I have really a pretty good idea

Wow. I didn't measure mine but it's probably half that. I don't think I could comfortable play any higher.

[maibohm]

Remember fret buzz is only a consideration when pluged in according to EBMM customer service.

[73jbass]

You could just set it up to where it's comfortable to you.

[WillPlay4Food]

Originally Posted by Joshua

A quick measure of relief will tell you this answer. Do you know how to measure relief?

R O L A I D S??

Originally Posted by maibohm

Remember fret buzz is only a consideration when pluged in according to EBMM customer service.

This one bit me when I was tweaking the setup on my Bongo last week. Found a shim in the neck pocket and since EBMM doesn't normally shim basses I figured one of the two previous owners must've put it in there. Removed it and I was able to bring my bridge saddles down but ran into some buzzing that was driving me batty.

Finally I reread the EBMM setup FAQ and realized you need to listen from buzz coming from the speakers. Now I get slight buzzing on my Bongo, but it doesn't come out of the amp and I have the action where I like it.

[JanusZarate]

My Stingray also had low action when I received it, but it's not THAT low - it's just a bit lower than most basses are commonly set up, IME.

The buzzing issues are largely due to the strings, IMO. They're EB Super Slinkys, and that's a 45-100 set, I believe. It's not a gauge I'm very comfortable with, that's for sure - the strings are too light and thin for my tastes, and are consequently too sensitive to my heavier touch.

I swapped them for a 50-105 set of D'Addario ProSteels (my favorite strings), and everything's fine now - I didn't have to do any serious adjustments of any kind.

WillPlay4Food does have a point, though - much of the buzzing you hear from the bass won't be heard through the speakers. Let your amp be the judge for best results. I still get some light buzzing because of my technique, but it's not audible through the amp.