problems settin up my bass.. please help!

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i have a geddy jazz with a moses graphite neck. i have had the neck for about 5 months but have never really been happy with the setup i have had with it. lately i have been trying to make the action better but i have been running into problems.

1) i have to use shims as the badass II bottoms out. not a big deal but with the shim in (even with the shim the action is still too high) the bass gives a raspy sound. not distortion or buzz, but it just doesnt sound meaty. the only way to get rid of the raspy sound is to have the action really high.

2) i have tried to adjust the TR to give the neck a little more bow /concaveness but even though i have loosened the tr nut all the way the neck is still dead straight. i have used a ruler and there is no space whatsever b/n the straight edge and the fret. I wouldnt mind it being dead straight, but i thought this might be a way to help get lower action without that raspy sound

[Fuzzfarmer]

What guage of strings and what are you tuned to? Pickup height?

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thanks for the responses guys.

i am using labella 760FL strings. cant name the exact gages.

standard tuning and i lowered the pickups as low as they would go so i would know that any wonky sound i am getting is not from the pickups.

this neck does fit well.. its very snug in the pocket.

bassybill suggested overtightening the strings a little and leaving it for a couple days to get some relief.

last night i spent about 3 hours fiddling with shim placement and shim thickness. i think it has reasonable, playable action now but its not what i would call great.

once i gather up the courage and strength i will go at her again.