Relief on a fretless?

[Linas]

In the guitar players repair guide, they say a fender jazz should have .014" of relief at the 7th fret. Gary Willis says a credit cards with, which is almost .030". So what do you guys set your relief at for a fretless bass. Mine is a SX jazz.

[Son of Magni]

Originally Posted by Linas

In the guitar players repair guide, they say a fender jazz should have .014" of relief at the 7th fret. Gary Willis says a credit cards with, which is almost .030". So what do you guys set your relief at for a fretless bass. Mine is a SX jazz.

I think it depends mostly on your playing style. 014 would never be enough for me, but if you play with a light touch it might work. I like it around 030.

[vejesse]

The less relief, the more 'growl' on a fretless. By the way, I think most guitars are set with waaay too much relief. The more relief a guitar neck has the worse the neck plays past the 12th fret. And relief won't help your fret buzz past the 8th fret or so. If you play with a heavy touch, I guess I don't know what to tell you but I think people are way better off raising the string height a bit rather than allowing excess relief. Some people use extra relief to try to compensate for poor fingerboard/fret leveling.

I would suggest starting out with a straight neck - just enough bow that you know the neck is not back bowed. Then put your string height where you like it: try 5/64 at the seventeenth fret for the G string and 5 - 6/64 for the lowest string. Add more foward bow if you need it and lower the string height at the saddles accordingly.

Just a suggestion.