sx sjb62 fretless setup: would you do it differently?

[LastVisblCanary]

I tried to ask about string height on sx fretless's, but didn't get much response to it. so I'll ask it like this instead:

would you set this bass up differently???


right now It's intonation is set perfectly at the 12th fret marker.
the bass side string height is 3.25mm
the treble side string height is 2.75mm
and the neck has noticeable bow on the bass side, with a slightly less apparent bow on the treble side.

When it's played with moderately hard attack (not slap, and not playing super soft) the low b and e string both have string buzz/chatter on the fretboard for the first 3 frets. otherwise it is free of string buzz/chatter.

would you lower the action and suffer more fret buzz, or raise it up to reduce string chatter? would you straighten the neck and raise the action? allow more bow and lower the action?

I do not know how to play bass, and am just learning, so I'm not sure what the set up should be like. all I know is fretted guitars. thanks for any responses

[Turnaround]

There is apparently plenty of string height from the measurements you provided. And it's really hard to tell from the pics because the focus is so bad, but it looks to me that there is excessive relief in the neck. Measure the amount of relief and then perhaps we can be of some help.

[LastVisblCanary]

Originally Posted by Turnaround

There is apparently plenty of string height from the measurements you provided. And it's really hard to tell from the pics because the focus is so bad, but it looks to me that there is excessive relief in the neck. Measure the amount of relief and then perhaps we can be of some help.

it's actually focused alright, but it's at iso 1600 which makes detail really hard to see. it is very difficult to take a photo of given how heavy the bass is

I don't have a relief gauge, so I'm limited in what I can do. is there a way of measuring relief without having a relief gauge?

[LastVisblCanary]

I got a long plastic ruler that seems to be straight from front to back, that is long enough to reach from the nut to the end of the fretboard.

at the center of the long plastic ruler, there is a gap of .5mm between the fretboard and the ruler.

[Turnaround]

There is no guarantee that your plastic ruler is really flat. It may be close enough, but who knows? If you "fret" the B string at the first fret position and simultaneously fret at the position where the neck meets the body, halfway between you should have a gap of .3 to .5 mm. from the fingerboard to the bottom of the string. Some players prefer their fretless to be truly flat - no relief - but you have to have a really true fingerboard to make that work. Do the same thing on the G-string side and see if it's near to .3 to .5mm range. Use the truss rod to get the relief in this range and let us know how it works.

[Rickett Customs]

Now, don't be surprised if I was to tell you that your neck could potentially be twisted,although I've been wrong.

However, you might have to take it and get a second opinion from another trained eye (perhaps someone who is very familiar with doing setups).

/Jason

[LastVisblCanary]

Originally Posted by Turnaround

There is no guarantee that your plastic ruler is really flat. It may be close enough, but who knows? If you "fret" the B string at the first fret position and simultaneously fret at the position where the neck meets the body, halfway between you should have a gap of .3 to .5 mm. from the fingerboard to the bottom of the string. Some players prefer their fretless to be truly flat - no relief - but you have to have a really true fingerboard to make that work. Do the same thing on the G-string side and see if it's near to .3 to .5mm range. Use the truss rod to get the relief in this range and let us know how it works.

I reset the truss rod tension to have both the low b string and the high g string at a .5mm gap when fretting on the first and last fret markers.

with 3mm of string height at the 12 fret marker on the low b, and 2.5mm of string height at the 12th fret marker on the high g, all strings have the fret board "boing" sound at the first and second fret markers. from the 3rd fret on all strings have a solid note with only the initial fret board slap sound.

are most fretless players okay with that "boing" sound on the first few frets? I don't know how else to describe it, it's the string distinctly rattling against the fretboard continuously until the note dies away.

[Turnaround]

The bass should play cleanly. If you are getting string rattle at the first two fret positions you may need to have the fingerboard levelled. However, you can often compensate by raising the bridge or dialing in a bit more relief.