Tinkering with my bass's setup, do or don't?

[StrangeObjectiv]

My Fender J Bass has been wonderfully loyal since I got her back at Christmas, but I've always had a couple of things I wasn't sure about.

I'm not sure if the action is quite how I'd like it. I don't have any idea what I would or would not like because I've never adjusted, or had it adjusted. (Guitar Center, where I got it, said they setup the instruments before putting them on the wall)

I don't know much about adjustments and the sort, I but I know enough not to go after the truss rod. If I do decide to tinker with my bass, I'll only go allan wrench to the bridge.

Can any damage be done by changing the action around? I'm sure that if I go too far I'll end up with a lot of buzzing frets or dead spots, but I'm already suffering with a few too many now.

What would you guys recommend for a first timer?

[dmrogers]

Read, Read, Read - Study, Study, Study. Don't go doing anything you don't know how to do.

With that said, I do all the setup and repairs on my guitars. I can solder, truss rod adjustments, intonations, most anything needed.

I bought a couple of good books on guitar setup and repair. One by Dan Erlewine, and another one. Of course, I've been around music all my life so you kinda learn those type of things.

If you do start making changes, take notes and only make one change at a time! If applicable, take pre-adjustment measurements, so you can get back to square one if it doesn't work out. You can even so as far as recording what you do so you can go back and review what you did.

DON'T FORCE ANYTHING!!!!!!

It can be quite rewarding doing your own work, but one mistake and it's grief city.

The phrase "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" has a lot of merit.


Good luck!

[bassictraining]

I am waiting to see what everyone says here, but I'll go while we wait. I personally learned how to set up instruments by "tinkering". I may actually better at setting them up than playing them, though I would hate to admit it.

I can't think of a thing that you would damage by adjusting the bridge. Though you will need to adjust the intonation when you arrive at a comfortable string height. You can just bring the strings down until they begin to buzz and take them back up until you can play as you normally would without buzz. Remember to adjust each side of the string saddle evenly.

To set the intonation you will need to use a tuner - check that the open string is in tune.... then check to see if the harmonic at the 12th fret is also in tune. If not then you will need to adjust the screw(s) at the back of the bridge accordingly.

As far as the truss rod - it's another thing best learned by doing. Just go easy! No more than half a turn.

I say go for it.

[Hugh Jass]

http://www.tunemybass.com/bass_setup/

I like this one.

I do my own setups and have never had a problem.

*blowing own horn warning* A G&L rep was recently looking at my L2000 and mentioned that it had a really nice setup (he did not know who had done it)

[tranceFusion]

It isnt rocket science. You need to tinker to learn how to get it the way YOU want it.

Your neck is going to move due to humidity or any time you change to a new type of strings so you will need to get used to adjusting it on occasion. Do some reading and then dive in.

..and don't listen to anything anyone guitar center says.

[lowtide]

Get a beater and make it a beauty. Mistakes are almost inevitable. Make it on a cheap bass before trying things you've never done before.

[Renaissance]

^{To set the intonation you will need to use a tuner - check that the open string is in tune.... then check to see if the harmonic at the 12th fret is also in tune. If not then you will need to adjust the screw(s) at the back of the bridge accordingly.}

OK, correct me if I'm wrong but I thought you set the intonation with the open string and the string fretted at the 12th.

OP, sorry for the semi-hijack.

[Ostinato]

If you hear buzzing then you loosen the truss nut to add relief to the neck. The opposite is true if you feel the neck is too curved or bowed, tighten the truss nut accordingly.

If you make small adjustments like 1/8 of a turn, you cannot hurt the bass. Do one adjustment, then play for a bit and see how it is. If you need to do more, then go ahead, but Do NOT make 1/2 turn adjustments on any instrument, that's horrible advice.

You can see how straight the neck is by pushing down the E string at the first and last frets and by sighting the gap in the middle of the neck. Most people prefer 1/32" to a 1/16" gap between the string botoom and top of fret.

[tranceFusion]

Originally Posted by lowtide

Get a beater and make it a beauty. Mistakes are almost inevitable. Make it on a cheap bass before trying things you've never done before.

can you give some examples of a mistake that is going to damage the bass?

If you stick to intonation, action, pickup height, and relief, I think you are pretty safe.

[StrangeObjectiv]

I took a good look at the 'tunemybass.com' tutorial and it gave me a lot of good pointers.

The truss rod adjustment doesn't sound nearly as difficult as I thought it might be. And I did a little experiment with my J Bass:

I played a an A on the E string, 5th fret. (The octave, 17, seems to be a dead note) It buzzes quite a bit. So, I hit the same note again, but this time I put some pressure on the body, like some people do to get that tremolo effect, and the buzz is greatly reduced.

I suppose a slight tweak of the truss rod would compensate for that?

And if so, would I just want to do it a small interval of a turn at a time, right?

[Nasnederis]

yes, just a small turn 1/4 of the truss, and you have to wait about 1 day to try the exact result, if you need more or less, do the same but always waiting 1 day dor the next truss movement.

[StrangeObjectiv]

Originally Posted by Nasnederis

yes, just a small turn 1/4 of the truss, and you have to wait about 1 day to try the exact result, if you need more or less, do the same but always waiting 1 day dor the next truss movement.

Hmm, that sound like a very critical piece of info, thanks. I assume that's so it can get into and stay in place?

And it should be safe to play after the adjustment, right? Or should I let it sit?

[Nasnederis]

Originally Posted by StrangeObjectiv

Hmm, that sound like a very critical piece of info, thanks. I assume that's so it can get into and stay in place?

And it should be safe to play after the adjustment, right? Or should I let it sit?

No no, of course you can play it, but you will see the exact result because of the wood in 1day more or less. Actually its very easy, just be carefull not to go more than 1/4 per day.

[Nasnederis]

Here are a couple of videos that may help you

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNfm9...rom=PL&index=5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vG4BoZ7WHik

[Rattman]

Doing setups and truss rod adjustments are a total blast. So is soldering and doing almost any upgrade. But by far the most rewarding improvement I routinely do on any instrument is fret releveling/recrowning... That procedure makes a world of differance in playability with better action.

Here is MY "go to" guy here in California... He got me started on the fret tools 'n stuff that goes along with that
level of set ups:

http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Guitar-T...__W0QQ_armrsZ1

. . . . . . .

[Hugh Jass]

what they are saying is that wood has memory and when you change how pressure is applied to it, it will take some time to completely adapt. When you adjust the trussrod you will notice a change in the neck relief right away but that change will increase once the wood settles into the new shape.

The most important thing to remember is that proper setup is a combination of the neck relief (trussrod) and saddle heights. The ideal setup is usually just a bit of relief (curve when looking down the neck) and then adjust saddles as low as they go without fretbuzz.

Another very important point that should be mentioned is to make sure you loosen the strings before adjusting the trussrod. Some feel this is not necessary but I like the peace of mind knowing that there is no extra pressure on the trussrod when turning it.

Once you have it how you want, then worry about the intonation. Tune the 12th fret while fretted. (thats how you play isn't it?!)

Don't worry too much about hurting anything, trussrods usually have some resistance, especially if they have not been touched in a long time. Just don't force anything and make sure to use the right size allen key and make sure it is all the way in! If you strip it the neck is cooked.

Adjusting trussrods can do some funny things on occasion. I have an Ibanez with a Jatoba/Bubinga neck that had a high spot at the 4th/5th frets. I loosened the strings and gave it a 1/4 turn, left it a day, then a 1/4 turn the other way, then left it a day and so on for a few days. Dialed it all back in and no more high spot. Bass has silly low action now.

[varunkapahi]

http://www.garywillis.com/pages/bass...tupmanual.html

here read, watch and DIY

[StrangeObjectiv]

Thanks for all of the help guys! I really appreciate it. :]

I did however just run into a bit of a wall. I seem to have confused myself quite a bit.

I don't know if I want relief on the neck, or to straighten it.

I think what I want to do right now is get some relief on it to get rid of some fret buzz, but I'm worried that may bring the strings too far from the neck towards the body.

I know this is probably an obvious question, but seeing as how badly I've just confused myself I need to ask it. Would lowering the strings on the bridge after I make the truss rod adjustment be the best way to go?

Or, would altering the bridge and seeing if adjusting that doesn't rid me of the buzz be the thing to do?

(Wow, oh wow did I manage to confuse myself! )

[StrangeObjectiv]

Okay, okay, after taking a second to breathe and reread a bit, I'm positive what I want to do is put some relief on the neck.

I only need a little bit, but I think if I put that little bit of relief on the neck I'll be in good shape. But what I need to know now is, how close can you generally get the strings to the neck by adjusting the bridge?

If I leave it the way it should come out after the truss rod adjustment, they'll probably be a good ways away from the neck especially at the body, so I'll may want them quite a bit closer.

[Lurker79]

If you can adjust your touch, go for the flattest neck profile. Buzzes occur on low actions when you physically play too hard and press down too hard on the string. If you want a low action, then you want to avoid over relief, tighten the truss slightly, a quarter turn with all string tension loose. Fender has a little over relief imo for this reason, just a little hit and it should be perfect. You will eventually be able to tell "your" action at all locations, by sight, and you will know it. If the bass has a relief from the factory like all of mine have been, about a quarter turn on the rod should do it, loosen all of your strings before you adjust the neck and go slow! Watch for chewing up your pg too, put some masking tape over the spot so you don't gouge if you have to make a lot of adjustment. The bridge is way easier, just under 2mm at the 15th fret should feel really nice. Half a turn loose on all screws across the bridge, check intonation. It should feel golden after that...good luck and go slow! Bookmark tunemybass.com until you got it down.