Unplayable A/E, desperately need help

[Beginner Bass]

I obtained a Dean Acoustic-Electric. Unfortunately, it's virtually unlayable. The strings rattle insanely, and the intonation is really weirding me out. There's spaces for 3 or 4 frets where there's no audible change in pitch from fret to fret. I truly have no idea what do do. Help me!

[darkstorm]

Are the bridge saddles adjustable by user? (Many acoustics bridges are not). And have you checked neck bow to see if it needs adjustment? May need to take it back to store for refund or replacement if necks straight and saddles cant be raised a bit.

[Beginner Bass]

How does one raise an acoustic saddle?

[lowendfriend]

Originally Posted by Beginner Bass

I obtained a Dean Acoustic-Electric. Unfortunately, it's virtually unlayable. The strings rattle insanely, and the intonation is really weirding me out. There's spaces for 3 or 4 frets where there's no audible change in pitch from fret to fret. I truly have no idea what do do. Help me!

Is it this bass?



About the only adjustments you can make on that are string replacement, tuning and and neck relief.

First, does it have the built-in tuner and is it in tune? Sounds like you have the strings too floppy for it to be in tune.

Go to the Hardware Setup Forum, look at the stickies and download the Jerzey Drozd Ultimate Guide for setup.

Here is the location of the neck relief adjustment in the opening of the body (body end of the neck.)



Get an appropriate allen wrench and follow instruction in the guide for getting relief right.

You can lower the bridge stlightly by grinding down the plastic piece in the bridge but you will have to replace it to go up in height. You must do it very carefully and be sure its perfectly flat on the bottom if you want the piezo pickup to still work.

I have mine strung with BEAD strings (real thick ones for the low 4 of a 5-string) and it works OK.

It is a cheap beater bass in all Dean's fretted and fretless configurations and I got decent service out of it for a year or so, but it is kinda crippled now.

Don't spend any serious money fixing it.

[brendanbassist]

Originally Posted by lowendfriend

You can lower the bridge stlightly by grinding down the plastic piece in the bridge but you will have to replace it to go up in height.

No, just pull the plastic piece out, put a few slivers of a credit card underneath, and put the plastic piece back in.

(Theoretically, the credit card pieces may remove some coupling between the strings and the body, but its a cheap bass and likely a very cheap nut so the difference should be negligible. )

[Pilgrim]

Or if you want to transmit sound to the pickup more effectively, cut slivers of aluminum out of a soda can and layer those slivers under the saddle to build up its height.

[Beginner Bass]

Originally Posted by lowendfriend

Is it this bass?



Yes, but it's the 5-string model.

About the only adjustments you can make on that are string replacement, tuning and and neck relief.

First, does it have the built-in tuner and is it in tune? Sounds like you have the strings too floppy for it to be in tune.

No to the built-in tuner, yes to it being in tune.

Go to the Hardware Setup Forum, look at the stickies and download the Jerzey Drozd Ultimate Guide for setup.

Here is the location of the neck relief adjustment in the opening of the body (body end of the neck.)



Get an appropriate allen wrench and follow instruction in the guide for getting relief right.

You can lower the bridge stlightly by grinding down the plastic piece in the bridge but you will have to replace it to go up in height. You must do it very carefully and be sure its perfectly flat on the bottom if you want the piezo pickup to still work.

I have mine strung with BEAD strings (real thick ones for the low 4 of a 5-string) and it works OK.

It is a cheap beater bass in all Dean's fretted and fretless configurations and I got decent service out of it for a year or so, but it is kinda crippled now.

Don't spend any serious money fixing it.

So would a new set of strings help?

[JLS]

Originally Posted by Beginner Bass

So would a new set of strings help?

No. This instrument needs a setup, badly.

[Pilgrim]

Originally Posted by JLS

No. This instrument needs a setup, badly.

Agreed. You need to more than fiddle with the bridge. Time to see a pro.

[lug]

Sounds like you just need some neck relief. Try this....fret the first fret and something like the 18th fret simultaniously. The string shouldn't touch any fret inbetween. If it does, you have too much tension on the truss rod and you need to loosen it a bit. The rule is don't make drastic changes. Loosen a bit, wait an hour, loosen a bit more, etc.

[JLS]

Originally Posted by lug

Sounds like you just need some neck relief. Try this....fret the first fret and something like the 18th fret simultaniously. The string shouldn't touch any fret inbetween. If it does, you have too much tension on the truss rod and you need to loosen it a bit. The rule is don't make drastic changes. Loosen a bit, wait an hour, loosen a bit more, etc.

^^^
What he said. If you don't have or know what an Allen wrench is, you'd do best to get it to someone who does.

[Pilgrim]

And please do NOT use a wrench that is "close but not quite right". You need an exact fit.

[lowendfriend]

That adjustment nut (see photo in earlier post) in my Dean EAB is the same as the Warwick adjustment tool, so I never had to go lookin'.

The Jerzy Drozd guide does a real nice job of explaining the 1-2-3 of neck relief.

My guess is that's all you'll need.

I have mine done up with Detroit Steels from Webstrings.com and string it for BEAD operation. Ok for pickin' out tunes.

Good luck....and yeah, take it in quarter or at most half turn steps.

Lefty-Loosey, righty-tighty applies to this bass.

[Spinal Tapper]

Ive got that same bass. Mine has always had high action, I've turned the truss rod many times, but the action never changes...wish I could get it lower

I've considered sanding down the plastic bridge saddle so the strings will sit a little lower.

[Pilgrim]

Originally Posted by Spinal Tapper

Ive got that same bass. Mine has always had high action, I've turned the truss rod many times, but the action never changes...wish I could get it lower

I've considered sanding down the plastic bridge saddle so the strings will sit a little lower.

If you do that, don't modify the original saddle. Buy blank material from Stew-Mac and use the original as a template - then make your own. That way if you screw it up you have the original intact. I suggest buying two blanks - they're cheap - and then you have an additional level of fail-safe.

[Spinal Tapper]

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

If you do that, don't modify the original saddle. Buy blank material from Stew-Mac and use the original as a template - then make your own. That way if you screw it up you have the original intact. I suggest buying two blanks - they're cheap - and then you have an additional level of fail-safe.

good thinkin!

[lowendfriend]

Originally Posted by Spinal Tapper

Ive got that same bass. Mine has always had high action, I've turned the truss rod many times, but the action never changes...wish I could get it lower

I've considered sanding down the plastic bridge saddle so the strings will sit a little lower.

I actually did sanding when I went to the BEAD string set up, but I didn't have the patience to remove enough plastic to get the set up right. You want the bottom of the plastic to remain >>perfectly<< flat so you maintain good contact with the piezo pickup.

[JLS]

Originally Posted by lowendfriend

I actually did sanding when I went to the BEAD string set up, but I didn't have the patience to remove enough plastic to get the set up right. You want the bottom of the plastic to remain >>perfectly<< flat so you maintain good contact with the piezo pickup.

And remember that for every increment you want the action to lower at the 21th fret, you need to take twice that, from the bottom of the saddle.

[JLS]

Originally Posted by Spinal Tapper

Ive got that same bass. Mine has always had high action, I've turned the truss rod many times, but the action never changes...wish I could get it lower

I've considered sanding down the plastic bridge saddle so the strings will sit a little lower.

That's because you have to setup the instrument, completely, not just go at it blindly, based on misinformation.

Look at the setup stickies; forget intonation, with an ABG, you've got what you've got, live with it. See my other post in re: saddle height/action.