Best Way to Tell Young Bassist He Needs His Bass Set-Up Properly?

jaywa · #1 02-08-2010, 04:16 PM

Hi everyone, I'm 43 yrs old and have been playing bass since I was 15. Yesterday I had a rare Sunday off at my church and got to see a new guy play in the worship band for the first time. He's 19 and he did a really nice job. So I went up afterwards and introduced myself and told him I liked his playing, and he said he recognized me from seeing me play on the team and loved my ('78) P-Bass. He has an almost new Fender Jazz 5-string and he let me try it out. The first thing I noticed is it sounds great! The second thing I noticed is that while the neck was straight and true, the action was very high -- at least twice as high as I have mine.

I suppose it may be that he likes the action that high, but given he hasn't been playing very long and he said he just got the bass not too long ago, I suspect it has never been properly set-up. How do I go about recommending to him that he have his bass profesionally set-up with the action MUCH lower? I hate to see a kid working that much harder than he has to, but I don't want to come off as a know-it-all either.

I'm thinking maybe next time I'm playing there with my P-Bass I'll let him try it out and when he sees how much easier it is to play with lower action he'll be receptive to my suggestion. He did mention he's struggling with his bass a bit cause he has small fingers so in retrospect I probably should have addressed the issue right there.

Thanks in advance for all advice.

nortonrider · #2 02-08-2010, 04:20 PM

how about " you know you can get these strings closer to the fretboard if you want to".

Fullmetal · #3 02-08-2010, 04:20 PM

Just be honest with him. Tell him you think the action is a bit high, and that it'll make him work harder than he needs to. Tell him he might want to get the bass checked out by a professional so he gets the best feel and playability from it.

Bassist4Life · #4 02-08-2010, 04:21 PM

I would ask him if he got it setup. He'll probably say, "no". Then say that he has a great bass and he plays it well and a good setup will enhance the sound and playability even more.

Have a name and phone number ready to share with him. He might not know where to go. If you know how to do it, invite him over for a jam session and listen to some music while you're setting up his bass.

boamedt · #5 02-08-2010, 04:23 PM

how about, "your bass sounds really good, have u ever thought of getting it professionally set up? i no when i got mine set up it played even better than i thought it could!"
how about that...if someone told me that i would listen and heed the advice.

**john turner** · #6 02-08-2010, 04:23 PM

i would have said "dude, you need to lower your action! your bass would be so much easier to play." and then i would have proceeded to show him how to do it. in fact, i've done that very thing before, when i've interracted with some (relative) beginners in the past. they've always seemed appreciative.

being able to maintain your gear is just as important as anything else you learn on your instrument. you'd be showing him a very important skill.

Mike Dimin · #7 02-08-2010, 04:24 PM

have him play yours

jaywa · #8 02-08-2010, 04:25 PM

Great thoughts, guys. The guy is really nice and seems open to suggestion but I didn't feel comfortable ragging on his set-up in the first 5 minutes we had ever spoken to each other. The fact that his bass sounded nicer than mine kind of threw me off too.

I think they're working him more into the rotation there so I'm pretty sure I'll have another chance to bring it up.

sackvegas · #9 02-08-2010, 04:25 PM

I wish someone told me that when I was younger. I played an old crappy Bass for years and ended up having problems with my elbow due to pressing to hard to overcompensate.

Jefenator · #10 02-08-2010, 04:43 PM

Play him some James Jamerson tracks.

... oh, wait...

turbo chicken · #11 02-08-2010, 09:22 PM

^ha lol... good one

let him try a bass with a lower action ... see if he likes it

Jim Campbell · #12 02-08-2010, 10:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaywa

Hi everyone, I'm 43 yrs old and have been playing bass since I was 15. Yesterday I had a rare Sunday off at my church and got to see a new guy play in the worship band for the first time. He's 19 and he did a really nice job. So I went up afterwards and introduced myself and told him I liked his playing, and he said he recognized me from seeing me play on the team and loved my ('78) P-Bass. He has an almost new Fender Jazz 5-string and he let me try it out. The first thing I noticed is it sounds great! The second thing I noticed is that while the neck was straight and true, the action was very high -- at least twice as high as I have mine.

I suppose it may be that he likes the action that high, but given he hasn't been playing very long and he said he just got the bass not too long ago, I suspect it has never been properly set-up. How do I go about recommending to him that he have his bass profesionally set-up with the action MUCH lower? I hate to see a kid working that much harder than he has to, but I don't want to come off as a know-it-all either.

I'm thinking maybe next time I'm playing there with my P-Bass I'll let him try it out and when he sees how much easier it is to play with lower action he'll be receptive to my suggestion. He did mention he's struggling with his bass a bit cause he has small fingers so in retrospect I probably should have addressed the issue right there.

Thanks in advance for all advice.

a pro set up might be beyond his budget,but if you can show him how,that would be cool

SpamBot · #13 02-08-2010, 10:21 PM

Just because the setup is high doesn't mean its bad. I prefer high action myself.

bbmagic · #14 02-08-2010, 10:28 PM

So...I've done some setup on my bass, but nothing remotely "pro". I wouldn't mind having it done, but I have no idea who to ask, where to go or how much to expect to pay.

Any advice?

turbo chicken · #15 02-08-2010, 10:54 PM

i just got mine back from GC on saturday... not sure how "pro" it was but for 35 bucks + the cost of strings if you get some isn't bad for what they did... They even cleaned and treated the fretboard.

just tell them you want to have it set up ... they will give you a work order and you give them your bass... you come back (in some places a couple hours) and pick it upand pay then you get to go play on all the amps see how much better it feels then after the jam session you can go home!

kr0n · #16 02-09-2010, 03:07 AM

I learned to setup my own basses by studying online and just plain trying it out. I don't have any fancy ideas of being perfect at it but every time I do it, I understand a bit more. I don't have the proper tools for measuring everything but have done fairly well so far. I highly suggest next time you guys take your bass or guitar to the shop you ask if you can watch how it's done or ask someone who has done it to show you, preferably a well educated one.

Bass is fairly simple compared to guitars with tremolo bridges and whatnot and of course the wide variety of basses and guitars which all are a bit different but have the same things to adjust.

After knowing how to do it yourself, you can adjust it to your needs, change strings and do the setup yourself, saving big bucks in the long run and gain valuable knowledge over the instrument in case you run into a problem in the future.

Just keep your mind in the task and take it slow since only small adjustments are usually needed. And when you have done them yourself, you know what to do if you go too far.

Just be careful with that truss rod. Small increments...

For the OP, it all depends on what kinda person he is. Is he a conceited little punk who says "No!" to everything older people tell him or one of those types that are enthusiastic about the art and want to learn as much as they can as fast as they can? And since it's a to some extent a preference, I'd go with the honest route in this. Letting him try yours would be a great way to start, most people are smart enough to realize the difference straight away and if they don't, you can just tell him to soften up to see the advantage in that. For some it's hard to to play fast & soft so it could be a technical issue.

Mike Dimin · #17 02-09-2010, 03:30 AM

You need to learn to do it yourself. You know your playing style and what works best for you. No one else can do that. Having a set up is not like getting an oil change in your car. It can be a very personal thing.

Learn to do the setup, once you get it close to where you like it, take measurements. Measure the amount of relief on the neck as well as the height of your strings. These two factors will allow you to get a consistant set up that matches your comfort level and playing style.

Michael Campbel · #18 02-09-2010, 08:52 AM

This doesn't seem to be a touchy or emotional subject so I don't think it needs to be handled with kid gloves. Tell him you think his bass sounds awesome; better than yours; but you also think he's working too hard with the setup he has. And, that it can always be put back if he doesn't like it.

mikezimmerman · #19 02-09-2010, 10:01 AM

Maybe the better way is to treat it as if it's his own preference rather than inexperience: "Wow, you like your action high, don't you?" That gives you an opening to discuss the pros and cons of high vs. low action without coming off as if you think he doesn't know any better.

Also, it may be worth considering that the higher action on his bass may be part of the reason it sounds the way it does (which you said is very good).

Mike

Jim Nazium · #20 02-09-2010, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sackvegas

I wish someone told me that when I was younger.

+1
However you decide to say it, and there are a lot of good suggestions in this thread, please say SOMETHING. I wasted a lot of time with what I thought were bad instruments, but mostly just needed to be set up properly.