Necks ,Action ,Playablity ????????

[Doley50]

Hello,
Coming for a Electric Bass background. I'm compelled to think
that all string intriments have the same basic concept of set up.
My banjo, Electric Gtr. Acoustic Gtr. and Mandolin all sheer the same
set up concept.
Meaning there is a recomended string hight which it measured at the nut,
another about 1/3 down the neck and at the bridge.

These measurements are ajusted to control the action and playablity.

What is the recomened sting hight for the double bass.
The guy who has done some work on by bass insist that my
action is " Fine for what your doing "

The problem is I really want to expand on my playing but I just can't
hold the strings down.
Never mind that bow thing.LOL
I don't have a feeler gage so I took these with a tape measure.
so I hope they make since.

At the Nut near the E string - 1/16

At the Heal near the E string 3/8

At the End of the neck E String 5/16

also I know these necks don't have truss rods.
do they warp slighty during the weather change?


If you can help shed so light that would be great. I do think
I need to just bring it to a reputable luthier.

Thanks
John

[Silversorcerer]

Two weeks and nobody's helping you out here? Well I'm no luthier, but I'll take a shot at this one. I think your bass has too much scoop (curvature in the long dimension of the fingerboard). It is also a litte high at the nut. Personal preferences vary, but at the nut, the string should be low enough to pinch a business card firmly between the string and the FB. At the end of the FB, the height can vary quite a bit depending on what you want and the strings you use. The G string is generally lower than the E and the others are somewhere in between. The normal range is something like 4mm minimum and about 1.5 cm maximum for string height at the end of the FB. In the heel area is where your problem is, I think. If you press the string down at the nut and at the end of the FB (touching the FB at those two points) you will see how the FB is scooped. From what you describe and for your playing comfort yours has too much scoop. I like my FB almost flat with only 1-2mm of scoop, depending on which string you look at (more under the bigger strings). Some refer to this scoop as camber. It's the same thing you use a truss rod to adjust on guitars that have those, but on DBs it is carved into the FB, so shaving wood off the FB is the only way to "adjust it". Get the height at the nut down some first so it pinches a business card. This is the same for all the strings. You will be surprised at how much easier to play (in first and half position) it will be if you just do that. Then look into the matter of getting the FB dressed down flatter than what it currently is. You luthier should be able to judge if your FB is thick enough to be flattened out a bit longitudinally. Remember that once you have the wood removed, you can't put it back, so proceed incrementally and cautiously.

Yes, necks and fingerboard do sometimes warp and curve with tension. If you lay a straight edge along the glue line between the neck and FB, you can detect if your neck has curved due to tension. With hard maple and ebony, this is not a common problem. If your FB is made of some softer wood than ebony, it is much more likely to curve and warp.

[Bruce Lindfield]

Originally Posted by Doley50

Hello,
Coming for a Electric Bass background.
.....

The guy who has done some work on by bass insist that my
action is " Fine for what your doing "

The problem is I really want to expand on my playing but I just can't hold the strings down.

Well, as somebody who made the same transition - it is much harder to hold the strings down and the whole process requires a lot more physical effort than playing bass guitar - especially if you want it to sound good!!

Have you tried any other DBs - how did they feel?