Im getting tired of factory setup complaints
 

I know its nice to have a " plug and play " instrument but there are so many preferences people have regarding String Height , relief , pickup height etc , it astounds me how many people give a Bass maybe a 4 star rating instead of 5 because the factory setup wasnt great, *** ?? From where I sit thats like someone not liking a car straight off because the drivers seat was way forward when all it takes is adjustment . Im sure if you`re buying a budget instrument , its gonna have a budget setup ? , saying that ive even picked up an Alembic which made me feel like id run a marathon after playing it for 5 minutes .;)

Because it shows that they're not just throwing it out the door hastily. There's some actual care put into how they want the player to feel when playing it right out of the box - not just that they slapped it together.

It seems like a lot of folks here don't know how to do a basic setup. I agree with your car analogy. I wouldn't complain to the dealer if the mirrors weren't adjusted specifically for me.

I like badly setup instruments on the used market. Most people think it's a "bad" one, or a big mystery to get a proper setup and end up selling cheap.

Considering the way ups throws them around i'm surprised the play at all by the time you recieve them.If it's hanging in a store with a crappy setup that say alot more about the store than the factory set up.

I think the issue is that an instrument should be set up before being put on the wall for sale.
It would be more like buying a new car and needing a tune up. Most people that drive don't know how to do a full tune up on a car.

Good post! I read all the time about not only out-of-the-box setups, but the bad ones in stores too. I play very heavy handed. I like a high action. Should stores keep a few basses set up just for me laying around? Nope. That would be dumb. And to expect the factory, OR the store to have YOUR favorite setup on every bass is just as ridiculous. Lighten up and LEARN how to OPERATE your INSTRUMENT. I'm an electrician. I learned years ago how to swap out the brushes in a drill motor. I can do some hydraulics on big conduit benders. Why? Those are my TOOLS. I should KNOW how to fix them. Same goes for you guys. Heck I wouldn't even dream of spending a couple grand on a bass until I put MY Allen wrenches on it. I have even done it at GC. I told the sales guy "Move over there Buddy and let me get at that work counter". I started adjusting the thing and he knew better than to say anything. Once I set it up and it played well, I bought it. End of story. Quit crying already!

P.S. The lowest possible action is NOT always the best setup.

Most are.

The issue is that my idea of a perfect setup and your idea are more than likely two different things. There is no way to set them up so that everyone unanimously agrees that it's perfect.

Maybe the person that set up the bass with high action actually likes high action. Or the once that put it so low that it buzzes all over the place. Maybe they actually want it to buzz. Just two extreme examples.

Then you've got temperature swings, kids banging all over them, dirty hands, and all kinds of other things to deal with.

What about picking up a brand new Fender off the wall at GC, the day that it was put up, and half of the Pbass pickup not work. Yes, if i am buying a new instrument at a new price, i expect it to be set up, i.e. work properly. Yeah, i could fix it myself, but maybe Fendet should have caught that before shopping it out, and GC should have caught it before putting it out. Most times, they don't even tune the instruments before putting them out

That's an electrical problem, and not necessarily something that would be looked at when doing a setup. Also, it's GC.

Who is to say that YOUR version of a "good setup" = fixed????

So a "factory setup" shouldn't have caught a dead pickup?

My version of a good factory set up = a bass with working components. Your version may not be as demanding as mine

+1 if you are walking away from a great deal on a bass because (gasp) the setup was poor either learn to do it yourself or learn to play something else and most of these big box stores charge for setups why would they throw that money away and heaven forbid you order a bass that comes poorly setup do you return it?.

Cars do not need tune ups any more. They haven't for more then 20 years.
You change the oil and do a service at 25,000-50,000 miles on most cars and trucks.


Depending on what part of the country you live expecting a music store to keep all of their guitars and basses set up perfectly is crazy. Around here the set up will change every other week.
And who is to say how it should be set up? The way I like it? The way you like it?

Expecting a bass that was boxed up and shipped from the manufacture to a distributor and have it sit in their warehouse for who knows how long and then shipped to you and expecting it to be set up the way you like it is crazy.

When I buy a bass I order the strings I like at the same time.
When I get it I do a full set up on it including setting the nut the way I like it, check all the fret's and dress as needed check ever screw and solder joint. By the time I plug it into my amp it is gig ready and plays the way I want it to.
It's not rocket science.

I recently went with my nephew while he looked at a bass listed on Craig's List. I was his silent advisor and provider of moral support. The seller was clueless, as was my nephew; after playing the bass for a few minutes, he declared it "unplayable."

I asked if I could try it, and it became immediately apparent that it was a good instrument, in good condition, and badly in need of set-up. I gave my nephew the look that says, "I'm about to say something sarcastic. If you want my help, be quiet and play along," and said, "I'm not having any trouble playing it - you just need to work on your chops!"

We bought the bass and left. In the car, nephew told me how long he'd saved to buy that bass, and expressed concern about getting stuck with a POS. After I spent an hour setting up his bass, he sang a different tune; "Best bass I've ever owned, Uncle!"

I'm sure it didn't leave Fender in that condition. Things happen during shipping.

It's GC. A teenager probably took the bass out and put it on the wall. They should test all of them, but I'm sure they don't.

GC is terrible, I've gone in there and have seen basses with strings missing.

Agreed OP.

+1 great post it seems this subject has come up a few times recently.

I set up my own basses, it's not rocket science to me, but to some, it is.
There must be a formula to set ups that manufacturers follow, may be different than yours if you like crazy high or low action, but if that's the case, you aren't the majority.
I have opened a Celinder that was shipped from Denmark to Austin to Michigan and played perfectly in tune out of the box. Not everyone builds to that standard but some do.