I measure my action in millipedes.
Seriously though...I enjoyed this article:
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Seriously though...I enjoyed this article:
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3 64ths? Are you kiddin?
- Thread starter Ray Matthews
- Start date
I slipped some US coins under the open strings at the 12th fret and these are numbers I came up with for my fretless Jazz. I found the coin thicknesses in Wikipedia and adjusted slightly for any spacing between the coin and the strings. I can't go any lower on the G because the saddle is bottomed out and I don't want to add a pocket shim. The nut slots are as low as I can go. No buzz anywhere on the neck with this setup.
E - penny - 1.5 mm
A - dime - 1.4 mm
D - dime - 1.4 mm
G - nickel - 2 mm
E - penny - 1.5 mm
A - dime - 1.4 mm
D - dime - 1.4 mm
G - nickel - 2 mm
Observation: the increments on the card are tiny. Strings are round, creating distance between the card gradations and the bottom of the string when it is held flush.
Hypothesis: It could be easily misread if your eyeline is not at exactly 90 degrees to the card and/or the card is not at exactly 90 degrees to the fret (which is convex).
Question: Are these accurate or are they just a relative guide?
12th position on a fretted or a fretless: target; as low as 0.89 mm on G string.
E string at 1.4 mm at the 12th...pretty much the same as with my guitars, regardless of string gauge, though these days I use obscenely skinny strings. Sure takes intense selection of basses and guitars, and they have to be very stable. Oddly, I've found though I truly prefer the sound of modern carbon-fiber instruments, particularly fretlesses (STATUS GRAPHITE), that really good wood (nobody will agree, but this is my experience), is significantly more stable and even strong than the best synthetics. I have to adjust my Status fretless neck many times a year to keep these specs...my USA custom jazz necks almost never need adjustments...twice a year is the usual, whereas the phenolic board on the Status seems to move, and the neck is continually bowing forward under the tension of even tiny Thomastik strings...No, I don't get it, but I use good straight edges & tools and record all the measurements...it's definitely happening, as with every othr "graphite" neck I've ever owned or seen. meticulous wood selection still wins for stability. That said, I'd kill for the 4 grand needed to get a STatus Streamline. God, the sound!
E string at 1.4 mm at the 12th...pretty much the same as with my guitars, regardless of string gauge, though these days I use obscenely skinny strings. Sure takes intense selection of basses and guitars, and they have to be very stable. Oddly, I've found though I truly prefer the sound of modern carbon-fiber instruments, particularly fretlesses (STATUS GRAPHITE), that really good wood (nobody will agree, but this is my experience), is significantly more stable and even strong than the best synthetics. I have to adjust my Status fretless neck many times a year to keep these specs...my USA custom jazz necks almost never need adjustments...twice a year is the usual, whereas the phenolic board on the Status seems to move, and the neck is continually bowing forward under the tension of even tiny Thomastik strings...No, I don't get it, but I use good straight edges & tools and record all the measurements...it's definitely happening, as with every othr "graphite" neck I've ever owned or seen. meticulous wood selection still wins for stability. That said, I'd kill for the 4 grand needed to get a STatus Streamline. God, the sound!
That..THAT gauge is the sh*t good sir. One of the most used tools in my box...EVERYONE should have one. They should issue these as case candy. It lets me set up all my basses to the exact same specs, not by "feel" and they are ALL .020 at the 5th and .030-.040 at the 12th To the OP, get one of these, heck, there are even the same ones under a different name on ebay for less than 5$. The first thing I grab before working on any bass. They are great for nut work too, width, string spacing, etc where a caliper might not be practical or available.
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I use the recommendation that Fender gives and then
adjust for feel after which is typically higher.
adjust for feel after which is typically higher.
mil = 1/1000 of an inch. That's some seriously low action!
Looks to me like everything would be resolved if it were just wrapped in F-Clef-Jef' s avatar.
I will be looking for this book. Where did you find it?There's not much to it, you're over thinking it. Get a little steel rule at any hardware store that measures in 64ths and measure from top of fret to bottom of string at the 12th or 17th fret (I use 12th), easy. Fender standard setup recommends 5/64 measured at the 17th fret. I like my setup real low, I set my instruments between 3/64(g) and 5/64(e) measured at the 12th fret. My jazz was plek'd so it can get way down there, 3-4/64 across all the strings with very little buzz. My precision on the other hand will buzz set that low. Also I highly recommend a book by Dan Erlewine called "how to make your electric guitar play great" (covers basses too), best $15 I ever spent as I never have to pay for a setup ever again
But, I wonder about the quality of writing when the title of the book is grammatically incorret.
Actually, it may be mils, but not mills. A mil is 1/1000 of an inch. A mil and an mm are different.Hey bub, that's "mm" not "mill"
There's your brain melt.
I have very similar action preference to you, plus or minus
.00007844678%
I measure my action height in turns, as in if I am getting too much buzz I raise it half a turn on the saddle screws until it goes a way. Or if it feels too high I lower it by half turns until I get a good buzz on ...
So yeah, I'm essentially in the feels good camp too. No point in setting the action on every bass to a standard if that standard doesn't feel right on a certain bass. And if what feels right is different on different basses, who cares??
Could be my eyesight. I thought I saw a package of bacon as the avatar. Love me some bacon! Everything is better in bacon!
I thought the point of the metric system was to dispense with fractions...shouldn't you say 2.5 mm or 2.25 mm instead of 2 1/2 or 2 1/4?
