• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Bass Setup - Who Does Their Own?

Bass Setup - Who Does Their Own

  • I have a luthier do my bass setup.

    Votes: 43 6.4%

  • I do my own.

    Votes: 604 90.3%

  • Carrots.

    Votes: 22 3.3%
  • Total voters
    669
#41
I've been doing my own setup since long before the internet was full of tutorials, starting when I was about 15 in the early 90's. It's basic physics, and plenty easy to figure out if you put a little time into it. That said, take advantage of the tons of internet materials already mentioned. It's not hard.
 
#42
songwriter21 said:
This may be blasphemy, but I have never used gauges, rulers, or any kind of measuring tools. It makes more sense to me, to go by feel and eye, rather than a measurement. Measurements can also be different over time, as the wood can change.
Click to expand...

I do the same- works best for me. When I have had a (professional) setup I wound-up redoing it anyway ;)
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: songwriter21
#48
I don’t understand the people who go “I’m setting aside $60 for setup”, etc. It’s not difficult at all. It does take time though, but I still prefer to do it myself so I can understand my instruments better and also get them exactly where I want. That way I can make adjustments anytime I want knowing what does what.

I own almost 20 guitars and basses, it will be very costly to pay someone else to maintain them. Plus all that travelling to bring them to a luthier negates any time saved.

Seriously just learn to do your own setup, it’s easier than playing bass.
 
#49
I am relatively new to bass 1 year and have looked at a lot of online content both written and videos, seems that it’s pretty easy to get things right when you understand what your shooting for for example, fret buzz adjust height of saddle on the string till the buzz is gone and then take it back down again till it’s just gone, I bought a set of tools on ebay for a lot less than stew Mac sell them, but have watched a lot of stew Mac and find there co tent excellent, trial and error as with many things there is a lot of BS talked just go easy and a little at a time and make notes so you know where you are/we’re and photos with your phone
 
#50
I really liked this free book:
Invalid Link Removed
Homestly I found the fender setup specs to be extremely conservative; functional but not very nice. I've recently started doing my own fret leveling and polishing. I was amazed how easy it is to get right. Normal (not stainless) frets are soft enough to work quickly but just hard enough that its not easy to go way too far. Learning to level amd dress frets is a really nice thing to know on bass but not that frequently used. I found it's REALLY nice to know how to do on my acoustic guitar where mechanical adjustment is limited. It makes a HUGE difference to take off just a little bit every year or so to account for seasonal changes you cant really correct at the bridge.

Also as others have said- nut adjustments are CRITICAL and definitely the easiest part to mess up. Fortunately nuts are about the cheapest part tp replace.

I couldn't agree more with other posters who recommended you start on a really cheap insturment. Two big reasons to do this:
1. It's not so expensive if you make a mistake.
2 Cheap instruments need the most help the most often. You'll see a huge gain from a good setup and learn to do it well as the cheap bass probably will need more frequent attention.

You CAN do it!
 
  • Like
Reactions: JoshS
#53
TheBear said:
Do NOT take that class. Back when I lived in Chicago and was primarily a lead guitarist (yeah yeah, there were too many bassists in my circles so I had to go to the dark side) I went there and took that class to learn how to set up my Tele. It ended up being four different trips out to the west side of Humboldt Park after dark for an hour or so each class. The guy that owned the place (can’t remember his name) basically just described what each part of a guitar did and continually bragged about his fret jobs that were so good they’d bring tears to our eyes.

On the last day when we were supposed to be setting up our own guitars (that we’d been bringing to class each day but never touched) he sent us to our workstations and ignored all of us students in favor of playing on his iPad...absolute waste of a non-refundable $200 and four round trips to a rougher neighborhood of Chicago. It’s quite a little racket he’s got going on there.

I had a good friend teach me some about setups and am now learning from different YouTube channels. Much more productive and free, though I still get my favorite luthiers to set up my basses when I first get them.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info. It is actually around 400 dollars now and it is in a less than pleasurable neighborhood after dark. I will follow the instructions/info that everyone has given here.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TheBear
#54
#55
I don't use gauges or rulers when setting up my own stuff, but that's because I've been doing it since 1975 or so. I know what I want it to feel like, I've had the same instruments for years (between 35 and six years) so I know what they do.

But using gauges and measurements is a good way to learn. If I set the relief to 3/32" and write down where I set the sadfles, then if in my learning I mess things up, I can get back where I was. It also helps by allowing you to read different set up suggestions and try them. BTW, I always found Fender's specs to result in a less playable instrument (guitars and basses) than works for me, so there is no one "right" spec. That again is why I highly recommend Erlewine's book. He tells you the trade-offs instead of pontificating that there's only one proper set-up.
 
Last edited:
#56
songwriter21 said:
This may be blasphemy, but I have never used gauges, rulers, or any kind of measuring tools. It makes more sense to me, to go by feel and eye, rather than a measurement. Measurements can also be different over time, as the wood can change.
Click to expand...

Not blasphemy, but smart. One of the best things to do once you understand what you're doing is to set up an instrument by feel and THEN take measurements so you can repeat the process easily in the future.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JRA

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back