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Budget Basses

C

Carbon Rose

Guest
Aug 7, 2011
22
0
#1
I've been using these forums for along time now, however this my first time posting so hello to everyone!

OK, so I decided I wanted a Jazz Bass, something not to expensive but it had to be playable, adjustable to my liking and sound decent. After some research into the Squier Vintage Modified gear, particularly the 70's Jazz, I went for it and bought myself one from a local music store.

When I tried the bass in the store, it was ok, the action was too high for me so I checked the neck and it had too much relief, but that wasn't a problem because I figured I would just adjust the truss rod and set the neck myself. Boy was I mistaken!

Once I got the bass home and spent 2 days trying to set this thing up with low action, I gave up and sent it back for a full refund. I'm not sure what exactly the problem with this particular bass was, but from my understanding I COULD NOT for the life of me stop the bass for getting fret-buzz at the 17th fret and sometimes onwards. I set the neck from lots of relief to no relief at all and everything in between.

One other thing that I noticed with my particular Squier was that, when I made adjustments to the truss rod, the bass side of the neck, with the E and A strings, reacted differently to the treble side of the neck with the D and G strings. The treble side of the neck seemed to react more to the truss rod adjustments than the bass side. This lend me to believe the neck was faulty, or is this normal?

Anyway with all that ranting my question is, is it possible for me to be able to buy a budget bass that is playable, built well and be able to set-it up with low action, because the issue with this Squier Jazz has honestly put me off buying from them again and I'm afraid to buy again, even second hand in fear of these adjustment issues from stopping me from setting up and playing my bass the way I want it to.

I've even considered buying a fret less jazz due to the fact that the action can be set lower with a straight neck, which is what I like.

What do you guys think? Any recommendations and experiences on this issue would be very much appreciated and welcomed.
 
#3
Rather than the neck, it could be that the individual saddle height needed to be adjusted. You should always start with the minor adjustments before moving to the major. And seeing as how you have taken the neck through so many extremes in such a short period of time, you may have indeed ruined it.
 
#5
I did indeed do minor adjustments such as the saddle height, etc. I don't think that adjusting the truss rod ruined the instrument to be honest. I didn't do anything that drastic to it.

I did think about filing the fret down but that would of taken my refund out of the question so i didn't want to risk it.

The fret-buzz on the 17th fret was the worst on the A string in particular, and unless I set the saddle very very high, which made the action on the A string too high compared to the rest of the strings. The E string surprising had no fret buzz around the 17th fret and I set that the lowest, were as the G string was one of the worst to buzz when set low.

Maybe the problem was with this particular bass and doesn't count as an overall quality standard for the rest. Like i said it has just made me very wary and afraid about buying a budget bass which I'm in desperately need of.
 
#11
Carbon Rose said:
I used a straight edge to see if any of the frets were not level, and to my surprise everything was fine, no high frets anywhere.
Click to expand...

Did your straight edge span only three frets? That's the kind of tool a pro would use to find high frets.

Check out this page if you want...no affiliation (scroll down a bit).

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#12
Yes, the straight edge I used span 2-3 frets at the low end of the neck near the first fret, but the area where the buzzing was happening, near the 17th, it span over 4-5 frets.

I've had this issue with 2-3 other Squier basses, I'm in the market to buy another bass but I'm not sure about Squier anymore. I'm after something under 300 and I want it to be built well without these little issue which stop me from setting my instrument up the way I want it, straight neck with low, effortless action. Am I asking for too much at my price range?
 
#16
I am hesitating indeed, but really I would like to try another I just dont want the same disappointing results again. Also would a 5 string bass naturally have lower action than a 4 string? I'm thinking of getting the new Squier VM Jazz Bass 5 instead of the 4 if the action can be set lower on it.
 
#17
leonche64 said:
Rather than the neck, it could be that the individual saddle height needed to be adjusted. You should always start with the minor adjustments before moving to the major. And seeing as how you have taken the neck through so many extremes in such a short period of time, you may have indeed ruined it.
Click to expand...

A trussrod tweak IS a minor and basic adjustment. I seriously doubt that anything he did "ruined" it.

There are things a pro will notice that the average Joe may overlook. But it seems that the OP is clearly not a "noob" when it comes to setups.

I think it's common for the relief to be different on the treble side than on the bass side. You have to compensate with nut and bridge height.

I agree about a possible high fret or just a not perfect neck. Keep trying out basses until you find a good one.
 
#20
Link Removed
these folks seem to make a decent cheapo- bought one but returned it because i went and found a Fender Fretless 5 J bass for almost as cheap(eBay luck)- anyhoo put my hands on it, seemed to have decent action, and even had active and passive pickups- pretty snazzy for $179.00
 

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