Deciding on a bass. Musicman or...

[rage941]

b. Check the relief in the neck. My guess here is that it has too little relief in it (but refer back to my "can't see" etc comments). Some people (and they're not smart) even loosen the truss rod when they ship a bass.

It doesn't look like it does, but it's hard to see. It seems straight-ish almost. Maybe even a little bowed out.

As a general rule of thumb, if it buzzes on the 1st five frets, you loosen the truss rod, if it buzzes above the 12th fret, you tighten the truss rod...


- georgestrings

It buzzes everywhere...between frets 7-11 it's okay but everywhere else buzzes like crazy..I guess 5 and below is worse but 12 and up is pretty bad too. What does that mean? And which way tightens and which way loosens?


I messaged the previous owner and he said he hadn't played the bass in a couple of months but when he did last there wasn't any buzz. You guys think it was the shipping? It came from 3 hours away from me in the same state (fl) and only took one day to ship so I can't image there being THAT much of a climate change...but then again I'd imagine it gets pretty hot on those trucks...What do you guys think?

 

[georgestrings]

It doesn't look like it does, but it's hard to see. It seems straight-ish almost. Maybe even a little bowed out.


It buzzes everywhere...between frets 7-11 it's okay but everywhere else buzzes like crazy..I guess 5 and below is worse but 12 and up is pretty bad too. What does that mean? And which way tightens and which way loosens?


I messaged the previous owner and he said he hadn't played the bass in a couple of months but when he did last there wasn't any buzz. You guys think it was the shipping? It came from 3 hours away from me in the same state (fl) and only took one day to ship so I can't image there being THAT much of a climate change...but then again I'd imagine it gets pretty hot on those trucks...What do you guys think?

Honestly - I think you should take it in for a professional setup... No offense, but it seems like getting this bass dialed in is beyond the scope of your knowledge/abilities... I'd hate to see someone mess up a fairly high end bass by tweaking things they don't understand...


- georgestrings

 

[lesmarshall]

Got a classic on the way! I didn't think I would find a used one since they're still relatively new and people aren't getting rid of them yet, and if they are they are asking close to the new price. I was about to pull the trigger on a regular sterling (which I know I would not have been happy with; I tried one at bass central and the neck wasn't as comfortable as the classic) and I decided to wait one more night and I found this the next day! only thing that could have been better is if it was coral red with a tortoise pick guard. White would have been my second choice though!

Nice. You should order a tortoise guard for this one. One of my Sterling Classics , a surf green one , came with white guard and I switched it out for a tortoise one and it made a huge difference in the looks department-very vintage looking.
About fifty bucks from MM direct.

 

[lesmarshall]

There is something about a Sterling Classic neck that just feels right. For me, nothing feels quite as comfy and plays as fast. Supposedly , the width at the nut is the same as a Fender J, but the Sterling neck does not feel as wide as a J neck as you go up the neck; I have not measured it , though ,to confirm. Perhaps it's just the carve of the neck that is thinner than a Fender Jazz.

I am sure that others may prefer a much fatter neck , but for me , it's just perfect.

For the OP , you recently missed a Classic Sterling that sold for around $1050 on this Forum recently-it was surf green ( I think MM calls it mint green) ; it was in mint condition ( no pun intended) .

 

[pudgychef]

too straight or bowing out is too little relief....not sure how familiar you are with adjustments but imho this isn't the bass to learn on if new to it...a tech will get that bass set up and playing great in no time...

 

[zackthompson]

Get the musicman