Do I need to setup again going lighter?

[HelpImaRock]

Yes. Even when changing strings with the exact same brand/gauge, I check neck relief, string height, and intonation. Just the loss of tension from removing one string then putting it back up to tension can cause little changes requiring set up adjustments. Or not, but it’s always good to check.

Even on guitars, I tend to change strings, stretch them out and play for a while, and then check everything the next day. New strings take time to settle. On bass even more-so because of how long they take to settle and then how long they last. Keep on a set of flats for even a few years and the bass is likely to need adjustment with new strings.

 

[JW56789]

Thanks, although I don’t understand why there’s no point in originally asking if I didn’t know the answer?

Isn’t that the literal point of a question?

It's a good question.

It boils down to two things:

1) Are you going from the set of strings currently on the bass to a new set with different gages and a resulting noticeable difference in the total tension (think of it as string pull in total) due to that change?

2) The particular stiffness of the neck on that bass. Wood and construction techniques can give you a neck that is very, very stiff to other examples of the same thing that would be more flexible (or more easily affected by large difference string changes). Simply put, wood just varies, from cheap basses to the most expensive and carefully built, so no two of the same thing will be exactly alike strength and flexibility wise.

That's the technical part.

In real life, generally most basses would not show or feel much different going between the two string sets you mention here. As others have pointed out, the tension of the two sets seems to be pretty close to equal.

I'd simply string it up correctly, let the strings stretch out and stabilize and just play it for a while and see IF you feel any difference. Music Mans are usually very sturdily built, I'd be surprised if it reacted at all, and if it does it should be just a very slight difference. I would double check that the intonation is still correct, I would expect a small change there.

We generally see a setup adjustment needed if you were going from a lighter set to a much heavier set of strings, or any number of possible changes that could prompt one.

Over my many years around basses, I've had basses with necks so flexible I could easily push on the back of the peghead for a wonderful vibrato, all the way to others I could completely unstring, leave unstrung for a day or two, only to have it go perfectly back in place when I installed new strings. Wood and the construction method, the fingerboard wood, the type of truss rod and other stiffening installed, everything can contribute to this in terms of how much setup a given bass is going to take over time.

I do recommend checking setup on a bass twice a year just to monitor what it's doing, and correct small changes IF any occurred before they long-term into real problems, and with most axes, little or no corrections may be needed if you run the same string set all the time. Personally, I've done this long enough I can feel if they're wandering away and need a tune-up, but again, I've been at this a long time.

Good question. I hope this was a good answer.

All the Best,

JW

 

[E2942]

I didn’t know the answer?

Isn’t that the literal point of a question?

No one knows, but it takes seconds to check the neck relief once you have the new strings on.
Get a capo, if you don't have one. It helps to check the neck relief.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Hi, I have a music man 4 that shipped with .45-1.05 rounds that I just had setup and I’d like to change things up and go with pressure wound 044-106

do I need to setup again?

thanks

Would that stop you from trying them? I’d be more concerned about the grooves in the nut being the right size than a truss Rod and or bridge adjustment.

 

[Dragan]

Probably minor changes at the truss rod. But don't worry, music man wheel design is best ever made IMO. So simple and easy to do.

 

[darwin-bass]

A straight edge and a set of feeler gauges (what you need to check neck straightness) is about $20. It takes me longer to walk a bass downstairs to my shop than it does to check a neck’s straightness.

Straight edge and feeler gauge? Gee I must be a hack. I use the low E string as my straight edge. Clamp it at the 1st and last fret. Check clearance 1/2 between those to places. There should be about a business card's worth of clearance. That plus eyeballing down the side of the neck looking from the bridge to the nut.

:shrugs?:

 

[DwaynieAD]

Slap em on and if they have too much clacky clack give the bass a little turny turn

 

[micguy]

Straight edge and feeler gauge? Gee I must be a hack. I use the low E string as my straight edge.

It's the same principle, but the straight edge is straighter and stiffer than your string - since it doesn't move like the string, you get a more accurate and repeatable measurement. The string will also move depending on what position the bass is in, the straight edge won't. If you cut the straight edge to the right length, it rests on the 1st and whatever other fret you want (I use the 17th, where the neck meets the body) - it's faster and you don't need the capo.

There's a video of Carl Pedigo doing a bass setup at Lakland that shows this - once you do it a couple times, you realize it's the way to go.

 

[darwin-bass]

It's the same principle, but the straight edge is straighter and stiffer than your string - since it doesn't move like the string, you get a more accurate and repeatable measurement. The string will also move depending on what position the bass is in, the straight edge won't. If you cut the straight edge to the right length, it rests on the 1st and whatever other fret you want (I use the 17th, where the neck meets the body) - it's faster and you don't need the capo.

There's a video of Carl Pedigo doing a bass setup at Lakland that shows this - once you do it a couple times, you realize it's the way to go.

Oh, I don't doubt you at all. When I "clamp" the strings I don't use a capo. I finger the first fret with my L hand then use my right pinky finger to press down at the highest fret and my R thumb to tap the string up and down. If it moves a little I have the clearance I want. If it doesn't move, the neck is too straight.

In 30 years of adjusting my own basses, I've never once actually measured the gap. I just eyeball it. I'm routinely able to get 3/32 or better action at the 21st fret (that I measure). Buzz free playing all up and down so I guess it works?

 

[micguy]

26249962[/URL], member: 240684"]Oh, I don't doubt you at all. When I "clamp" the strings I don't use a capo. I finger the first fret with my L hand then use my right pinky finger to press down at the highest fret and my R thumb to tap the string up and down. If it moves a little I have the clearance I want. If it doesn't move, the neck is too straight.

In 30 years of adjusting my own basses, I've never once actually measured the gap. I just eyeball it. I'm routinely able to get 3/32 or better action at the 21st fret (that I measure). Buzz free playing all up and down so I guess it works?

You’re in the ballpark - 3/32” is about where I set a B string on a 5’er (.090) - at the 17th fret. The other strings are .005” lower each, (.085, .080, .075), so the G string ends up at .070”

 

[skycruiser]

You’re in the ballpark - 3/32” is about where I set a B string on a 5’er (.090) - at the 17th fret. The other strings are .005” lower each, (.085, .080, .075), so the G string ends up at .070”

I don't think either of my basses have good enough fretwork to setup with this type of precision! I get buzzing all over the place even after sanding down the entire fretboard with a precision machined level.

 

[micguy]

I don't think either of my basses have good enough fretwork to setup with this type of precision! I get buzzing all over the place even after sanding down the entire fretboard with a precision machined level.

All of my basses get there easily - Warmoth fretwork right out of the box is almost always stellar - I did have one 4 string neck (out of at least a dozen necks of theirs that I've built with) that had one low fret - about .002" low at one spot, so I had to level that one, but everything else has set up beautifully.

 

[darwin-bass]

+1 for Warmoth necks. All of mine are. All are easy to get to 3/32 or even 2/32. I did struggle some with a fretless neck that I send back to them and they releveled the fingerboard. Now that one dials right in like the rest.

 

[GreyBeard]

Really all you should need to do is tweak the neck relief.

 

[BAG]

I always check intonation after a string change.... even if they are the same strings. Manufacturing tolerances can make a marked difference at times.

 

[mcrawfordmusic]

It's worth taking measurements before and after.

 

[Tim Skaggs]

Hi, I have a music man 4 that shipped with .45-1.05 rounds that I just had setup and I’d like to change things up and go with pressure wound 044-106

do I need to setup again?

thanks

Maybe. You’ll have to change the strings and check. Whether you need to make any changes will be determined by how the bass reacts under the tension of the different strings. There’s no way to know that prior to changing the strings. You can get 1000 anecdotal responses to your question, but that doesn’t mean your bass will react the same as someone else’s bass. Even if it did, it might not be to your liking.

Swap strings and check it out.

 

[JimmyM]

No, you'll just need to adjust your truss rod, and check intonation. A "setup" is far more than that.

Not much more. String height and pickup adjustment are the only other parts of a setup when you use different gauges. However, it's very possible that all it may need is an intonation check, since the gauges aren't that far off from each other. But it all boils down to the players and their needs. If it needs it, it needs it.

 

[Chrisk-K]

I recently went from the Rotosound Swing Bass 105 E, 130 B set to a 90 E, 120 B set on EBMM SR 5 and didn't have to make any adjustments. I ended up putting them on my Sterling sub 5 and again without having to make any adjustments.

Your intonation is off.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Your intonation is off.

Yup