Do you setup your bass?

[SasquatchDude]

I do my own strings, action and neck relief; I can even do a half decent job wiring and soldering, but I'm usually too damn lazy.

I'd be leery to touch the frets and nut, though.

 

[petrus61]

I do my own strings, action and neck relief; I can even do a half decent job wiring and soldering, but I'm usually too damn lazy.

I'd be leery to touch the frets and nut, though.

Same. The most I'll do with frets is use a bit of 0000 steel wool, and that's only on a Squier or any other bass with weird fret alloys that tend to be rough out the box. I can set the hell up out of my own basses and am pretty good with an iron, so 8 out of 10 ain't bad. I try to really stress the setup factor to new bassists and how it will only serve to enhance their experience and connection to their instrument.

 

[Whit Townsend]

I do everything myself except cutting the nut and fret leveling.

This

 

[happyg]

Most of the time I do my own stuff. Ive learned it all here and you tube. Every once in a while, it goes to my local guy. Sometimes its good for me to have another set of eyes.

 

[Caustic Crunch]

On my Jazz bass, there is a small notch in the pick guard at the truss rod. It still doesn't look like you have enough room to adjust the truss without removing the pick guard... is this correct?

 

[highway]

bumping this old thread . . . is there a link somewhere or list of the tools you need to properly do this? i'm on the verge of having a loaded body and random neck that i will bolt together for the first time, this would be the ideal instrument for me to experiment on . . .

 

[Ferret]

Do all mine except for my Ricky which is done by Geddys old luthier. Good enough for Geddy is good enough for me

 

[SGT. BAKER]

I do my self too.

I can tell that I have no so much problems to set up any bass. But the necks with two truss rods they take me a little time more that the necks with single truss rod to do/make their relief. And I aint´got no problems for soldering, wiring, replacing pickups,... Even I have defretted some necks. Now I´m trying to learn leveling frets and I find it really hard, it´s usual at the first time.

 

[DiabolusInMusic]

That is probably the biggest landslide on TB.

 

[SplinteredSkull]

bumping this old thread . . . is there a link somewhere or list of the tools you need to properly do this? i'm on the verge of having a loaded body and random neck that i will bolt together for the first time, this would be the ideal instrument for me to experiment on . . .

A set of allen wrenches and a small phillips screwdriver will get you pretty far. If you want to measure out your adjustments or record them, then you can grab a set of feeler gauges and a ruler that goes down to 16th's/32nd's. Of course some basses require special tools, but they're usually included. The allen wrenches are for the truss rod and saddle height, the screwdriver is for the truss rod cover (if present), intonation, and pickup height. Some vintage fender bridges use a tiny flat-head to adjust saddle height.

 

[SplinteredSkull]

That is probably the biggest landslide on TB.

Finally, clear results If only we had such luck with the best bass for metal and do tonewoods make a difference

 

[Ralph Notoro]

Getting someone to set up your bass to make sure "it's really done right" is like buying a $1000 watch and then hiring someone to tell you what time it is to make sure the time is "really right. "

It' ain't quantum physics guys. With an allen wrench, a screwdriver and a tuner you can learn to do it in 5 minutes .

 

[highway]

Getting someone to set up your bass to make sure "it's really done right" is like buying a $1000 watch and then hiring someone to tell you what time it is to make sure the time is "really right. "

It' ain't quantum physics guys. With an allen wrench, a screwdriver and a tuner you can learn to do it in 5 minutes .

really good to hear coming from a beginner . . . i guess feeler gauges are $7 at a car parts store, going to try to grab a set soon

 

[Black Bart]

bumping this old thread . . . is there a link somewhere or list of the tools you need to properly do this? i'm on the verge of having a loaded body and random neck that i will bolt together for the first time, this would be the ideal instrument for me to experiment on . . .

I use an 18" straight edge and a couple of feeler gauges to check relief, a small ruler with 32nd and 64th inch increments for string/pickup height, small allen wrenches and phillips screw driver for the bridge saddles and a couple different allen wrenches for the truss rods on my different basses.

The 18" straight edge can be a little expensive, but considering how much time it has saved in doing setups, I think it paid for itself.

 

[steweDbass]

Yup, i always set them up myself, although from Bacchus the set up is always great right out the box so I rarely have to do anything with them. But, with some of the used basses i get in i have to adjust them, re-string, adjust the saddles and truss and get them playing like butter!

 

[highway]

does anyone have a reputable/favorite guide for how to do a setup start to finish? or should i just google/youtube until i find a decent one?

 

[Doug Parent]

I've always had my bass setup by a local shop since the day I got it. They're a likeable bunch of fellas in there, they know their stuff, and I knew nothing about setups, so I always kind of assumed their setup was "right" for lack of a better word. But something was always off with the playability, and it finally bothered me enough that I decided to re-setup my bass myself. Long story short, I watched a bunch of YouTube videos and fiddled for about an hour or so and now the setup on my bass is Perfect for me . So now I wonder; How many of you guys and gals setup your own bass? How many take it to a shop or someone else?

Good on you. I learned myself decades ago. There's nothing like snapping the truss rod on your first bass to get you started on the road to confidence. Been doing my own set ups for years. Nobody touches my basses but me. I can knock out other peoples basses as well. Basses are a different animal somewhat to a guitar. I charge $25 as well and polish everything up before I'm done as well.
Many basses take 24-36 hours to settle in too after a truss rod adjustment. It's not a one time slam bam you are done proposition.

 

[OldDirtyBassist]

Nobody, and I mean nobody sets up a 4 string bass guitar like I can.

 

[Ralph Notoro]

next post

 

[Ralph Notoro]

Good on you. I learned myself decades ago. There's nothing like snapping the truss rod on your first bass to get you started on the road to confidence. Been doing my own set ups for years. Nobody touches my basses but me. I can knock out other peoples basses as well. Basses are a different animal somewhat to a guitar. I charge $25 as well and polish everything up before I'm done as well.
Many basses take 24-36 hours to settle in too after a truss rod adjustment. It's not a one time slam bam you are done proposition.

Yes, a new guitar especially takes a few adjustments to settle in -- which is why people should learn to do it themselves. Snap a truss rod? I NEVER heard of that happening before. I'd imagine you'd have to literally twist the truss rod about 10 full turns to do that.