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First Things You Do When You Score A Used Bass
- Thread starter mantrabass
- Start date
.
What I do: full disassemble and clean, polish / buff , full setup with new strings. Fret level and polish. Play it ! Upgrades come later.
For some reason the very first thing I do is go up and down the fingerboard and play every note on the thing. I think it is because years ago I sat and wondered if there were any note I never played on my old bass, and then took it out of the case and played them all so I knew the answer.
The second thing I do is clean it and change the strings, and play it as-is for a couple of days (I will fix anything noticeably wrong right off the bat) add strap lock buttons (if needed) and then set it up after it settles in a bit (string height, pickup height, etc.)
The second thing I do is clean it and change the strings, and play it as-is for a couple of days (I will fix anything noticeably wrong right off the bat) add strap lock buttons (if needed) and then set it up after it settles in a bit (string height, pickup height, etc.)
Restring and setup.
Warning: Finger cheese exposure from the strings of a used bass is known to cause such ailments as vampirism, lycanism, zombism and in rare occasions, guitardism.
Warning: Finger cheese exposure from the strings of a used bass is known to cause such ailments as vampirism, lycanism, zombism and in rare occasions, guitardism.
- Dec 12, 2007
- 2,268
- 43
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Zon Guitars, Tsunami Cables, DR Strings, GK
First give it a once over for correctness to how it was sold, check neck, tuners, bridge, EQ wiring if active, nut height vs my preference, etc.
Then make sure truss rod works.
Then string the strings off it and clean it because almost always things that arrive are grimy... or at least for me.
Check level-ness of frets while strings are off and correct if need be. Full fret leveling if more than a couple need tweaking.
Restring. Set action, make any adjustments to nut if needed to point of being happy, set intonation, put a new battery in it as I almost always buy active basses.
Enjoy the bass.
Then make sure truss rod works.
Then string the strings off it and clean it because almost always things that arrive are grimy... or at least for me.
Check level-ness of frets while strings are off and correct if need be. Full fret leveling if more than a couple need tweaking.
Restring. Set action, make any adjustments to nut if needed to point of being happy, set intonation, put a new battery in it as I almost always buy active basses.
Enjoy the bass.
Glad to know I'm not the only one who does this!
I also insert "tools", "stereo gear", or "computer peripherals" into the above declaration depending on the situation.
Give it a once over.
Play it.
If my fingers stink after first play, change strings.
Then my patented crappy setup/cleaning.
Play it more.
Play it.
If my fingers stink after first play, change strings.
Then my patented crappy setup/cleaning.
Play it more.
Well I immediately remove the bridge and replace it with a BadAss, take out the tuners replace with Hipshot Ultra lights, send it to John_K for a refinish, order/install a Warmoth replacement neck, de-fret the neck, play it, put a "for trade feeler" ad in the classifieds, change my mind, play it, change the pots to CTS, install a new orange drop capacitor, debate whether its better playing than my SX pbass, start a threads asking if the new bass or SX P is better, then I post it in the classifieds for sale.
But hey...that's just me.
But hey...that's just me.
Well I immediately remove the bridge and replace it with a BadAss, take out the tuners replace with Hipshot Ultra lights, send it to John_K for a refinish, order/install a Warmoth replacement neck, de-fret the neck, play it, put a "for trade feeler" ad in the classifieds, change my mind, play it, change the pots to CTS, install a new orange drop capacitor, debate whether its better playing than my SX pbass, start a threads asking if the new bass or SX P is better, then I post it in the classifieds for sale.
But hey...that's just me.
A true TB devotee...!
Glad to know I'm not the only one who does this!
I also insert "tools", "stereo gear", or "computer peripherals" into the above declaration depending on the situation.
LOL - I think we all must have married the same woman. The very first thing I do when I buy a new bass is try to get it in the house without the wife seeing it. Then I carefully place it on a stand in the studio next to a number of others I regularly play. If she says anything I just claim I've had it for ever or sometimes I'll use the "That Bass??, Oh, I traded the blue one for it at Guitar Center last week, straight up trade, I made out like a bandit on that trade" (of course you have to put the blue bass in a case for a few months).
Then I play the heck out of it, with a smile.
1) Clean it.
2) Install Shcaller strap locks if it doesn't have them already.
3) Play the hell out of it.
4) Setup and strings as needed.
2) Install Shcaller strap locks if it doesn't have them already.
3) Play the hell out of it.
4) Setup and strings as needed.
Well I immediately remove the bridge and replace it with a BadAss, take out the tuners replace with Hipshot Ultra lights, send it to John_K for a refinish, order/install a Warmoth replacement neck, de-fret the neck, play it, put a "for trade feeler" ad in the classifieds, change my mind, play it, change the pots to CTS, install a new orange drop capacitor, debate whether its better playing than my SX pbass, start a threads asking if the new bass or SX P is better, then I post it in the classifieds for sale.
But hey...that's just me.
Classic. Just classic.
you guys with wife problems need to read an old classic essay by Patrick McManus from Outdoor Life titled "Gun Running... Past your Wife" (or something like that).
the thing he says that's relevant here is that you must pass the threshold of your wife knowing exactly how many basses you have.
once she reaches the point of saying "I don't know why you need ALL THOSE BASSES" instead of... for example..."i don't know why you need a fourth bass" you are home free.
just always keep an empty bass stand in your practice room (and have several empties in spare for just this purpose), when you get a new bass, put it in the empty stand and move another empty into the room in the same place the old one was, she'll never know the difference.
the thing he says that's relevant here is that you must pass the threshold of your wife knowing exactly how many basses you have.
once she reaches the point of saying "I don't know why you need ALL THOSE BASSES" instead of... for example..."i don't know why you need a fourth bass" you are home free.
just always keep an empty bass stand in your practice room (and have several empties in spare for just this purpose), when you get a new bass, put it in the empty stand and move another empty into the room in the same place the old one was, she'll never know the difference.
I read up on it after I buy it instead of before. I also look on ebay to see if I could've bought it cheaper elsewhere. Again, after instead of before.
I like to see how it looks with various outfits , maybe strike a pose or two .... get an idea of what looks best with each bass . Try it out with various straps .
*Clean it and look for any physical defects or shipping damage. Cleaning it encourages me to look at every inch of the instrument. It also increases its appeal to my wife--an important factor.
*Tune it and play it.
*Check full function of all controls - volume, tone, whatever.
*From this point on what I do can vary, depending on what I find. Typically, if the neck is straight I will adjust string height, with a focus on 1) getting the height low and 2) determining if there are one or more high frets or other issues like that. If the neck needs a truss-rod adjustment, I will adjust it a quarter turn or less and then check it again the next day.
*Finally, I set intonation and continue to play it for a "full evaluation" of the instrument since it is now close to the setup I plan to use.
*At this point, I determine whether the bass is a keeper or not.
*Once it passes that phase, next comes the cosmetics. I use Shaller straplocks, so I see what I have on hand and then either install what I have or order a set (color) that works for that bass. Same for the strap. Some basses, like a Hofner Club, do not use a standard strap, for example. This is also the time I will treat the fretboard with lemon oil, etc.
*For me, string replacement comes last. Until the instrument is set up and settled in and I've started getting used to it, it is hard to evaluate the tone and response of the strings. I've had strings that I did not like in the first ten minutes become quite enjoyable 10 hours later (for example).
*Tune it and play it.
*Check full function of all controls - volume, tone, whatever.
*From this point on what I do can vary, depending on what I find. Typically, if the neck is straight I will adjust string height, with a focus on 1) getting the height low and 2) determining if there are one or more high frets or other issues like that. If the neck needs a truss-rod adjustment, I will adjust it a quarter turn or less and then check it again the next day.
*Finally, I set intonation and continue to play it for a "full evaluation" of the instrument since it is now close to the setup I plan to use.
*At this point, I determine whether the bass is a keeper or not.
*Once it passes that phase, next comes the cosmetics. I use Shaller straplocks, so I see what I have on hand and then either install what I have or order a set (color) that works for that bass. Same for the strap. Some basses, like a Hofner Club, do not use a standard strap, for example. This is also the time I will treat the fretboard with lemon oil, etc.
*For me, string replacement comes last. Until the instrument is set up and settled in and I've started getting used to it, it is hard to evaluate the tone and response of the strings. I've had strings that I did not like in the first ten minutes become quite enjoyable 10 hours later (for example).
