These should help. John Carruthers...master luthier.
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I should do my own setups from now on
- Thread starter scottfeldstein
- Start date
Thanks for all the feedback and encouragement, everyone. I really appreciate it.
It's not the case that I've never done any of these adjustments. I had to do them myself when I was a kid. Paying someone $50 to do anything was out of the question back then. So it's been a long time and I just figured it was one of those things - like the oil change - that I could afford not to bother doing myself. Wrong.
Update. My Fender acoustic six string is doing well this morning. I gave her another 1/4 turn because nothing untoward occurred during the night. I think, though, that next time I change the strings I will probably sand down the bridge saddle and maybe back off the truss rod a bit. The action is great up in the first position, but still a little high around frets 7-9. But goodness this guitar plays nicely now. And to think I payed a mere $100 for the thing.
About the Warwick bass. One good thing about it is that the nut is mechanically adjustable! I know some of you reserve things like nut work and fret dressing for the pros. Makes sense. I will too. Except in this case I will adjust that nut if its called for. Handy thing to have, a mechanical nut. I even have the 5mm truss rod wrench that came with the bass. And there's a teeny tiny one that must be either for the saddles or the nut...or both? We'll see.
It's not the case that I've never done any of these adjustments. I had to do them myself when I was a kid. Paying someone $50 to do anything was out of the question back then. So it's been a long time and I just figured it was one of those things - like the oil change - that I could afford not to bother doing myself. Wrong.
Update. My Fender acoustic six string is doing well this morning. I gave her another 1/4 turn because nothing untoward occurred during the night. I think, though, that next time I change the strings I will probably sand down the bridge saddle and maybe back off the truss rod a bit. The action is great up in the first position, but still a little high around frets 7-9. But goodness this guitar plays nicely now. And to think I payed a mere $100 for the thing.
About the Warwick bass. One good thing about it is that the nut is mechanically adjustable! I know some of you reserve things like nut work and fret dressing for the pros. Makes sense. I will too. Except in this case I will adjust that nut if its called for. Handy thing to have, a mechanical nut. I even have the 5mm truss rod wrench that came with the bass. And there's a teeny tiny one that must be either for the saddles or the nut...or both? We'll see.
Those videos were the basis of my learning process.
I was in the same boat a few years ago. It seems like a very daunting thing to learn, but once you have wrapped your head around the mechanics of a bass, it isn't that bad. Learning how to do a basic bridge/neck setup saves SO much time and money.
The bass that forced me to learn this was a Warwick $$ Corvette. Not the easiest instrument to work on. The person I took it to didn't get it quite right, but it took them a week to get it back to me, and the shop is 30 minutes away. It just wasn't worth taking it back. So I watched YouTube videos and tinkered. The Warwick 3D bridge is one highly engineered piece of equipment, so it certainly was a crash course. However, after tackling that monster, a basic Fender style bridge was a breeze.
Thanks! I think I've seen some of these before, but now I've watched them all again. I feel like I basically know what I'm doing. Plus, as I mentioned in an earlier comment, I have a mechanically adjustable nut! So the scary part, the part where you could overdo something and end up having to buy a new part, isn't so scary for me at all.
Yeah, ever since seeing this vids about 5 - 6 years ago, I do all my own set ups. When someone like John Carruthers takes you through it step by step where you can see it done, takes a lot of the mystery/fear out of the process.
I'm a big fan of getting used stuff evaluated and set up by a good tech. If you trust them - to get it set up perfect. Then you adjust moving forward. It's a nice way to also make sure your purchase isn't damaged too.
I would never pay someone for something I can do myself. I've been doing my own setups since the 80's because nobody else can read my mind. It's so very easy to do them once you get the hang of it, too. I even set up a banjo last week for the first time and it turned out pretty excellent.
At a certain point, if you have the skills and proper tools, I say yes. I do all my set ups and light repairs. It takes a while for me to get a new bass dialed in just right for touch and intonation, my last bass a Gibson EB14 5 string that was way out of whack took almost a month to dial in but now it is a mean machine!
For big stuff I am very particular and only trust a few repair folk and sadly that list is getting shorter.
For big stuff I am very particular and only trust a few repair folk and sadly that list is getting shorter.
Next thing you know you'll be leveling and dressing. Then pulling frets, sanding with radius blocks, and installing new frets. Then....
That's exactly what I thought...till I tried doing it. That's why my 76 Precision has had three necks.
Ouch! Yeah not something to dive in on with a good instrument or without the right tools. A mentor helps too.
I’ve paid for three setups in 20+ years. Each time the tech set it up to his spec (not mine) and I subsequently had to adjust things myself to fit my technique. It’s a great and rewarding experience to do it yourself and helps you to get very familiar with your bass. Repairs and modifications are a different animal for which I seek a pro. Good luck - and remember only turn the truss rod 1/4 at a time and retune after every adjustment!
Bravo! EVERY bass player should be able to do a BASIC setup on their instrument. Every.single.bass.player.in.the world.
...just don't tell anyone you can do setups... your guitar/bass acquaintances will be at your door constantly...
Ha, I've been changing my own oil on all my vehicles for that past 20 years precisely because I want it done right. A few cockups from the "pro" oil change joints over the years have taught me that lesson. The $$ savings are just a wee bonus.
Last year, I was away from home with my new truck, and ready for an oil change. 1500 miles from home, I decided to have it done at Grease Monkeys, rather than wait 'til I got home. Great, right?
Wrong. At the next oil change interval, I found that the apes at Grease Monkey had torqued the drain plug and filter so tight that I needed a cheater bar to get them loose. Thankfully, the drain plug threads in the oil pan weren't damaged. Given the choice, I'd rather drive around with dirty oil for a while before I'd let another lube joint hack near my vehicles.
Last time I did a "pro" setup it was on a new tele from the shop's "technician". After he adjusted the truss rod I have to admit that the action was almost perfect. A couple of days later I saw that the bolt on screws were loose (from the factory and/or transit) and that the neck was almost hanging in the air. Very minor for him, obviously. NEVER AGAIN. Setups only from me and the 2 techs that I know and trust from now on.
