infamously low action

[R0VER]

Im aware that the action on a bass is subjective from a few views such as those of players and technicians, but what brands and models of basses are infamous for that super low action without any modifications?

 

[Doctor J]

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/basses-have-low-action-default-836089/

 

[dj5]

I'd say most Plekked basses (eg Lakland, Lull), and as to the hand levelled ones, you'll have to make your own mind up from reports here, but my DJ5 is PERFECT, and I'm sure a lot of people will say the same about their hand levelled models, but I can tell you that Lakland's fretwork on the Skylines went up a notch when they got the Plek machine. Any decent neck should go really low if the fretwork is good, which you can check with a rocker.
You might be surprised at how bad some are!

 

[chiplexic]

I'd say most Plekked basses (eg Lakland, Lull),

G&L

 

[jazzercountry]

That's more than famous

 

[JimiLL]

Peavy Cirrus has the lowest frets ive seen on a production bass

 

[mongo2]

Im aware that the action on a bass is subjective from a few views such as those of players and technicians, but what brands and models of basses are infamous for that super low action without any modifications?

I've heard that Ibanez are fairly low but I've played more that a few Ibanez basses that had action that was way too low for me....and other Ibanez basses that were too high.

What the action on any given bass will be belongs in the crapshoot category. Finding a bass with the action in the Goldilocks zone for a particular player right out of the box, even more so.

 

[lfmn16]

the word infamous usually implies a negative connotation. from Dictionary.com - having an extremely bad reputation.

Are you asking about basses with action that is too low, or low in a bad way?

 

[Dave W]

Peavy Cirrus has the lowest frets ive seen on a production bass

That shouldn't matter for low action. The string make contact with the fret, not the fretboard. The distance from the bottom of the string to the top of the fret is usually what people refer to when talking about action.

 

[guy n. cognito]

Peavy Cirrus has the lowest frets ive seen on a production bass

Having small frets does not equal low action.

I've been able to coax low action out of almost anything, but especially Spector, G&L and a few fenders.

 

[RoadRanger]

Most basses under a grand need there nut slots deepened to get low action. That should be a part of a decent setup but there are plenty of hacks out there that don't bother .

 

[IngerAlb]

Ibanez SR basses (the new models in particular) have a very low action by default.

 

[enricogaletta]

I agree with the previous comment, if the bass is a good one with great woods on the neck and if the fret work is well done, a good truss rod and bridge, you really can set great low action, either way if you have a bolt on or neck trough bass.
I have really good low action on almost all my basses, off course when the bass doesn't have a good of the any characteristic above you can have some small problem, but isn't really a big deal.
Cheers. Enrico
YouTube
WebSite

 

[Chef]

Plek vs hand done fret jobs:
Plek doesn't insure great playability. I've had two plek'd basses that required followup by hand. The machine is only as good as it's operator, and maintenance.

Furthermore, good fretwire is hardened, and a plek job that is "making up for bad work milling the neck and fingerboard to true" is going to knock off a lot of the fret that you're gonna wish you had, later.

 

[LarryO]

In my opinion the basses that have the lowest action have very stable necks and flatter fretboard radius. You can probably get a low action on any bass if all factors are in check ( neck relief, fret wear, saddle height, nut height, string guage.........etc)

 

[Chef]

Factors for low, even action, IMO:
is the neck blank worked to truly level across it's length?
is the fingerboard blank worked to truly level across it's length?
Fret work...if the two factors above are done well, and the frets are installed well, you won't need lots of fret dressing...

Is the neck butt level to the fingerboard?
Is the neck pocket level to the fingerboard?
If these are off, you'll have to dress the frets differently at one end, compared to the other, to make up for it.

 

[Bassamatic]

The 2 basses I have with insanely low action are Peavey Cirrus 5 and my old '67 Hagstrom Hag II. Never been able to get anything else as good as these.

 

[turingtest]

Out of the box, I have found Alembics to have very low action.
I like the action on my original Steinberger (no adjustments of any kind!).
I have a couple of Bongos that have low action.

I have to work hard to get a Fender J or Gibson EB-3 into shape and then I have to repeat it seasonally.

YMMV

 

[Jazzcat]

In fretless, I would say Pedulla.

 

[J. Crawford]

Fbass.