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Low Action fast Bass Guitars

C

cnl83

Jan 30, 2007
106
0
#1
I play a schecter stiletto diamond series. The action is lower than any other bass I have played so far. The neck is narrow and fast. I love it. Im looking for another bass with a different tone and possibly a 5 stringer. We play standard and alot of drop C tunings.

I went to 3 music stores yesterday, and could not find a bass with low action like my schecter. I was looking to try a specter but none of the stores had them. Anybody got any recommendations on low action fast bass guitars?

Yesterday I played MTD, Musicman, Ibanez, fender, and a bunch of other brands.
 
#6
lousybassplayer said:
Well Id look for one with adjustable saddles.

give me five minutes with your schecter and I can render it unplayable without doing any damage at all.
Click to expand...

+1

Don't expect your off-the-rack bass to have the action you're looking for. 9 times out of 10, set-up is required. One of the first things I do with an off-the-rack bass is check the relief, nut slots, and how much play is in the saddle heights. Those are the three areas I'm going to hit to try to bring the action where I like it (low, like you).

BTW, Schecter guitars usually get a pretty thorough set-up here in the USA warehouse before they ship to the store. I have three Schecter 6 strings, all had great set ups right out of the box. They are the exception to the rule, so you might not want to use that as a benchmark.
 
#7
yeah i wasnt bashing schecters by the way, I digthe few of them i have played. Sounded a bit generic and underwhelming but had great necks and felt good to play. That been my feelings about Ibanez too. Around here the chain music bunch is really big into Ibanez and they are almost always set up great, while the other brands vary tremendously. I'm not fooled though, the setups on any of their off the rack gear wont come close to mine since i set them up for me.

This is kind of like asking what car has the best radio stations punched into the presets. I will be gettimg my first MTD tomorrow and I am not even the slightest bit concerned about setup.
 
#8
My 4003 used to have the best action of any bass I own, then I bought a used (Chinese made) Ibanez. But, I have never personally bought a bass that didn't need to be set up the way I like them. Most, especially brand new ones, arrive with relief in the neck, the bridge set too high, and strings high enough you could drive under them. Even a cheap bass can usually be made quite playable, just as an expensive one can be screwed up.
 
#9
lousybassplayer said:
Well Id look for one with adjustable saddles.

give me five minutes with your schecter and I can render it unplayable without doing any damage at all.
Click to expand...

+1.:D

Most stores likely refrain from keeping the action on their basses too low to avoid having clowns like me (that play fingerstyle really hard) walk out without buying due to the basses being "unplayable".

I love my action as low as possible, but my playing style only permits me to go so low before my tone is a clicky, clangy mess.

P.S. I can adjust just about any bass to have amazingly low action... but you had better have a feather light touch to play it.
 
#14
I agree you can set up any bass to have the action you want, BUT the limiting factor is the quality of the fretwork. If the frets are uneven, you can't go any lower than the highest fret will let you go.

That's why I suggested Carvin--in my limited experience, they have the best quality fretwork "off the shelf."

Ed
 
#17
cnl83 said:
What about strings..my strings are close to each other. Thats probably an even better question.
Click to expand...

That Schecter has a 1.5 inch nut width. I have one and the string spacing feels identical to my basses with Jazz necks (same nut width). So you might want to give one of those a spin. If it were me though, I would look into a P Bass Special which has a p body, P and J pickups, and a J neck.
 
#19
Sharko said:
That Schecter has a 1.5 inch nut width. I have one and the string spacing feels identical to my basses with Jazz necks (same nut width). So you might want to give one of those a spin. If it were me though, I would look into a P Bass Special which has a p body, P and J pickups, and a J neck.
Click to expand...

+1

I own one of those, nicest thing to come out of the Mexico factory IMHO. It is the shizz.
 

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