Low Action fast Bass Guitars

[spade2you]

Given the minority of players that use low action, always take TB opinions on such a subject with a grain of salt, just like many opinions of fretless basses that might own a fretless and might play it sparingly.

Low action on a bass requires a very clean technique and disciplined technique. When it's all said and done, each individual bass will decide how low the action can go and not all basses are capable of the extremely low action that some of us desire. It pays to be able to know how to set your bass to maximum low action since you'll probably find that most techs don't know how. Moreover, you're best to set it to your own unique playing style.

The last time I took a bass to a shop for help on lowering the action, it came back with higher action, followed by many comments like, "basses don't sound good with the strings so low, you're not supposed to play up there, etc".

 

[electracoyote]

Given the minority of players that use low action, always take TB opinions on such a subject with a grain of salt, just like many opinions of fretless basses that might own a fretless and might play it sparingly.

Low action on a bass requires a very clean technique and disciplined technique. When it's all said and done, each individual bass will decide how low the action can go and not all basses are capable of the extremely low action that some of us desire. It pays to be able to know how to set your bass to maximum low action since you'll probably find that most techs don't know how. Moreover, you're best to set it to your own unique playing style.

The last time I took a bass to a shop for help on lowering the action, it came back with higher action, followed by many comments like, "basses don't sound good with the strings so low, you're not supposed to play up there, etc".

+1

Techs, god love 'em, for all their experience and tools, sometimes don't listen or care about player wants and needs. I need three techs to get my wacked guitars in shape, and I usually end up doing everything myself except electronics and fretwork, or really technical and scary major alterations.

IMHO, anyone who plays for any length of time should eventually start to experiment with basic set-up procedures. It's the only way to truly personalize your instrument, it's not difficult, and none of it is permanent. If you don't like what you did, you can reverse it easily. Just do a little reading first.

 

[capnsandwich]

Fret size shouldn't have anything to do with your action.. you are only pushing the note down to the top of the fret.. I don't see why any particular model would offer you a better action.. If the frets are level, the saddles go down far enough, and the nut is cut well, it really shouldn't matter what brand or model it is.

When the neck profile is perfect and the frets are small, the neck feels faster to me than if I were playing a baseball bat with huge jumbo frets. While your answer may be scientific, mine is just out of preference since that's what the OP is asking.