Double Bass lowering action

[lowend219]

I recently bought my first double bass off Ebay.
Its got nylon rockabilly strings which I need to get rid of.
Also the action is waaayyyy too high.

a shop i took it to said i had to reshape the finger board to lower the action, its a pricery procedure, is there another way to lower the action?perhaps a new bridge? shave the bridge down?

any help is greatly appreciated, i don't want to shell out the money if i don't need the work.

thanks much!

jason

 

[tbassist4]

You went the same route I did, haha. Getting an adjustable bridge will let you change the action at will, however, replaning the fingerboard is probably necessary. I can't say it is necessary for sure because I haven't seen your bass, but if it's anything like mine, you'll be much happier in the long run getting it fixed and set up how it should be. Mine buzzed and was uneven, and I assume yours does and is as well. Get everything fixed that needs to be fixed now. Mine turned out to be a great bass. I can't say it enough: Get it fixed correctly.

Also, what type of music will you be playing? Different action and different strings will be required for different styles. You said it came with nylon rockabilly strings (weedwhackers), will you be playing rockabilly and/or bluegrass, or do you want to play another style? Maybe a few different styles? Each style or combination of styles will require a different type of strings and setup. The nut and bridge string grooves will have to be cut according to the type of strings you'll be using, whether that be steel, nylon, or gut.

You should spend the money, otherwise you'll end up with an instrument that is no fun (and painful!) to play. You really need to invest money in lower end double bass to get something decent. What kind of prices are you talking about? $300-$500 is the range you should expect to pay for repairing a bass of this level in full, or at least it is around there in my experience. The trick with ebasses is that they come in poor condition, and not only need to be set up, but repaired as well. I paid somewhere in this range to get mine fixed.

Have your luthier check to make sure the bass is structurally sound as well. I was very fortunate with my bass. It is sound structurally; make sure yours is too before you spend money on it.

You can get a great bass out of one of these ebasses, it's just a combination of a good luthier, chance, and a little help from God, and believe me, I am not at all kidding about that. Good luck! I hope this goes as well or even better for you than it did for me!

 

[lowend219]

I'd like to be able to set up for multiple styles
Mostly I'd like to be playing jazz, however I love blues (though not rockabilly oddly enough) and odd as its sounds i'm really interested in experimenting with hiphop on the double bass.

i got quoted $600 for reshaping, new strings and a new bridge, though my friend who recomended me to the shop told me to talk directly to the owner and he may offer me less.

 

[tbassist4]

$600 is a little steep. I paid around $500 and that included strings. I just had adjusters installed in the current bridge and did not buy a new one. My bass is now in the shop getting a new one about two years later, haha; the old one was bending at the top. Long story short, new bridge = good idea, that is, if the other one really is bad. Mine was thin and made out of wood that did not suit a bridge, obviously, haha.

For jazz and a little blues you'll most likely be using steel strings (this will work for hip hop as well), so additional setup for those strings will not be required, since it most likely came set up that way, but the luthier will take a look and know what to do. Talk to the owner and see what deal he comes up with.

 

[accutone]

If the fingerboard needs work, it needs work, a real bridge is not cheap , soundpost needs to be moved, and strings are $100, etc... so $600 is not outrageous. But I would really have a heart to heart with the luthier about whether it is worth putting that kind of $$ into the bass. I have no idea what you bought, but some basses, new or not, will not last long enough to get your $600 out of it. (Plus whatever you paid.) Also, the weed whackers that are on it, are lower tension than steel strings. You may find your bass in 2 pieces if you put steel strings on it if it is of low quality.

In short, evaluate what you have and if the numbers don't add up sell it and treat any loss as the price of an education. Better than throwing good $ after bad. I honestly hope this is not the case, but keep an open mind. Good luck.

 

[lowend219]

thanks both you guys, i really appreciate the help

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