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My strings are high but my neck is straight

#3
And the shim is about half an inch wide and the width of the neck pocket. It goes under the neck, at the closed end of the neck pocket. Putting it at the open end of the pocket helps the reverse situation. Start with a piece of business card stock, or about .020" Re-assemble the bass and try it out. You may have to pull it apart and add a second shim on top of the first one.
 
#4
jasononbass124 said:
can I just lower my strings from the bridge or...?????
Click to expand...

Yes. That's why the bridge is height-adjustable. Adjusting the neck isn't the way to deal with string height, it's to control relief. The side effect is that more relief will cause higher string clearance, which is then corrected by adjusting the bridge.
 
#6
I hate to be this guy but god damnit I'm so tired of, every time somebody ask a question on talk bass, everybody immediately tells you to shim the neck. there's nothing wrong with shimming a neck and I'm not one of those people who falsley thinks that it is dangerous, but it sounds a lot more like the OP is a little under informed with set ups and was asking a VERY basic question of adjusting the bridge height.

before you suggest shimming the neck, make sure the OP uses the words ' I have adjusted my action as low as possible and my strings are still too high no matter what I do'

when you hear hooves assume horses, call it a zebra once stripes ever show up
 
#7
eddododo said:
I hate to be this guy but god damnit I'm so tired of, every time somebody ask a question on talk bass, everybody immediately tells you to shim the neck. there's nothing wrong with shimming a neck and I'm not one of those people who falsley thinks that it is dangerous, but it sounds a lot more like the OP is a little under informed with set ups and was asking a VERY basic question of adjusting the bridge height.

before you suggest shimming the neck, make sure the OP uses the words ' I have adjusted my action as low as possible and my strings are still too high no matter what I do'

when you hear hooves assume horses, call it a zebra once stripes ever show up
Click to expand...

I'll second that. That's what adjustable saddles are for. Guy brought a guitar into my shop the other day with the saddles ALL THE WAY UP, and a piece of CARDBOARD AS A NECK SHIM.In my opinion, shimming is a last resort for action adjustment.
 
#9
If your saddles are bottomed out and the string height is still too high, the addition of a shim may be in order. I'm also a bit concerned about the "straight neck" reference although this is the preference amongst many bassists. Overall, my basses perform better with a slight degree of relief 'cuz I'm a ham-handed klutz.

Riis
 
#10
I'm sorry fellas like one of the guys had said I know nothing of what "shimming" is....what is that lol

But the neck is straight, the saddle is high and the strings run high all the way to the head. I'm pretty set-up stupid but thank you fellas
 
#11
Go to youtube and search for "how to set up a bass guitar. There is a very helpful series of videos by (I believe his name is) John Caruthers?! He explains the correct order of adjustments to do a proper setup, including truss rod adjustment, saddle height at bridge, adjustment at the nut, and finally intonation. The correct order is critical to achieving a good setup.
 
#14
Study the stickies for the CORRECT process of setting up.

If the nut ain't right, start there and make sure it's cut correctly. And, no, almost no factory nut is cut correctly on mass-produced instruments, so do not assume it's right because it's a Fender or whatever. Then make sure the frets are in good shape and level with each other. Without these two things done correctly you can't really do a proper setup.

Then set the neck relief for the correct amount of bow. NOTE!!! This step will change the action in the middle of the neck, but that's NOT the reason for adjusting the truss rod. It's just that you can't get the next step right if this step isn't done right.

THEN set the action using the saddles. If you can't the saddles down low enough to have the action you want, then a shim might be the solution. But never start with it, and never rely on the truss rod to set your action.

John

ONLY if you can't
 

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