Anyone setup their own Music Man bass?

[Rano Bass]

I like to do all kind of things to my basses, setup being one of them
Don't be afraid, it's really hard to break a Musicman bass.

 

[Surly]

Yeah so far so good. I do want to get some feeler guages and measure around first. It seems as though the strings are higher then my other basses towards the bottom of the neck. Either way I love this thing.

 

[Surly]

Well I finished my "setup". According to the FAQ section the pickup should be 4/32" to 5/32" on the bass side and slightly closer on the treble side and that's pretty much where its set from the factory (I checked this to verify). Also the intonation is fine, so I didn't touch the bridge at all. I adjusted the truss rod a bit and my string height is still around 3/32 from the top of the 12th fret to the bottom of the string on the E (Again near factory) Seems a little high but its actually about the same as my other bass. I think any lower it wouldn't feel right (especially for slapping) and it would probably buzz like it did when I lowered the action via truss rod.

 

[jasper383]

Yes, please learn to set up a bass yourself.

Once you get good at it, it will take about 15 minutes max to set up any bass out there, assuming it's in working condition. Paying someone else $50 or so to do this will quickly seem ridiculous.

Plus, you will learn a lot about yourself as a player; what you like and don't, what kind of technique you have, etc.

 

[jamesattard]

The biggest mistake is thinking that string height is controlled by saddle height. This seems obvious to the newbie, but it's wrong. Nope...adjust the trussrod (relief) first, then (and ONLY then) adjust the saddles. If your strings are too high and you lower the saddles, then fix your relief, you'll have awful buzz...that's what I mean by things being interrelated.

when should the saddles be adjusted then?

 

[Surly]

when should the saddles be adjusted then?

Probably after adjusting the truss rod and not before I would think?

Just as a note I have not really touched anything on my 'Ray. I realized that the action was low enough, even a little lower than my little Ibanez out-of-the-box, and any lower got me some buzz. Just tweaked the truss rod nut a bit and that was it, didn't mess with the saddles. Also the more I'm playing it the more I'm getting used to it.

 

[adouglas]

when should the saddles be adjusted then?

When you change string gauges.

Or to correct someone else's mistake.

 

[jamesattard]

ok because i followed the FAQ and my strings are now the same height as suggested. however on the E string i have fret buzz on the first 4 frets. I notices this when i went to a bigger gauge. should i just tamper with the saddles and leave the truss rod alone in this case?

 

[adouglas]

ok because i followed the FAQ and my strings are now the same height as suggested. however on the E string i have fret buzz on the first 4 frets. I notices this when i went to a bigger gauge. should i just tamper with the saddles and leave the truss rod alone in this case?

Always check relief first...changing string gauges changes the tension and therefore the trussrod will have to be adjusted.

There are many, many, many websites that cover how to check relief, so I won't go into it here.

Naturally, adjusting your truss rod will change your string height.

Once you've got the relief correct, you can then adjust string height with the saddles.

Changing string gauge also will require you to re-set intonation.

If you're not comfortable with all of this, find a good tech and have that person do the setup for you.

If you're not clear on how all the different factors interact and affect one another, it's really easy to start chasing your own tail and you could very well wind up with things all cattywampus.