Help! Basic Setup (sorry if its been covered before!)

[Movielife]

Hi all

The weather has been crazy in the UK this year. As you can imagine, I need to adjust the neck on one of my Stingrays. Stupidly cold to fairly mild. No warmth at the moment though.

Can anyone please rundown the easiest and safest way to adjust the truss rod? Are there any precautions to take? Slacken the strings?

The height on the bridge is spot on, but the action is a little high at the moment and I think I need to adjust the truss rod.

I realise this is probably a topic that comes up quite a lot, so if there is another I can use instead, feel free to point me in the direction of it.

Strangely enough, the bass is still virtually in tune after moving house (obviously cased and protected) and being in two different temperatures (my new house is MUCH warmer).
The basses were left in their cases for most of the winter because I was planning a house move, so they’ve been untouched but now im setup in my new warmer home, (and more space!).

Should I leave it out on the stand for a while and let it settle first?

Its by no means really high action, but it could do with being a few MM lower.

Thanks

 

[MadMatt]

Ok, find an good tool that is hardend steel. (soft steel such as a cheep screwdriver will simply bend) I have a screwdriver that fits the holes in the knob perfectly. Make sure you do not insert it too far. Your tool will then pass though the knob and lodge itself into the wood and nothing will turn. I usually insert all the way and then back off a few millimeters.

If you are right handed and the bass is sitting on your lap as you would play it. Turning the handle of the screwdriver down towards the ground tightens the truss rod, straightens the neck and lowers the action. Moving the handle towards the ceiling loostens the trust rod, increasing the bow and in turn raising the action. I usually only adjust 1/8 turn at a time and give the neck about 30 minutes to settle in before more tweaking. Always tune up after adjusting.

Thats it

 

[KevinM]

This link the the MusicMan website FAQ section has some detailed instructions for a full set-up.

music-man-basses | faq

 

[Movielife]

Ok...I dared to do it. I adjusted the wheel towards the G string to give a lower action, small turns, left it, tuned, tried again x 3.

I doubt it has even been round once...but checking the B seems to still be a little bit high. The saddles are as factory, and lower on the B = buzz.

Should I leave it overnight, then adjust a little tomorrow.

The strings seem less tense but the strings still seem quite high off the board.

Any advice?

Thanks

 

[KevinM]

If lowering gives you buzz on your B you don't want to go any lower. Make sure it buzzes when your plugged in, not unplugged. Your axe list doesn't say what kind of necks you have so I assume they're maple which adjusts easier than my roasted so as long as your not getting fret buzz yet I would take it down to 3/32 on B at the 12th. Double check me but if I remember right the FAQ said to not adjust more than 1/8 turn at a time. Adjust, rest, re-adjust. It won't hurt it to go slow.

 

[Movielife]

Yeah maple with rosewood board. I only adjusted the truss a tiny bit 3 times, resting all times and retuning.

I think it's made a difference but not a lot.

The saddles seem a fairly normal height...I think. Need the strings a touch lower though.

 

[KevinM]

Unless the trussrod seems abnormally tight I wouldn't worry about bringing it down. The first two balls I got were gapped at about 3/16" when I got them. It made me wonder if this was done intentionally in case it got colder so they wouldn't get too tight while waiting for someone to adopt them. I adjusted them both the first day I had 'em and that was that. I exchanged the first one for the roasted but I have another on the way with standard maple and RW frets.

 

[bovinehost]

Remember that wood takes a while to bend. If you've turned it a full quarter turn (or more), I'd let it sit overnight and check it again in the morning.

 

[Movielife]

Good idea. Ive left it anyway so Ill check it tonight. I wont adjust any further until Ive got more time.

There is a weird brownish substance on the saddle height screws, which Im guessing is slightly dried lubricant from the factory?

Cheers everyone, Ive emailed CS just to make sure!