Help! Bongo Setup: string height?!

[Zippydog]

Just got a shiny new Bongo 5 HH. Love it!!! A great companion to my Stinrgay 5HH.

Here's the Bongo challenge:
I'm having trouble tryind to "dial in" the right string height (like it a little low, but not clackey). I'm not an aggressive player, but not a light player either, so I should be able to get to a similar height as my Stingray but the settings I've got seem wonky and the strings still aren't low enough.

I've done some searching here and some experimenting, but not sure I've got it right. I've set neck first, then string height. Set the neck to where I wiped out any fret buzzing on frets 5-7. Neck is set somewhere in the middle I guess...seems about right, but when I adjust strings down, the saddles are pretty well below the tops of the saddle screws (saddle screws protruding above saddles...a number of threads visible) and yet the strings are still a bit too high for my taste.

I compared the Bongo setup to my Stingray 5HH and the Stingray strings are lower on the neck than the Bongo strings are, yet the Stingray saddles are higher than the Bongo saddles (no protruding saddle screws).

I've obviously done something wrong...neck isn't right I'd guess. Do I need to start over on the neck adjustment, then try again with string height? Is there some kind of re-set I can do on the neck and saddles to get back to a "normal" starting point? Should I just admit I don't know what I'm doing and go pay someone to set it up?!

Thanks in advance for all suggestions!

 

[jasper383]

You may want to take it to a pro. Setup issues are famously hard to fix in a forum.

With the saddles so low, and strings still high, the only thing I can think of is a relief issue. Too much relief can make those middle strings ok, but the others out of whack.

Fret the A string at the 1st and 17th fret. How much space is there at the 8th fret between the string and fret? A little less than a credit card's thickness is what I go for.

 

[strummer]

Honestly, it seems like you may have done something not quite right, so maybe a pro set up is the solution?

Normally, neck straightness should be no problem, you just press down the e (or b) string at the first fret with your left hand, then (the way I do it anyway) capo on the 12:th fret and chack clearance at fret 6 and 7. Adjust to taste.

String height is then adjusted, I usually start with the G and B string, then measure and set the strings in between at the proper height.

A Bongo from the factory is set up per the specs you can find in the faq at the EBMM website.

One thing that comes to mind, since the instrument was bought used, is that the previous owner might have done a "modification" by removing the neck shim. I accidentally did that once, and action got real weird of course.

EDIT: I re-read your message, and since you got the bass new the solution is simple: Get it back to the store and let them set it up properly. Even if you admit to doing a set up yourself I guess they'll help you out no problem

 

[Zippydog]

Fret the A string at the 1st and 17th fret. How much space is there at the 8th fret between the string and fret? A little less than a credit card's thickness is what I go for.

just wider than 2 credit cards.

I re-read your message, and since you got the bass new the solution is simple: Get it back to the store and let them set it up properly. Even if you admit to doing a set up yourself I guess they'll help you out no problem

Not a very good option in my case. Bass came from NYC, I'm in Chicago. Will need to find a local guy. I've got one but they take forever (why I've tried to setup myself).

 

[Zippydog]

Took it to a shop this morning.
We'll see if he can undo the mess I made.

 

[strummer]

just wider than 2 credit cards.

That is a whole lot of relief

Not a very good option in my case. Bass came from NYC, I'm in Chicago. Will need to find a local guy. I've got one but they take forever (why I've tried to setup myself).

Ok ok, well a setup like that, I mean to just basically undo what you did, should not take long, why not just say "I can wait" and hang around til he's done it?