Musicman Setup Guide

[barryenright]

Ok just got myself my first musicman there sunday, traded my warwick $$ straight for this:

Lovely sterling in desert gold, i think i might have been the luckiest guy around for the guy not to notice the price difference(its about a grand over here in europe), and it feels great to play a normal sized neck again too .

One issue im having though is the general setup of this bass and i was looking for a general setup guide for the musicman as im used to the overcomplexities of the warwick.

The action is the main thing really, its too low at the nut and then too high as you go past 15 or so. I want it to be evened out but im not sure how to really do it(yea i could fiddle but not going to even touch anything on this untill im 20000% sure) Also any ideas on how to make tapping come out cleaner on the bass, some of the tapping comes out buzzy but it could just be the action id suppose or could it be the truss rod that needs adjusting.

Might seem like uber noob questions but iv only had to ever change all this type of stuff on a bass once and that was with the crazy complex warwick and im very cautious with my new baby. Cheers out lads.

 

[jasper383]

EBMM basses are super easy to setup. The truss rod wheel is great.

Just about everything you need is right here. I set up my SR4, and my SR5 to this, and it's just about perfect:
http://www.ernieball.com/faq_content.php?subjectcode=mm_basses

As far as action, too low at the nut and too high at the 15th on sounds odd. maybe not enough relief?

Fret the 1st fret and the 17th, then check the string height at the 8th. I figure about a credit card's thickness between the string and 8th fret is right. You tap a lot, so maybe a little less.

 

[barryenright]

yea deffo not enough relief, when i fret the first and the 17th there is no space between the string and the fret at all. Ok question here am i right in saying you should only give a quarter turn of the truss wheel every 12 hours?

 

[barryenright]

O also, one more thing, i cant find the answer anywhere to add relief do i turn the truss rod clockwise or counter clockwise?

 

[jasper383]

Add relief--counterclockwise. This is when you are looking down the neck toward the tuners.

I look at it like this; you are loosening the rod by turning it counterclockwise, allowing the strings to pull the neck more than they did before.

Usually I see a difference in relief in just a few minutes. I wouldn't worry too much about giving it 12 hours. Maybe with more fragile instruments.

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

Righty tighty, lefty loosey.

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

O also, one more thing, i cant find the answer anywhere to add relief do i turn the truss rod clockwise or counter clockwise?

This should help

 

[bovinehost]

How many times have we needed that photo!

 

[strummer]

You say too low at the nut, and that might mean the nut has been recut, and the slots are too deep. Fret a G on the E string and you should have some clearance between string and 1:st fret. About a business card of space is a good reference.
Nice catch by the way!

 

[DTG]

yea deffo not enough relief, when i fret the first and the 17th there is no space between the string and the fret at all. Ok question here am i right in saying you should only give a quarter turn of the truss wheel every 12 hours?

sweet bass,if that was the one in buy and sell i very nearly bought it !!

 

[tommyindelaware]

even guitar players might get that illustation !!!!!!

How many times have we needed that photo!

 

[barryenright]

Ok, bad news, i snapped my srewdriver trying to turn the wheel and now a part is stuck inside, any suggestions?(yes ****ty screwdriver ineed)

 

[Sonnyonbass]

Err.... ouch.....

use 1 of the other holes?



That IS a nice Sterling btw!

 

[barryenright]

i would but it seems that the part thats snapped off is stoping anything else from getting in fully, any way to take off the wheel or device that would get it out. this has gotta have happened to someone before, i mean theres a hell of a lot of **** screwdrivers out there right?

 

[Sonnyonbass]

i would but it seems that the part thats snapped off is stoping anything else from getting in fully, any way to take off the wheel or device that would get it out. this has gotta have happened to someone before, i mean theres a hell of a lot of **** screwdrivers out there right?

Oh dear. So a part of the screwdriver is sticking out 1 of the holes. That doesn't sound to good.
I really don't have experience with that. If it's really wedged into the hole it will be difficult to get it out.

My guess is, is that if you remove the neck you can push the part that is stuck out from the hole on the other side with a different (and better) screwdriver.
Assuming that the holes go all the way through.

Anyone else?

 

[barryenright]

eeeps, i assume they do, argh i hate having to take off the neck and put it back on. i mean its not going to **** up the bass but that means restringing and all that. I think i should prob leave it till tomorro though cause im just after making a trus rod adjustment and should give it time to settle???

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

Yikes! I would have thougt it impossible to break a driver while turning the truss wheel The wheel should be adjusted one or two hole positions at a time.

Perhaps contact Customer Service for advice before proceding further.

 

[bovinehost]

That's a new one on me, too.

 

[barryenright]

i didnt even have the wheel moved a milimetre when it snapped, like i said terrible screwdriver. O well at least im now a case study.

 

[nashman]

Man, you might consider taking it to a Luthier/Pro to fix the screwdriver issue and give her a good set-up.