Noob setup question

[Thunder139]

Hey guys,

I've been playing bass for 3 years now and finally ordered my dream bass, the Stingray Classic with tobacoo burst and birdseye maple. I inherited the bass that I currently use (Conklin GT-4), so aside from changing strings, I've only tinkered with it slightly, just to see what minor modifications would do to its performance.

I have heard that Stingrays generally are "ready to play" right out of the box, is this accurate? Now, I know that everyone will have their personal preference, but for my first NEW bass, is there anything that I should focus on in terms of setting up the bass once it finally arrives?

haha I feel like the Stingray is going to become my baby, I can't wait for its arrival and I'm already trying to make sure I'm fully prepared on arrival day, which agonizingly won't be for another 3-4 months...

Thank you for your help guys! When it finally arrives I'll be sure to post some pics!

 

[njhammer]

I'm guessing that you're going to love the setup the first time you play it. Just my opinion.........

 

[rizzo9247]

Now, I know that everyone will have their personal preference, but for my first NEW bass, is there anything that I should focus on in terms of setting up the bass once it finally arrives?

Congrats, thats a sweet bass you ordered. Here is the EBMM bass FAQ, it should be helpful if you are new to these fine instruments:

music-man-basses | faq

As with the handful of new EBMM's that I've purchased, they arrived perfectly set up and in tune.

 

[adouglas]

Hello, welcome, and good for you for asking before you do anything.

There have been a lot of threads about setup, trussrods etc. etc. so please do a search to learn more. Also check out the FAQ from the EBMM main website, which has all of the important measurements (string height, pickup height, etc.) If you pay attention to these, you'll get good results. Your bass will come from the factory set up that way.

I highly recommend that you do NOT mess with anything except the trussrod, and then only to accommodate changes in the weather. I've owned EBMM basses since 2005 and I've never had to do anything at all to the bridge or the pickups. Ever.

Setup is an iterative, interactive process. Everything affects everything else.

Here are the steps in a nutshell, in order.

1) Set relief (i.e., neck bow) with the trussrod.

2) Check string height and pickup height with a machinist's ruler. Make sure your relief is correct.

3) If either string height or pickup height are out of spec WITH YOUR RELIEF SET CORRECTLY, then (and ONLY then) adjust the saddle and/or pickup height.

4) Check your relief again.

5) Once relief, string height and pickup height are all in spec, check intonation. If it's off, then (and ONLY then) move the bridge saddles to correct.

6) Go back to the top and do the whole thing again. Repeat until it's all correct.


Tips:


A very common noob mistake is to believe that to change the height of the action, you should adjust the bridge. NO. DO NOT DO THIS.

If you want a higher or lower action, adjust using the trussrod. You can make dramatic changes with just a little tweak, and the awesome EBMM capstan wheel makes it so simple you can do it in the middle of a gig if you want to.

Putting your pickup closer to the strings will NOT make it louder (another common noob misconception). In fact, the magnetic field will dampen string vibration and kill your tone. Use the factory specs.

Hope this helps!

and....

no pics, no bass!

 

[ivbenaplayin]

Congrats on the new bass, you're in for a treat! My guess is that a very minor tweak of the trussrod would be the absolute most you'd have to do to it out of the box (if that...) as the factory does an EXCELLENT job setting them up before they get shipped out. Welcome to the club, and we'd better see some pics when that bad boy arrives!

 

[toomanyslurpees]

Yeh, I second the not having to adjust the bridge, I bought my Stingray new in 2001 and I still have yet to change the bridge or pickup setup, just the occasional tweak of the truss rod, that's coming up on a decade!

 

[Thunder139]

Thanks for the advice guys, plenty of reading to do. Makes the wait time seem much more bearable now, or worse...but either way it's a great feeling!

 

[Davecg2]

congrats! it definitely will become your baby. mines "my precious" like many said id play with it as is for at least a few weeks before you tamper with anything. the factory sets them up better than most of us can do so give it some time before you try to make any adjustments. and enjoy, youll never need to buy another bass again unless you just want more.

 

[jlepre]

Just grip it and RIP IT!

I've never had to touch anything out of the box. When I changed to flats, I had to adjust the relief in the truss a bit, but that's it!

 

[Norm66]

Thunder, trust me you will love your new bass. I bought a Stingray 5 this summer because I needed a 5 string for the band I'd just joined. The 4 string I'd been playing had been my #1 for almost 10 years and I just assumed I'd play it on the 4 string songs and the SR when I needed the low B for something.

Now a few months later the 4 string hasn't been out of the case since about the 3rd week I had the Stingray. They're that good.