Picked up my 30th today

[boston asphalt2]

And while Im excited as a pig in ****, I am let down by one thing: the bass was so horribly setup that you couldnt even play the E string until yo hit the 7th fret!!! I have to no go through and set it up properly, which stinks. I tend to tweak the setup on my basses, but if they came from the store with the standard setup already applied, I didnt have to do much work. Now I have to sit and work on it.


I guess it gives me something to look forward to. Anyone want to buy a Gibson les Paul Custom guitar? lol help me fund my Dargie PLEASE.

 

[Big Poppa]

where did you buy it? and dont panic just tweak the truss rod wheel its easy and should cure all of your problems....

 

[boston asphalt2]

where did you buy it? and dont panic just tweak the truss rod wheel its easy and should cure all of your problems....

naw, I aint panicking about it. Jsut sucks that instead of doing a minor tweak to get what I want I need to do a full set up. I bought it from Guitar Center and I may actually be that guy and request them to set it up because it has worked for me in the past

 

[bovinehost]

I don't trust too many people in this world to set my basses up like I want them set up, so unless you know and trust the setup guy at the store....well, it's up to you, but you see what I'm saying.

The good thing is that the Stingrays are just so easy to adjust. I had to tweak my 30th the other day after sort of flinging it across a dance floor, ahem, and it took about twenty seconds.

DIY! YMMV! ETC!

Jack

 

[tkarter]

I never play any bass that I haven't tweaked to where I want it.

Never had gotten one that played as bad as you have said other than my first one. I got one hell of a deal on it too. Took it home set it up played it for a year and smiled every time I thought about it.

Speaking of setup I need to work on the bongo a bit. Danged Kansas weather. It has warped me bongo a bit.

He he you oughta see the look on the rest of the bands faces when I yell "Four"

Golf course courtesy just doesn't do well in a band sitting.

tk

 

[Big Poppa]

it doesnt need a full set up I promise start with the truss rod....yous tart messing with the bridge and the neck angle you are screwed.....just adjust the rod and everything else comes back to you....I have a little experience on this!

 

[Musicman Nut]

And while Im excited as a pig in ****, I am let down by one thing: the bass was so horribly setup that you couldnt even play the E string until yo hit the 7th fret!!! I have to no go through and set it up properly, which stinks. I tend to tweak the setup on my basses, but if they came from the store with the standard setup already applied, I didnt have to do much work. Now I have to sit and work on it.


I guess it gives me something to look forward to. Anyone want to buy a Gibson les Paul Custom guitar? lol help me fund my Dargie PLEASE.

Ernie Ball Music Mans Take a total Of 10 Minutes to set up with intination, Find me another bass on the market like this and l'll buy it but it don't excist.

 

[boston asphalt2]

it doesnt need a full set up I promise start with the truss rod....yous tart messing with the bridge and the neck angle you are screwed.....just adjust the rod and everything else comes back to you....I have a little experience on this!

alright, will do. now, which direction of the wheel does what? I cant wait to hear this thing siiiiiiiiiing

 

[kaaikop]

You a lucky man, that is an awesome bass!
What BP says, just a little turn of the T.R. wheel will bring it right back, I have seen a few of those in the store where I guess the weather change got them to go out of whack... Funny enough the bass I just bought last Sunday was perfect right off the rack, didnt touch anything yet, other than wiping it clean!

 

[Catalin s.]

Pictures, pictures, pictures... Amaze us !

 

[PocketGroove82]

When I do truss rod adjustments on my rays, I think of it this way.
If the bass is siting on your lap in the normal playing position, tweaking the wheel down (toward the ground, "clockwise") will lower your strings. While rotating the wheel up toward the sky (counter-clockwise) will raise them.

It sounds to me that in your case your strings are too low up near the nut...so you should adjust counter-clockwise.

Also, it's best to adjust the truss rod it a little a time. Rotate it a little, then retune it, and play to see if it needs more. When all or most of the fret buzzes are gone, you're sitting pretty. Then, you might have to individually raise/lower a string or two to make everything kosher.

I figured this stuff out by reading up online and just doing the old trial and error thing.
Cause the fact is, those "professionals" at GC who do setups didn't go to college to learn to set up instruments. Odds are they just messed around with enough instruments till they learned the ropes.
Stingrays are built like tanks, it's near impossible to mess one up when doing minor adjustments

 

[boston asphalt2]

When I do truss rod adjustments on my rays, I think of it this way.
If the bass is siting on your lap in the normal playing position, tweaking the wheel down (toward the ground, "clockwise") will lower your strings. While rotating the wheel up toward the sky (counter-clockwise) will raise them.

It sounds to me that in your case your strings are too low up near the nut...so you should adjust counter-clockwise.

Also, it's best to adjust the truss rod it a little a time. Rotate it a little, then retune it, and play to see if it needs more. When all or most of the fret buzzes are gone, you're sitting pretty. Then, you might have to individually raise/lower a string or two to make everything kosher.

I figured this stuff out by reading up online and just doing the old trial and error thing.
Cause the fact is, those "professionals" at GC who do setups didn't go to college to learn to set up instruments. Odds are they just messed around with enough instruments till they learned the ropes.
Stingrays are built like tanks, it's near impossible to mess one up when doing minor adjustments

If the bass is laying on my lap in normal playing position, then turning the truss rod wheel clockwise means pushing it away from me, and turning counter clockwise would be turning it towards me. Which is it then? I guess if the buzzes get worse, I know which way to turn it

 

[tkarter]

In playing position or your lap. Counter clockwise is the way I beleive you need to go. That means adding some relief.

Look at the truss wheel from behind and imagine a clock. Behind means looking from bridge to down the neck.

Don't get too carried away with turning it. It has been described as a 1/4 turn at a time.

I myself have never moved one that far on a MM bass. I usually move it one hole at a time.

So take your time. Keep trying. It takes a bit to settle some times but usually it happens to where you see the results immediately.

tk

 

[Mobay45]

If the bass is laying on my lap in normal playing position, then turning the truss rod wheel clockwise means pushing it away from me, and turning counter clockwise would be turning it towards me. Which is it then? I guess if the buzzes get worse, I know which way to turn it

Exactly! These instruments aren't made of glass. If you turn it one way and it gets worse, just reverse the process and it should make it work. You're not going to hurt the bass turing the truss rod wheel in small increments.

 

[boston asphalt2]

well, I didnt really suceed. I was able to get rid of the buzzing, but the strings are too far off the neck. I turned the truss rod key until there was only minor buzzing in the upper frets and thne I adjusted the string heights from there. Im guessing I need to go and lower the strings a bit, but does that mean I may have to turn the truss rod more?

Im gonna leave it overnight and tackle it tomorrow. Maybe it will settle more and I can see fully whats going on.

 

[cat_empire]

Pictures, pictures, pictures... Amaze us !

yes, yes pictures! i want to see pictures, im tossing up whether to get one now and i need the extra convincing!

 

[boston asphalt2]

yes, yes pictures! i want to see pictures, im tossing up whether to get one now and i need the extra convincing!

here is all I got so far.....

 

[cat_empire]

here is all I got so far.....

im convinced

 

[boston asphalt2]

im convinced

Yeah, and for all those who dont like the neck because of the finish on the back, do what I did: Wax the crap out of it and make it SUPER SLICK.

oh, and that isnt a well set up picture and it still looks sexy as all get-out

 

[cat_empire]

Yeah, and for all those who dont like the neck because of the finish on the back, do what I did: Wax the crap out of it and make it SUPER SLICK.

oh, and that isnt a well set up picture and it still looks sexy as all get-out

yeh that actually was a concern of mine, that because of the finish on the abck of the nexk it might not be as fast, but when i get one ill give the wax a try!