String height

[pete bass]

Hi all...Anybody out there who has done their own set up regarding adjusting the string height could reply with what tools they used ? i have now a beautiful mint condition SR5 in honeyburst which has been stored in case for 8 years but the action is a little high for me, The neck is perfect with just a slight hint of relief, I have been told to use auto feeler gauges but in Spain where 98% of the cars on the road are Diesel these tools are impossible to buy anywhere, Any help will be appreciated and i will post pics of both my Balls.... err Basses on next post ...Peter

 

[Soulkeeper]

For the truss rod wheel I use a small screwdriver or a hex wrench. Note that if you use a really cheap screwdriver, you risk bending it (been there, done that). Find the thickest one that fits. If you want to tighten the truss rod, you might also want to slacken the strings first.

For the saddles, use a 1/16" hex wrench (aka. allen key). Here in metric Europe, one easy way to obtain one is to order one from Fleabay for ~$1.

You can also use a 1.5 mm hex wrench if you know exactly what you're doing and how to do it, but it's not recommended, as this is 0.0875 mm smaller than the 1/16", and you risk ruining the saddle screws if you use a little bit too much force.

Btw, I have a hard time believing these are impossible to get in Spain? Anyway, they're probably easy to find on Fleabay too. Myself, I've been doing OK with just one of these and a pair of these.

 

[Chris C]

Setup is a very personal matter. I've never had a bass setup new or otherwise the way I prefer when I got it, so I always "personalize" it. For me, it sounds like your truss is just about the way I would leave it--the slightest hint of relief. From there, I never use any sort of gauge or anything. I either lower or raise the string height until I get no buzz (unless I pluck really hard) up and down all the frets (assuming it doesn't need a fret job). In general, I like the strings to be as close as possible while maintaining an acceptable amount of buzz (meaning I only get it if I really dig in). I play pretty lightly for the most part, so I can get really tight action, which I like. Once the saddles are set, I seldom have to ever touch them again. Any seasonal variation in string height is remedied by a slight turn of the truss.

To their credit, of all the hundreds of basses I've owned over the years, among the new ones I've bought, Music Man basses have consistently been best on setup. I've had other NEW basses that look like they were set up by a three-year-old with a hammer.

 

[pete bass]

Thanks for all the replies, it´s all been taken onboard.....Peter

 

[laneline]

I found this to work really well as it's easy to hold and it's tapered so it slides right into the truss rod wheel, just a simple nail punch and there's no way it will ever bend.

 

[tbonesullivan]

as others have said, what setup you use is a very personal thing. You want it to play the way you want to. Some people like a higher action than normal.

Factory String heights for a 4 string bass are: Bass side 3/32" to 7/64" Treble side: 5/64" to 7/64" from the top of the 12th fret to the bottom of the string.

Some may like higher, though I don't know many that go that much lower than factory action.

Relief is also something people are very divided on. some feel that the neck should be as close to dead-on straight as possible. others like more relief in their necks. Problem as always is that with too much relief, you may not be able to get the saddles down low enough to give you the action you like, or you will get buzzing at the top of the fretboard.

I do understand why EBMM's guides really only mention using the truss rod. If the bass was set up to factory specs, the only think you really need to change to get it back to those would be the truss rod. But for more advanced players who really want to tweak how their instrument plays, adjustment of both the truss rod and saddles is necessary.

 

[Apothem]

I have a problem with my 'Ray Classic 4: I cannot get a very low action, even removing the mutes. I am still using the stock strings, Super Slinky 2834 (45-100).

I have tried different combinations of relief/truss rod adjustment and saddles height, and still I get a part of the neck where the strings are literally stopped dead by the frets, unless I raise the action higher than my liking. On my 1989 'Ray 2-eq I use D'Addario Prosteel 45-105, the neck has virtually zero relief/is very straight, and the strings are virtually sitting on the frets without problems...

The situation is so confusing that I do not know whether I should move to stiffer strings and less relief or to more flexible/looser strings with more relief.

I have noticed how deep the cuts in the nut are, how deep the strings sit in them. I wonder whether it has been overfiled. Anybody had the same situation?

Thanks for any help.

 

[tbonesullivan]

Personally, I'd take it to a tech to see if they can spot what the issue is. You want the neck relief set so that when holding down the first and 15th frets there will still be clearance over the 7th fret, so you can "fret" a note there and hear it ring.

How low are you trying to set the action? There are limits to how low it will go. 1/16" is probably the lowest you can go on a bass.

 

[Apothem]

Personally, I'd take it to a tech to see if they can spot what the issue is. You want the neck relief set so that when holding down the first and 15th frets there will still be clearance over the 7th fret, so you can "fret" a note there and hear it ring.

How low are you trying to set the action? There are limits to how low it will go. 1/16" is probably the lowest you can go on a bass.

The problem is on the G, I cannot get to 1/16" or similar, I pass from too high for my habit (probably 1/10") to dead notes dampened by the frets in some parts of the neck (near the body, as the truss rod relief works mainly close to the nut). D A E stay sligthly higher so no problem there.

 

[Chris C]

I have noticed how deep the cuts in the nut are, how deep the strings sit in them. I wonder whether it has been overfiled. Anybody had the same situation?

Thanks for any help.

I've had nuts that are filed to deeply many times. Most players think it's the truss or saddles, or evey that the neck is messed up when this is the case. The thing is, at least in my opinion, the way I've been told countless times to check the nut is just not quite right. The truss adjustment and saddle height have a significant effect on how the nut slotting will interact with overall playability and "setup problems." In my opinion, checking slotting on the nut without "isolating" the nut can lead to mistakes on the nut. I'm talking about when they are filed too deeply because the truss was not adjusted right--with too much relief and/or the bridge saddles were too high. When this happens, you'll never have decent playability again. And mistakes with nut slotting are much harder to fix--it's no longer just a matter of adjustment. It's replacing the nut or at the very least "mickey mousing" it by building it up with CA and bicarb.

The way I check the nut slotting is to fret the string at the third fret. If the string is touching or essentially touching the first fret (behind your finger), that slot is cut too deeply. If there is a bunch of space, playability suffers and you'll always have high, stiff action. I'm sure there is an official measurement that you should have, but I've been doing it for 30 years (and worked in guitar repair for several years), so I just kind of know where it should be for my playing style.

But, if it is too deep, you are going to get annoying "backbuzzing" when you play up the neck (strings buzzing/fretting out between your fretting finger and the nut). The only way to stop it except for over-relieving the neck with the truss (and compromising playability) is to install a new nut or try to build the slot up (a mickey mouse and temporary way of doing it). The upshot is to be VERY careful if you are going to do any filing on the nut. And use nut files; don't try to get away with Home Depot files that are not built for nut slotting. With a high-value instrument, I'd have a repair guy (who knows basses) check/do it.

 

[Apothem]

I've had nuts that are filed to deeply many times. Most players think it's the truss or saddles, or evey that the neck is messed up when this is the case. The thing is, at least in my opinion, the way I've been told countless times to check the nut is just not quite right. The truss adjustment and saddle height have a significant effect on how the nut slotting will interact with overall playability and "setup problems." In my opinion, checking slotting on the nut without "isolating" the nut can lead to mistakes on the nut. I'm talking about when they are filed too deeply because the truss was not adjusted right--with too much relief and/or the bridge saddles were too high. When this happens, you'll never have decent playability again. And mistakes with nut slotting are much harder to fix--it's no longer just a matter of adjustment. It's replacing the nut or at the very least "mickey mousing" it by building it up with CA and bicarb.

The way I check the nut slotting is to fret the string at the third fret. If the string is touching or essentially touching the first fret (behind your finger), that slot is cut too deeply. If there is a bunch of space, playability suffers and you'll always have high, stiff action. I'm sure there is an official measurement that you should have, but I've been doing it for 30 years (and worked in guitar repair for several years), so I just kind of know where it should be for my playing style.

But, if it is too deep, you are going to get annoying "backbuzzing" when you play up the neck (strings buzzing/fretting out between your fretting finger and the nut). The only way to stop it except for over-relieving the neck with the truss (and compromising playability) is to install a new nut or try to build the slot up (a mickey mouse and temporary way of doing it). The upshot is to be VERY careful if you are going to do any filing on the nut. And use nut files; don't try to get away with Home Depot files that are not built for nut slotting. With a high-value instrument, I'd have a repair guy (who knows basses) check/do it.

That makes a lot of sense...