truss rod questions

[Elad_E]

hey,

the capstan wheel on my new (to me) Stingray makes truss rod adjustment a breeze but I still have some questions about setting up my bass:

1. should I detune prior to adjustment? I guess when introducing relief (turning the wheel towards the E string) there is no need but what about adjusting it the other way to straighten the neck?

2. when the bass arrived the action was sky high so I lowered the saddles to the desired height and adjusted the neck for more relief (in increments of 1/8 turn at a time with 3-4 hours between turns) but even though the E and G saddles are as low as can get I still get some fret buzz at upper positions and the action, while being very low, is still not optimal.
will taking some relief off from the neck and adjusting the saddles' height allow for lower buzz-free action?


thanks,
Elad.

 

[maddog]

setup questions are always rough. It is best to have someone with experience get their eyes and hands on the problem.

That being said, some attempts at answers:

1. When tightening a trussrod, I apply gentle pressure on the headstock to make it easier. I place the bass in playing position while I'm seated. I then use my right elbow as an anchor for the body. Then I use my left head to gently pull the headstock towards me while tightening the trussrod using my right hand.

2. If the bass was straight from the factory, you may have gone the wrong way about fixing the problem. The setups from the factory are awesome and to very specific parameters. Necks shift more than saddles. I would have started with trussrod adjustments first and saddle adjustments last in attempting to fix the buzz. If the bass was not from the factory, I got no help other than to either a.) take it in to an accomplished technician or b.) play with it to learn how to do your own setups.

The way I do setups:

1. fret at 1 and 12. Adjust trussrod until I can slip a business card between the string and 6th fret.

2. With strings unfretted, I adjust saddles so I can slip a 3/32" allen wrench between string and fret. This should take care of fret buzz.

3. If not, work at it until you find something that does.

and from the MM Bass FAQ:

Q: Could you tell me Music Man's StingRay factory settings for relief, string height, and pickup height?

A: First of all - almost all of the adjustments to string height can be made with the truss rod. Turn clockwise to raise the fretboard action, counter clockwise to lower it. The factory string height for our basses is 3/32" or 2.4mm between the bottom of the string to the top of the fret on both the E and G strings at the 12th fret. The G string can be slightly lower due to the fact that it is the smallest string. Of course, tightening or loosening the trussrod affects the bow of the neck, which is how desired action is generally best achieved.
The factory specifications for the pickup height is 6/32" or 4.76mm from the top of the plastic between the pickup covers to the bottom of the G string. The angle of the pickup is set fairly level, so the larger strings are naturally a bit closer. If you haven't already adjusted the pickup or changed to a very heavy gauge string set, you shouldn't have to do any adjustments on the pickup.

On the new 2-pickup basses, the measurements are virtually the same on the bridge pickup and the neck pickup is further away, about 8/32" or 6.35mm from the string to the pickup.

 

[adouglas]

Yep...trussrod first, THEN saddles only if needed. It will be, since you've messed with them. by lowering the saddles first, once you get the trussrod fixed the strings are too low.

Leave the bass tuned to pitch.

Here are some alternative methods that also work well:

Adjust relief as described above or using some equivalent method. I do it slightly differently, by fretting with left hand at 1, fretting with my right thumb at 15 and stretching my hand to tap the string at 7. If I can hear the string "click" against the fret, but can't really feel it move much (meaning there's just a bit of clearance) then I know I'm okay.

I do it like this because I don't need to find a business card, business cards differ in thickness, and it occurs to me that the card itself can push the string up so it's not really that reliable anyway.

To set string height, you can do it as described above, but I like to use a mechanic's rule...graduated in 64ths right to its flat end, costs about five bucks at any decen hardware or home improvement store.

The only time you should ever have to touch the saddles is if you change string gauge. Since I use the same strings that the factory puts on my Bongo, I've never had to adjust them. But I tweak my trussrod all the time.

 

[maddog]

If I can hear the string "click" against the fret, but can't really feel it move much (meaning there's just a bit of clearance) then I know I'm okay.

good ol' tink test to the rescue!

 

[adouglas]

good ol' tink test to the rescue!

Hey, I like that.

Is it copyrighted or something?

 

[Elad_E]

thanks people, I will definnetly try these methods later today when I get back from work.

btw, the bass is a used 2000 SR4 which arrived last week and the saddles were all lined up in the same height with no regard to neck radius.
the saddle adjustment I did took the playability of this bass to a whole new level and eliminated the nasty weak G volume which the bass demonstrated out of the box.

 

[maddog]

sounds like it could use a good setup from scratch.

 

[strummer]

Sounds like it'd be great for bottleneck work