What size allen wrench to adjuct bongo?

[Chanesworth]

I tried to do a search on this but I could not find the answer. I am looking to adjust the strings on my Bongo and cannot figure out the allen wrench size. I have a feeling it might be metric.

Thanks

 

[adouglas]

Nope. It's 1/16".

That information, as well as all factory specs for string height, pickup height, relief, etc. are in the Bass FAQ:

http://www.ernieball.com/faq_content.php?subjectcode=mm_basses

For some reason this FAQ is not located on the Music Man site. It's on the main Ernie Ball site.

If you're using the same gauge of Slinkys that came with the bass from the factory there should be no reason to adjust the saddles...unless somebody already fooled with them before you got the bass.

 

[Chanesworth]

Thanks. Yea the bass was tinkered with and the strings are entirely too high for my taste.

 

[Baird]

Thanks. Yea the bass was tinkered with and the strings are entirely too high for my taste.

The action on my Bongo 5 is also way too high but I just gave up screwing around with the bridge, truss rod, etc. as I was worried that I would seriously screw something up.

Luckily the store I bought it from offers a 3 month full warranty, and set up and fine tuning is covered.

Maybe I will be able to slap like a madman on this 5 stringer yet!


Spend the small amount of money is costs to get it set up by a professional is my recommendation.

 

[adouglas]

This may not be necessary, but it bears saying anyway since we don't know how familiar Chanseworth is with setup:

String height is affected by both trussrod adjustment and saddle height.

The vast majority of the time a trussrod adjustment does the trick.

Trussrods need regular adjustment as the weather changes. Thanks to the amazing EBMM capstan wheel trussrod adjuster, this is really, REALLY easy to do. The only instruments I know of that are easier are ones that have no trussrods in the first place (e.g. graphite-necked basses).

Saddles only need adjustment when string gauge changes, or if a previous owner suffered the reasonable, but mistaken belief that adjusting saddle height is the only way to control string height.

If you adjust saddle height without adjusting the trussrod first, you're going to wind up with string buzz.

Baird, there are only two ways to do harm by making these adjustments that I can think of, and they both require that you be really, really clueless:

1) Tightening the trussrod down so hard that it strips or snaps.
2) Losing parts of the bridge by unscrewing them so far that they fall out.

Setup is not rocket surgery. Nor is it brain science. It's something that is good to know how to do.

 

[Chanesworth]

I am glad that I came to this forum. The more I hear this discussed, the more I am sure that it is a truss rod adjustment that I need to perform. If I am understanding this correctly, I should turn the wheel 1/4 turn clockwise - leave it alone for a day - and this should effectively lower the strings.

 

[adouglas]

Sorry for the long post, but this is everything you need to know.

Yeah, but there's a bit more to it than that. "Clockwise" and "counterclockwise" depend on which way you're looking at the adjuster, for one thing.

If you're looking from the tail of the bass up towards the headstock, turning it clockwise tightens the trussrod, which reduces the amount of relief (neck bow) and thereby lowers the strings.

If you think about looking at the adjuster from the other end of the bass, the same movement appears counterclockwise. So, yes, turn "clockwise" to lower the strings, looking from the tail of the bass up towards the headstock.

The basic procedure is:
1) Tune the bass
2) Adjust relief, let the bass rest, retune, check, repeat as needed.
3) Check string height.
4) Adjust saddle height if needed.
5) Re-check relief.

A tiny little bit of buzz when not plugged in is par for the course. You can drive yourself nuts trying to get rid of every last bit of buzz, fretting and plucking way harder than you normally would while playing, chasing gremlins.

There's nothing magical about 1/4 turn. The underlying idea is that you turn it in small increments and let the bass rest to allow the wood to settle down. It's really about making gross adjustments...you don't have to get too crazy about waiting 24 hours, and you really don't need to wait a whole day every time you touch the wheel.

For normal weather-related changes, I know up front that I'm going to be turning my wheel 1/4 turn or less total, so I just tweak until it's right and I'm done...I don't bother with waiting. If I were going to be setting up a bass that was grossly out of adjustment, though, I'd wait a while.

The wheel may be a bit sticky, which is normal...it's called "stiction". It's okay to loosen first to break it free, then retighten. Make sure you re-tune after adjusting.

There are several ways to check relief, and they're easily found on the Internet.

One simple way that does not require any gauges is to fret a string at the first fret with your left hand, and at, say, the 15th fret with the thumb of your right hand. Then stretch your right hand and use your finger to tap the string directly between the two places where you've fretted...directly over the seventh fret. You should be able to just detect a tiny "click" noise as the string hits the fret, but not be able to feel the string move much, if at all. If there's no click, there's no relief and you need to loosen the trussrod. If you feel the string move down noticeably as you tap on it, there's too much.

A useful tool is a machinist's rule, available at any hardware store for about five bucks. It's a six-inch steel ruler graduated in 64ths of an inch. You can use this to check if the strings and pickups are at the factory spec height.

You can use anything that fits in the capstan wheel hole to turn it. Small screwdriver, nail, allen wrench (the 1/16 one you use to adjust the saddles isn't going to be strong enough...it'll bend).

 

[jongitarz]

I have NEVER had to adjuct a guitar or bass.

 

[bovinehost]

I bet you're not even a qualified adjuctor.

(Serious people, just ignore us and we'll stop.)

 

[adouglas]

Now will you guys juct cut that out?