OT....Bass Set Up

[Greg_M]

I got to looking around for instructions on how to check the neck and bridge and what not and ran across a couple youtube videos that made it all pretty easy.
There's few out there but this guy seemed pretty clear headed and made the most sense to me.

Lakland Bass Setup With Carl Pedigo (Part 1 of 2)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIzV9462xeE&feature=related

Lakland Bass Setup With Carl Pedigo (Part 2 of 2)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4MdWzN_100&NR=1

So I watched them both and gathered my tools.
Things I found out

I went to Home Depot and got an 18" steel rule.....BUT....I had to check 3 of them before I found one that had flat (straight) edges.
Don't count on steel rulers to have flat edges. I am a machinist so I have a granite inspection plate which is certified flat and I checked the 18" rule when I got back and it was straight and flat. Lucky me.
Use other rulers at HD to check each other. By a process of elimination you can find a flat (straight) one, but it does take a little work. Either that or spend a pile of dough and buy one that is certified straight from a machine shop supply place. I didn't have an 18" ruler so I had to go to HD

Home Depot does not have feeler gauges. Try a car parts store.

The measurements he uses for string heights are in (64s) He also uses terms like 1/4 of a 64th which is a bit confusing.
Here's what his recommended clearances are in decimals

G    0.078"
D    0.082"
A    0.086"
E    0.090"

Because I have a shop, I have a "pin set". It is made up of many little round steel "dowels" which are graduated in 0.001". Each one a thousandth bigger than the previous one. So I was able to use the appropriate pins for clearance measurements. Normally they are used for measuring hole sizes and what not.

My bass's neck had a tiny bit of "back bow" It got that way from me looking down the neck and tightening the truss rod it until the neck "looked" straight. My bad.

The existing string heights were all high

All of the saddles were way to far toward the tuning gear.


My bass is happier now and so am I.

[EdBass]

Excellent set up primer IMO, very handy DIY post. I think that those measurements are great for a basic setup, but you might need to adjust for personal taste, and tweak a little for different playing styles. Some players like a higher action and a real flat neck, some like super low action, etc.
I like different basses set up a little different; I like my Ric real low and fast, I like the way my StingRay sounds played hard so I like the action pretty high because I like to really dig in and smack the strings around, P and J somewhere in the middle and fretless super low. For me my fretless sounds best played light, taking advantage of having no "speed bumps", and liberal use of glissando and that tasty "mwah" (and which also can mask a lot of root note intonation faux pas...  ).

[mckinnon audio]

  All of my basses are set up the same,neck as straight as it can be,med.gauge strings,(50-70-85-105) on my 4 strings,I use the same gauge on my 5 string,just add a 130 for the B and relatively high action,can't stand the sound of "fret gak".On my fretless,(76 Gibson Ripper) I like just a hint of reverb,makes it sound real sweet.The lowest action I have is on my 8 string Precision,I play downstroke with a pick on it,so the strings don't move as far as they would if using fingers.

[EdBass]

  All of my basses are set up the same,neck as straight as it can be,med.gauge strings,(50-70-85-105) on my 4 strings,I use the same gauge on my 5 string,just add a 130 for the B and relatively high action,can't stand the sound of "fret gak".On my fretless,(76 Gibson Ripper) I like just a hint of reverb,makes it sound real sweet.The lowest action I have is on my 8 string Precision,I play downstroke with a pick on it,so the strings don't move as far as they would if using fingers.

I don't want to derail the thread, but I need to make some comments on your post... I also hate "gak", but as you post I've also found that on basses I play with a pick (Ric 4003, Hamer CH12) I can get away with a much straighter neck and real low action. I've never tried reverb on fretless, 80's G&L SB1



but I will certainly give it a whirl, I don't like pedals so I'll have to use a reverb head. It's hard to tell from the photo but that setup is straight as an arrow and ultra low. I use fingers on it but a real light touch
My Ric sounds killer when I run stereo and use some reverb on the bridge PU, I run the neck PU to a 200S into a D140 200S cab and the bridge into a Sceptre into a EVM15L 215S cab, keep the 200S real deep and thumpy and the Sceptre a little bright with a touch of reverb. I rarely do it live though, just too much crap for this old back to schlep usually.


Now for the real reason I had to comment; What is an 8 string Precision? 

[mckinnon audio]

  Hi Ed,it's just a long scale 8 string neck mounted on a MIM Precision body,the neck came off a "Starfire" bass,body was crap but the neck was good,had to plug the neck bolt holes and remount it to fit the P bass,it's in pieces now,still a work in progress.When I get my camera back,I'll try and post some pics.Nice looking G&L.

[Johnny Guitar]

Hi Ed,
I know this is very very subjective and I asked once before but.....
Could you give me a couple of your preference settings for a P Bass through 200S with D-140s?  Being a guitar player I'm curious how you "Bass" players set up your rigs.  To get a "smoother"  bass tone do you roll the highs off with the Basses tone control or do you make more of your adjustments on the amp?
Thanks,
Johnny G

[Greg_M]

Not Ed but....
Coarse adjustments on the amp ( I keep both tone controls half way up...."5"...no boosts)
Fine adjustments on your guitar

[EdBass]

I usually run my P wide open, except if it's seeing "double duty" with my Jazz, and then I back down the volume a little so it matches the output of the J bass to save confusion when I switch between songs. The P is louder by a decent margin unless I switch the J Pup's into series, which I rarely do since I already have a P if I want the fatter tone.
My amp controls are totally dependent on how I feel on a particular night, venue acoustics, type of music, etc., but my P itself is pretty specialized; I call her "Thumper". It's an American Standard with the factory Pup, but I run LaBella 760FM flats and have a foam mute on the bridge. I also have a Pup cover and bridge ashtray installed, ashtray for the mute and Pup cover to keep my plucking hand way up by the fretboard.
Think "Barney Miller" theme song.
I run Roto stainless on the Jazz, no mutes no covers, and as I mentioned a series/parallel switch so I can turn the two single coils into a big humbucker by pressing a switch. 90% of the time these are the two I gig with, I can pretty much cover any tonal range I ever need between the two.