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pigmaker wrote:

Mute Swan wrote:Yes. I decided to teach myself how to when I started to get into using lower tunings. I never really liked how my instruments played after the few times I payed for them. So when I decided to tune down, I decided to learn to do a setup myself. Haven't paid for one since and now I can set everything to whats best for me.

Yeh i use 11s and tune down a step so a stock setup aint gonna work for that

plus i like my low e string (well, low d, techincally) just a liiiittle bit buzzy and only i can do that shit right!

What strings do you use? Yeahp, getting action and JUST the right amount fret buzz set right is such a personal preference. I'm the same way, only I know what feels right in my hands. I use 13's on my guitar and have that set up in G#(well I did when it wasn't on my project bench haha) and I keep my 4 string bass tuned to C, and my 5 string to G#. It's strange to me that lower tunings seem to be such a hassle for most places to handle (maybe it's just most shops by me ). Whenever I've asked about a setup for this at a shop and tell them I tune that low, I get a look from them like I just whipped out my sack and started playing a drum solo with my balls.

When I was first learning how to play 13 years ago there was a guy who would occasionally give me pointers on things to do: little exercises, basic scales, good songs to learn, etc. He basically treated all this kind of stuff the same as that. Stuff you need to know if you're going to play music. So I've been doing everything but fret work, which has simply been neglected for lack of tools, for probably 11 or so years.

I seriously can't think of anything more personal than the setup on your guitar.

I remember being somewhat terrified as a 14 YO taking an allen wrench to a bridge saddle for the first time. WHAT IF I TURN IT THE WRONG WAY! what if I mess up, what if, what if, what if.
Nevermind the Truss rod! that was some serious witchcraft. I mean you cant even see it! what if the neck explodes and ruins my beloved Strat!

It's all old hat now and really, with a little research and planning ahead of time, it's pretty hard to damage your guitar. Your fingers will tell you if the adjustment you make is not for the better. I measure some stuff now but for years it was all by feel.

I was terrified too! I think I was 13 when I did my first truss rod adjustment.

wfs1234 wrote:I was terrified too! I think I was 13 when I did my first truss rod adjustment.

You were a wild one weren't you

I didn't touch my rod till I was at least 16.......

bigchiefbc wrote:Well I guess I'm the only lame-ass here that doesn't do set-ups. I literally have no freaking idea what I'm doing when it comes to stuff like that. The problem is that even the tutorials assume that you know what you want, in terms of string height and neck relief and such. But I don't even know what string height or neck relief would be best for my playing style.

just think about like how hard you dig in, with both hands. think about if you would enjoy playing more if you required less efffort to press down on the frets. or you might actually feel like you're having to play quieter than you should so that you don't get a lot of fret noise. If you feel happy with how your bass plays then don't change anything try playing as much stuff as you can and try to figure out how different that bass plays from one you own.

basically if you aren't running into problems such as fret noise, hands getting too uncomfortable, other guitars playing better in comparison etc. then you probably don't need to change anything. but you could just move stuff around for fun, you can always go back, just don't make a lot of drastic changes in a short time frame

ChetMagongalo wrote:

bigchiefbc wrote:Well I guess I'm the only lame-ass here that doesn't do set-ups. I literally have no freaking idea what I'm doing when it comes to stuff like that. The problem is that even the tutorials assume that you know what you want, in terms of string height and neck relief and such. But I don't even know what string height or neck relief would be best for my playing style.

just think about like how hard you dig in, with both hands. think about if you would enjoy playing more if you required less efffort to press down on the frets. or you might actually feel like you're having to play quieter than you should so that you don't get a lot of fret noise. If you feel happy with how your bass plays then don't change anything try playing as much stuff as you can and try to figure out how different that bass plays from one you own.

basically if you aren't running into problems such as fret noise, hands getting too uncomfortable, other guitars playing better in comparison etc. then you probably don't need to change anything. but you could just move stuff around for fun, you can always go back, just don't make a lot of drastic changes in a short time frame

Honestly, my playing style is beating the everloving shit out of the strings both with my pick and with my fretting hand. I pretty much just pound on my bass as hard as I can all the time. I know that that probably isn't "proper" technique, but I just like everything to sound as aggressive as possible.

I don't mind a little bit of fret buzz, but only a little. As for string high and neck setup, I have no idea. I think I heard somewhere that a super-low action would not be good with a really aggressive playing style, but I have no idea if that's true or not.

I do know that one of my basses has a dead-spot around the 13th fret on the D and G strings, which would be cool to fix, but I haven't the foggiest idea how to fix that.

AxAxSxS wrote:

wfs1234 wrote:I was terrified too! I think I was 13 when I did my first truss rod adjustment.

You were a wild one weren't you

I didn't touch my rod till I was at least 16.......

I guess I had a bass that was giving me all kinds of nasty neck buzz so I took it to that guy. He pulled out as set of Allen wrenches and told me what to do....

Mute Swan wrote: What strings do you use? Yeahp, getting action and JUST the right amount fret buzz set right is such a personal preference. I'm the same way, only I know what feels right in my hands. I use 13's on my guitar and have that set up in G#(well I did when it wasn't on my project bench haha) and I keep my 4 string bass tuned to C, and my 5 string to G#. It's strange to me that lower tunings seem to be such a hassle for most places to handle (maybe it's just most shops by me ). Whenever I've asked about a setup for this at a shop and tell them I tune that low, I get a look from them like I just whipped out my sack and started playing a drum solo with my balls.

Yeah man, agreed to all of that.
i always liked d'addarios more than ernie ball or whatever (not sure why) so those are the ones i go with.

bigchief - yeah i tthink if you play harder you want your action a touch higher than your regular old grandma player
if you have a dead fret that can be (should be, really) fixed
these otehr guys in the thread are giving out some really good advice and they know more than i do about this stuff

bigchiefbc wrote:
Honestly, my playing style is beating the everloving shit out of the strings both with my pick and with my fretting hand. I pretty much just pound on my bass as hard as I can all the time. I know that that probably isn't "proper" technique, but I just like everything to sound as aggressive as possible.

I don't mind a little bit of fret buzz, but only a little. As for string high and neck setup, I have no idea. I think I heard somewhere that a super-low action would not be good with a really aggressive playing style, but I have no idea if that's true or not.

I do know that one of my basses has a dead-spot around the 13th fret on the D and G strings, which would be cool to fix, but I haven't the foggiest idea how to fix that.

Okay there's a good start! I like to play aggressive too, but not always. It's a really good sound. I have a bass with bigger strings just so I can play harder. Technique wise, as long as you aren't getting pain in your hands your technique is fine. If you're gonna play heavy I recommend bigger strings and raised action a little bit. In general yes super low action will usually have a lot of fret noise with aggressive technique. But it's hard to say because super low and action and aggressive technique are both highly subjective.

In my opinion setting up your instrument is all about having a balance between two sides. If your strings are too high it will be too hard to play. If your strings are too low you will get fret buzz and it will not sound good. Somewhere in the middle is something that is easy to play that doesn't make fret noise, and that where that point is depends on how you play, your bass, and what kind of strings you have. As far as your neck goes you'll want to have it fairly straight or maybe a slight bow. How much relief your neck has will affect the height of your strings on different parts of the neck. With this point, changing your neck relief will affect intonation and string height. And that's kind of the tricky part about setting up guitars. Changing one thing affects other things, so usually you'll have to go back and make small tweaks as you go.

Dead spots are no good! They can be caused by bad fret job, the wrong amount of relief, or worst a warped neck. I'm not sure what advice I can specifically give you to fix that because I haven't had that problem for a long time.

With all this said, I am by no means an expert, but I do know a little bit. I just thought my perspective might be helpful

Yep, set 'em up myself. Learned through time, trial, & error. Helps you get more acquainted with your instrument & craft IMO. I found this little tidbit about a year ago, I found it a good read. Maybe it could help someone.

http://jpbturbo.com/wp-content/uploads/ ... preads.pdf

ChetMagongalo wrote: Okay there's a good start! I like to play aggressive too, but not always. It's a really good sound. I have a bass with bigger strings just so I can play harder. Technique wise, as long as you aren't getting pain in your hands your technique is fine. If you're gonna play heavy I recommend bigger strings and raised action a little bit. In general yes super low action will usually have a lot of fret noise with aggressive technique. But it's hard to say because super low and action and aggressive technique are both highly subjective.

Nope, never had any pain in my hands or wrists. Even after a 3-set gig night, the only thing that aches is my neck. And I use very heavy-gauge strings, pretty much exclusively balanced sets from Circle K.

ChetMagongalo wrote:In my opinion setting up your instrument is all about having a balance between two sides. If your strings are too high it will be too hard to play. If your strings are too low you will get fret buzz and it will not sound good. Somewhere in the middle is something that is easy to play that doesn't make fret noise, and that where that point is depends on how you play, your bass, and what kind of strings you have. As far as your neck goes you'll want to have it fairly straight or maybe a slight bow. How much relief your neck has will affect the height of your strings on different parts of the neck. With this point, changing your neck relief will affect intonation and string height. And that's kind of the tricky part about setting up guitars. Changing one thing affects other things, so usually you'll have to go back and make small tweaks as you go.

Dead spots are no good! They can be caused by bad fret job, the wrong amount of relief, or worst a warped neck. I'm not sure what advice I can specifically give you to fix that because I haven't had that problem for a long time.

With all this said, I am by no means an expert, but I do know a little bit. I just thought my perspective might be helpful

Intonation is the only thing that I already DO know how to do. I took guitar lessons way back when I was in high school and my teacher taught me how to adjust the intonation. But I've never touched the truss rod in any of my guitars or basses and the thought of it petrifies me. And I've heard such conflicting info on how to properly set string height at the bridge. The dead spot is on my G&L, which is a relatively new bass (about two years old), so I'd be surprised if the neck was warped already. I've always assumed it was either because the strings are at the wrong height or the neck isn't bowed enough and the string is bottoming out on a higher fret.

bigchiefbc wrote:Well I guess I'm the only lame-ass here that doesn't do set-ups. I literally have no freaking idea what I'm doing when it comes to stuff like that. The problem is that even the tutorials assume that you know what you want, in terms of string height and neck relief and such. But I don't even know what string height or neck relief would be best for my playing style.

Have you considered buying a cheapo instrument off craigslist or from a pawn shop? I regularly see crappy guitars and basses, and sometimes good ones, for $50 - $100. Pick one up and chalk up the cost to tuition.

Then, you can try out all kinds of things-- different neck relief, string height, neck angle, etc.-- and not worry about ruining an instrument that you like.

Mike wrote:

bigchiefbc wrote:Well I guess I'm the only lame-ass here that doesn't do set-ups. I literally have no freaking idea what I'm doing when it comes to stuff like that. The problem is that even the tutorials assume that you know what you want, in terms of string height and neck relief and such. But I don't even know what string height or neck relief would be best for my playing style.

Have you considered buying a cheapo instrument off craigslist or from a pawn shop? I regularly see crappy guitars and basses, and sometimes good ones, for $50 - $100. Pick one up and chalk up the cost to tuition.

Then, you can try out all kinds of things-- different neck relief, string height, neck angle, etc.-- and not worry about ruining an instrument that you like.

I actually already have a crappy hondo p-bass that I don't even use for practice anymore. I just don't really know where to start. All of the "how to do your own set-up" tutorials that I found just by googling around already start above my level and assume I know what they're talking about. I need "guitar/bass set-ups for kindergarteners and idiots" or something like that.

This is pretty good:

http://www.jerzydrozdbasses.com/akcndfr ... ver100.pdf