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Lowering the action of my Bass


falcodub
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Hello,
I am a beginner in the world of Bass playing but enjoying it immensly

At my lesson last night my bass teacher commented that my guitar has quite a high action, now i didn't have a clue what he was on about but he then explained!!!

He has adjusted it, but it is still quite high, it seems the adjustment screws are fully in.

The bass is a modified wesley

Now, my question is, how can i lower the action of my bass a bit more without shelling out too much money!!!

Hope that makes sense above!!!!
Cheers

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If it has a bolt-on neck, search the Wiki section for how to SHIM it. If it's a through-neck, sounds like you might be stuck. Using strings of a lighter gauge will lower the action slightly and may aid playability...

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=49897"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=49897[/url]

Edited by Conan
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You shouldn't need to shell out any money and it always surprises me that people (not you) can't follow a process and adjust a few nuts and screws.

Check neck bow first and adjust truss rod to get correct bow (lots of info on net for that). Truss rod should not be used to lower action, it should be used to get neck near to straight against tension of strings. It will lower the action if the neck was upward bowed but that is a side affect.

Once neck done see if has had the side affect. If action still high then shim as nothing else can be done if bridge saddles at their lowest (other than changing bridge) but much cheaper to use some free card and shim it!

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With your left hand, fret the lowest string (the one nearest your chin when playing) at the 1st fret.

At the same time, with your right hand thumb, fret the same string at the 12th fret.

While doing the above, look at the gap between the top of 8th and 9th frets and the bottom of the string, it should be about the thickness of the credit card. If the gap is more than that the trussrod in the neck may need to be tightened, this will lower you action and you should also then adjust the bridge saddles to suit.

You ideally want a low action without any serious rattles or buzzing when you fret a string at any point on the neck.

I nice lowish action will be no more than 2mm gap between the top of fret and the bottom of the lowest string at the 12th fret.

NOTE: Don't mess with the truss rod unless you are familiar with the process.

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Taper core strings like Labella Supersteps sit lower in a saddle and can lower your action by about a third of the string diameter.


Routing a hole for the bridge has been done a lot. The first Spectors did this with the badass bridges. Also any machinist who knows how to deck a block or mill a set of heads could take a slice off the bottom of a bridge over lunchtime, if you happen to have access to those skills and the right kind of bridge. A bit crazy but it would work :)

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[quote name='silddx' post='1123573' date='Feb 11 2011, 09:26 AM']With your left hand, fret the lowest string (the one nearest your chin when playing) at the 1st fret.

At the same time, with your right hand thumb, fret the same string at the [b]12th fret[/b].[/quote]

Top fret, surely Nigel? That'd be 20th - 24th, depending on the neck in question. You're looking at the overall curvature of the neck - 8th or 9th position being an approximate mid-point.

Although I agree, truss adjustment isn't a good idea unless you know what you're doing & how everything works.

Jon.

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For what it's worth I think you'd be fine having a go at it yourself. The thing to remember, [i]especially[/i] if you're having a go at the truss rod, is only to make VERY SMALL adjustments. No heaving on it like you're changing a tyre :).

The [url="http://www.fender.com/en-GB/support/articles/bass-guitar-setup-guide/"]Fender bass setup guide[/url] is really good.

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[quote name='Bassassin' post='1123676' date='Feb 11 2011, 11:18 AM']Top fret, surely Nigel? That'd be 20th - 24th, depending on the neck in question. You're looking at the overall curvature of the neck - 8th or 9th position being an approximate mid-point.

Although I agree, truss adjustment isn't a good idea unless you know what you're doing & how everything works.

Jon.[/quote]
Mmm, depends on the neck and the rod/s, most of the relief actually happens between the 1st and 12th frets, maybe up to the 15th, sight your neck from the nut end and you'll see. The neck is much thinner and narrower between those frets so it stand to reason the neck will be more flexible and accomodating of truss rod adjustment. It does depend on the neck to some degree though, and almost all necks are different.

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[quote name='falcodub' post='1123726' date='Feb 11 2011, 12:09 PM']Yeah, i shall leave the truss rod well alone!!!
My bass teacher is happy with the shape of the neck and the releif, its just the string height that needs altering so i think i will try this card trick.
At least its easily reversed if it makes it worse!!![/quote]
Truss rods are nothng to be afraid of. Small adjustments (8th to a 1/4 of a turn) and do not force it if it doesn't want to move.

Seems like a shim is the way to go though from what you say.

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[quote name='falcodub' post='1123726' date='Feb 11 2011, 12:09 PM']Yeah, i shall leave the truss rod well alone!!!
My bass teacher is happy with the shape of the neck and the releif, its just the string height that needs altering so i think i will try this card trick.
At least its easily reversed if it makes it worse!!![/quote]

Is your teacher able to help you with lowering the string height (or at least advise who to go to if not)? Experienced teachers should know about this stuff.

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[quote name='zero9' post='1123794' date='Feb 11 2011, 01:13 PM']Is your teacher able to help you with lowering the string height (or at least advise who to go to if not)? Experienced teachers should know about this stuff.[/quote]


he lowered it yesterday as much as poss, i have emailed him today with the shim idea and he says go for it as its fairly simple to do and ultimately reverse if it doesn't work!

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[quote name='falcodub' post='1123802' date='Feb 11 2011, 01:18 PM']he lowered it yesterday as much as poss, i have emailed him today with the shim idea and he says go for it as its fairly simple to do and ultimately reverse if it doesn't work![/quote]

Sounds like a result. Good luck.

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As a starting point with no strings or tension the neck should be straight.
Truss rod adjustments should ideally be made with little or no string tension and therefore takes a bit of time to get right.
As already mentioned only small adjustments at a time. Don't get impatient. If truss rod breaks its a serious repair job.
I also found the Fender guide to set up pretty useful. I think Warwick also have similar procedures on their website.
Its all part of the fun.

Cheers
Dave

:)

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[quote name='dmccombe7' post='1124054' date='Feb 11 2011, 04:59 PM'][b]As a starting point with no strings or tension the neck should be straight.[/b][color="#0000FF"][/color]Truss rod adjustments should ideally be made with little or no string tension and therefore takes a bit of time to get right.
As already mentioned only small adjustments at a time. Don't get impatient. If truss rod breaks its a serious repair job.
I also found the Fender guide to set up pretty useful. I think Warwick also have similar procedures on their website.
Its all part of the fun.

Cheers
Dave[/quote]

Wondered when someone would mention that.
Also worth a mention, as the OP has never done it before. When you shim the neck, and alter the 'rake' the action will be a lot lower, so you will probably have to raise it again to taste. For me, a pound coin should just fit between the strings and the fret at the 12th

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