thebigyin Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 I'd consider the 'Action' on my Bass fairly high although I've become quite accustomed to it, in comparison to other Basses. It's 4.5mm at 12th Fret, about 4mm at 7th, 4.5mm at 15th and about 2mm at the nut/first Fret......would you be happy with this. ...nice deep tone, it's a Jap Precision by the way. Cheers Bob. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhysP Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 I'd be happy with that, but I like an action to be a bit on the high side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebigyin Posted March 16, 2015 Author Share Posted March 16, 2015 Yeah I'm happy with it. ...my last Bass the action was very low...but once I got used to this it's fine. Thanks for your reply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowieBass Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 (edited) If you can play it and it's perfectly in tune all along the neck with no fret buzz then just go with whatever you like - however as for what suits me I reckon it's close to double the heights I go for (which is 6/64" or 2.4mm at the 17th fret for the E string, and 5/64" for the G). Edited March 16, 2015 by HowieBass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebigyin Posted March 16, 2015 Author Share Posted March 16, 2015 Been doing some reading ect and much the same it's personal preference ect, thanks. Intonation seems fine and just the slightest curve on the neck, but the more I play it the better I like it. Just interested what others think. Cheers Bob. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeystrange Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Last time I checked I had 6mm at the 12th fret. I think I'm some kind of heathen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhysP Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 [quote name='joeystrange' timestamp='1426531471' post='2719004'] Last time I checked I had 6mm at the 12th fret. I think I'm some kind of heathen. [/quote] Now that's a real mans action! None of this "I like my action to be 0.5mm at the last fret because I play so lightly my fingers are like a butterfly landing on a lovely flower" crap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ancient Mariner Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 [quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1426531701' post='2719008'] Now that's a real mans action! None of this "I like my action to be 0.5mm at the last fret because I play so lightly my fingers are like a butterfly landing on a lovely flower" crap. [/quote] That made me chuckle a bit. Just checked my P-type, and at the 12th fret it's about 3mm at the G and 4mm at the E, and that feels neither low nor high. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horizontalste Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 I like 2mm G & 2.5mm E at the last fret following the boards radius. I know most people don't bother measuring but I'm a bit sad like that :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 No, I wouldn't... I'd probably think it was 'unplayable'... I don't see the point of having to dig hard just to get a sound out and avoid anything that can lead to CTS or RSI.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wonky2 Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Interesting...... I've always fettle and tweaked for as low an action as I can get.... Just bought a new acoustic bass which has action I would consider high.... It plays well but has a few buzzes on the g string from about 5th fret upwards..... As the bridge has no adjustment, I'm stuck with how to resolve it best way ? I'm thinking along the lines of flattening the neck out a tad more and replacing the nut with something a mm or so higher? Any suggestions on that? As for my bass, (fender hot rod seventies reissue) the truss adjuster is a neck off job.... Makes it very frustrating tomadjustbthe neck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowieBass Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 @Wonky2 - I don't think changing the nut on your acoustic is going to help with fret buzz when you're playing notes higher up the neck; taking a little more relief out of the neck might help but it might also be a case of the frets needing a little attention or indeed it might be the bridge is just a little too low for the G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twincam Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 4mm at the 12th is really high! anymore and in my view its a waste of effort. I can't see what you would gain going higher. I do believe higher actions give a sweeter sound, but there is a point of diminishing returns. With that said if you like the sound and can play it then go for it. I used to like high action then found lowering really did improve my playing. I had to adjust and refine my plucking technique. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wonky2 Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Howie, I'm talking tightening the neck to lower string hight at about 12th f but raising nut hight a smidge to accomadtate the fret buzzes I'll pick up from frets 5-1 (ish).... I'm thinking this way because the bridge has no adjustment it's like an acoustic guitar with a fixed plastic bridge saddle. Sure, I could put a shim under the bridge saddle but I figured that would raise string hight even more, I want the opposite... So my thinking is akin to working backward, flatten the neck and remove relief but accommodate with marginally higher nut at headstock end..... If you think I'm way way wrong in this approach please let me know.... I much prefer my baddass bridge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skol303 Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 I like my action to be about half those measurements or less. But heh, if it works for you, what's not to like? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Sausage Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 God knows. I've never measured it in my life! I'm' like goldilocks. Not too high, not to low. I don't mind it being slightly different bass to bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoo Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 [quote name='Wonky2' timestamp='1426623212' post='2720047'] Howie, I'm talking tightening the neck to lower string hight at about 12th f but raising nut hight a smidge to accomadtate the fret buzzes I'll pick up from frets 5-1 (ish).... I'm thinking this way because the bridge has no adjustment it's like an acoustic guitar with a fixed plastic bridge saddle. Sure, I could put a shim under the bridge saddle but I figured that would raise string hight even more, I want the opposite... So my thinking is akin to working backward, flatten the neck and remove relief but accommodate with marginally higher nut at headstock end..... If you think I'm way way wrong in this approach please let me know.... I much prefer my baddass bridge [/quote] A taller nut will only make a difference to fretbuzz on open strings. As soon as you're fretting a note then the string height at the neck end is determined by the height of the frets, not the nut. Ideal nut height is so that the bottom of the nut slot is in a straight line with the tops of the first few frets - any higher than that and you're deflecting the string more than necessary, and making it harder to get intonation set up correctly. The only exception to this I can think of is if you're playing with a slide and want to be able to apply a bit of pressure to the top of the string without it interfering with the frets at all. I suppose the same would apply for using artificial harmonics. If you have fret buzz from 1-5 but not higher up the neck, then the conventional approach would be to raise the bridge and tighten the truss rod a little to straighten the neck to compensate for the extra string height higher up the neck. 2mm at the first fret is far more than I'd happy with... In fact - it could be contributing to the problem if you're not pressing hard enough to fret cleanly - an excessively tall nut will mean you need loads more pressure on the string to make solid contact with the fret. Here's a video of a guy explaining the same kind of stuff and a demo of how to fix it if you're into having a go yourself. He recommends about 5mm clearance at the first fret, which is more than I like, but still loads less than your 2mm! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cI9Y9MsmnEc HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 [quote name='Horizontalste' timestamp='1426538756' post='2719154'] I like 2mm G & 2.5mm E at the last fret following the boards radius. I know most people don't bother measuring but I'm a bit sad like that :-) [/quote] +1 on this setting. Its the recommended starting point for Fender set up instruction and i think Warwick also set same. This is a working bassists setting but will depend on how hard or light you play. Fingers or pick etc. Fretless is a bit lower but it depends on what you're doing with the bass ie finger tapping or slapping. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wonky2 Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 [quote name='stoo' timestamp='1426651363' post='2720329'] A taller nut will only make a difference to fretbuzz on open strings. As soon as you're fretting a note then the string height at the neck end is determined by the height of the frets, not the nut. [/quote] Ahhh of course it would.... I'm an idiot. Thanks. The thing is if I take some relief out of the neck and then shim under the d/g string side of the bridge saddle it will likely give me an increase in string height I won't like...... But I think that's the only option. Maybe that's ok for an acoustic bass, I'm just used to my jazz. Don't get me wrong it's totally playable, just wanted to remive the fret buzz on the g string from 5th fret upwards without increasing string height... I'll give it ago.... I suppose it can all be undone if it doesn't work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Low action with no fret buzz. That's my comfort zone. Blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 I've never bothered trying to measure the height of the strings off the fretboard. I go for as low an action as I can that will still allow me to dig in a bit with my plucking hand without too much fret buzz. I have a lower action on my Sandberg than on my old P, and I put that down to vorsprung durch technik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wonky2 Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 Ordered some feeler gauges which came today.... Gonna have an evening at the table with her..... Rather then just making tweaks i will attempt the factory figures using the old dude from elixir strings guides... I've always done ok with this but just made tweaks if you know what I mean, in the attempt to lower action.... This time , with this bass, its neck off every time you want to tweak the truss rod so yes, a pain in the arse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Cloud Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 It is absolutely personal preference, one of my favourite players Percy Jones is famous for his high action. I play fingerstyle with a really light touch - and I prefer my action very low. I have sold a couple of my basses to other players who actually considered my set up unplayable. In my experience many pick players tend to like slightly higher actions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 [quote name='Wonky2' timestamp='1426878802' post='2723122'] Ordered some feeler gauges which came today.... Gonna have an evening at the table with her..... Rather then just making tweaks i will attempt the factory figures using the old dude from elixir strings guides... I've always done ok with this but just made tweaks if you know what I mean, in the attempt to lower action.... This time , with this bass, its neck off every time you want to tweak the truss rod so yes, a pain in the arse. [/quote] Bear in mind that the action should be measured with the bass in the playing position, not on its back. Apologies if you already know this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cameltoe Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 (edited) I've had the frets levelled on on every bass I've had to get the action as low as possible. I also like minimal relief, almost a straight neck, so the action is close to the same across the whole neck. There is nothing I hate more than a bass with increasing action the closer you get to the bridge- as soon as you get up to fret 10 or so the action is double what it was on fret 3 or 4. I usually try and set the relief up to around business card thickness on the 8th fret when fretting 1st and last, slightly less on the 6th fret when fretting on the first and 12th, (maybe paper width gap) and then set the action as low as it will go without buzzing, tested by playing chromatically from 12th fret up across all strings. This works for me with the pressure I apply when playing finger style, and with the low action I feel I can control dynamics much better- ghosting, muting, etc comes much easier. I love playing ricks for this reason, but don't get on with how they sound! Edited March 20, 2015 by cameltoe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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