bassfan41 Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 (edited) I've found all kinds of videos and info about doing a standard string height, neck relief and intonation setup for fretted basses, but have not been able to find any really clear info on setting up a fretless. I'm wondering if the set process is the same as far as height measurements are done the same, but instead of measuring off a fret, I just measure from the finger board at the same location. If it's done different, does anyone know of a good website or video that covers this? I have only seen guys say that your best bet is to get the action as low as you can without buzz, but I'm more interest from technical viewpoint. Edited November 12, 2015 by bassfan41 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franzbassist Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 (edited) If you aren't used to setting up a fretless, then as you suggest is a logical place to start. That said, many fretless players prefer a neck with very little relief, and a lower action too. Nut height is also really important on a fretless - you can take the slots way down on a fretless. Gary Willis' [url="http://www.garywillis.com/pages/bass/bassmanual/setupmanual.html"]website[/url] is a good place to start. Edited November 12, 2015 by walbassist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 Agree totally with ^^ I also depends on what your tone/sound goals are and how hard you play. The lower you get the action the more "mwah" sound you get but eventually it kills the sustain and can make the tone thin and reedy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 I agree with both ^ and ^^ For fretless set ups, I get the nut slots (or use the fantastic Warwick just-a-nut) so that the strings are [i]just [/i]touching the fretboard. I set the neck relief in the same way as a fretted (with string held down at the 16th 'fret' aiming for just-perceptible movement at the 8th position), then string heights as you would for a fretted. My starting point is usually 2.7mm at 17th fret for E and 2.4mm for G. I then drop it a little lower if the owner wants a bit more (as MoonBassAlpha so elegantly puts it) 'mwah' Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassfan41 Posted November 12, 2015 Author Share Posted November 12, 2015 (edited) Thanks for the input guys. I will check out the website. The nut, relief and measurements are definitely more along the lines of what I'm looking for. Will try it out and see how it fits with mine, Andy . I am all about the mwah-hawm. Edited November 13, 2015 by bassfan41 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.gif.9ad672bb8b84505709f76b39c8c256ec.gif)
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.