Doctor J Posted June 3, 2019 Share Posted June 3, 2019 Dave’s humour is as dry as some of the fretboards which wind up on his bench. He’s definitely worth watching for anybody looking to get to grips with setups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom skool Posted June 3, 2019 Share Posted June 3, 2019 I tune it 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted June 3, 2019 Share Posted June 3, 2019 57 minutes ago, skankdelvar said: Tip: get two post-it notes and butt the sticky edges up either side of the fret. Replace with clean post-it notes every so often as you work up the neck. What an excellent tip , I’ll be doing this next time I polish my frets 👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinnyman Posted June 3, 2019 Share Posted June 3, 2019 34 minutes ago, tom skool said: I tune it WHAT!!!???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted June 4, 2019 Share Posted June 4, 2019 8 hours ago, skankdelvar said: Dursol Shine - marvellous stuff. It's like a sort of creamy paste in a fetching shade of pink. Put a tiny dab on a clean cloth and polish away. Done in seconds. Tip: get two post-it notes and butt the sticky edges up either side of the fret. Replace with clean post-it notes every so often as you work up the neck. Much less faff than a full masking tape job, though less durable so no good for wire wool or fret-dressing. With masking tape, the solvent in the polish will soak through the tape and make a gooey mess of the adhesive. If left for any length of time the solvent evaporates and it becomes tedious to remove the adhesive. Mr DelVar's recommendation avoids that by removing the adhesive before any deposits are made on the fretboard. Cheers Skank! I will adopt that method from now on. It's far easier than using proprietary devices such as these: They are intended more for fret dressing anyway. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted June 4, 2019 Share Posted June 4, 2019 8 hours ago, tom skool said: I tune it That reminds me what a sales person told me in a high street car audio shop once. He was trying to sell me a sub. I declined and said that I didn't want it competing with the sound of my motor when driving and anyway, it's a mono signal and I like my stereo to be full range. He replied by saying that the human ear was incapable of telling from which direction bass sounds come from so it doesn't matter. He also went on to say that the ear can not tell what note is being played at low frequencies. I quietly walked out and left the cloth-eared chappie to it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest oZZma Posted June 4, 2019 Share Posted June 4, 2019 Luckily I can skip some maintenance having no truss rod and ebonol fretboard I'd like to clean the rust from the pickups magnets but I read it's safer to keep It where it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BreadBin Posted June 4, 2019 Share Posted June 4, 2019 8 minutes ago, SpondonBassed said: That reminds me what a sales person told me in a high street car audio shop once. He was trying to sell me a sub. I declined and said that I didn't want it competing with the sound of my motor when driving and anyway, it's a mono signal and I like my stereo to be full range. He replied by saying that the human ear was incapable of telling from which direction bass sounds come from so it doesn't matter. He also went on to say that the ear can not tell what note is being played at low frequencies. I quietly walked out and left the cloth-eared chappie to it. He was kind of correct about the direction, once you get below ~200hz you perceive sound with your skeleton rather than your ears. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unknown_User Posted June 4, 2019 Share Posted June 4, 2019 14 hours ago, uk_lefty said: I take it to a guy who knows what he's doing. He asks what I want, he delivers it without flipping up the instrument. I have a go on it and either say yes it's great or say hmmm maybe you could lower it a bit more? Etc. It saves me masses of time, frustration and stress that I'm wrecking a bass. Things like adjusting the truss rod aren't intuitive to me. I was the same. It's not an intuitive process and I don't want to wreck a bass. There's a lot to learn and as others have said there's lots of YouTube instructional videos on this sort of thing to wade through and if you're interested in the process I would recommend doing that. What really, really helped me was to get a bass kit off Amazon. It was only £100, came with all the parts which just needed varnish/painting and all screwing together. It needed a bit of drilling and measuring out for the bridge placement, etc.. I'm by no means an expert but I had to learn from scratch stuff like how to adjust a truss rod, how to set the string height, how to intonate it etc. which was all new to me. With the added bonus that I wasn't wrecking anything because it was already in pieces when I got it. Through a combination of reading, watching and having a go myself I learned a hell of a lot about how it all works and from that I was able to set up my other bass to be more to my liking without knackering it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewblack Posted June 4, 2019 Share Posted June 4, 2019 I've YouTube taught myself everything except wiring. I am bedevilled with buzzes hums and crackles. Those still cost me money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted June 4, 2019 Share Posted June 4, 2019 3 hours ago, BreadBin said: He was kind of correct about the direction, once you get below ~200hz you perceive sound with your skeleton rather than your ears. I am not sure I agree with the 200Hz figure as an absolute or even an approximate as you have noted. I believe the threshold would change a lot depending on things like the age of the subject and the health of their hearing system. If skeletal perception is right (and I can easily believe so) it's still directional. I mean, sound pressure waves will still hit one side of you before the other and if your perception is sharp enough or you are familiar enough with LF you will instinctively know where the boom is coming from. There is also evidence that people perceive differently because they don't possess the same receptors and cell clusters in their brain stem. It's a fascinating subject that is a little beyond my comfort zone. I'd like to see it tested but I am not going to look for YT clips right now because I've got a couple of things coming up. Would anyone care to look for supporting evidence for both Breadbin's and my assertions in the meantime? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted June 4, 2019 Share Posted June 4, 2019 14 hours ago, Lozz196 said: What do you use for polishing the frets, Skank? Something I`ve never done, and have to admit not really needed to yet, but like to be prepared. Skank's advice is good Lozz. When you come over to collect your P bass, I can show you the stuff that I use, brings frets up a treat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted June 4, 2019 Share Posted June 4, 2019 Nice one, cheers Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_lefty Posted June 4, 2019 Share Posted June 4, 2019 (edited) 17 hours ago, Doctor J said: That line reads back quite poorly. It wasn’t intended as a dig and I apologise if it came across that way. What I was trying to get at - poorly - is that there is so much information out there for every aspect of a setup there’s just no mystery out there about it anymore. It’s in everyone’s hands to be able to set up their own instrument exactly as they want it whenever they want it and all for free 🙂 It's ok, I just feel like a bit of a third bollock for not knowing how to do this stuff, I know you weren't having a pop. A lot of written advice doesn't go in to the required level of detail for me such as I previously mentioned, what distance am I measuring, from fretboard to middle of string or top of fret to bottom of string? Is just one example. I will look at some of the recommended YouTube clips on here, it's just knowing what is good advice and what is turd is sometimes hard to spot. I do want to get to a point where I am self sufficient with this stuff and I like the idea of a cheap kit bass to use as a test bed. Far safer than pissing around with my Stingray! It was when I put the under-sea cable thickness Steve Harris strings on my Japanese Precision and could feel the incredible tension going all the way through the neck, papping myself that something was going to snap and not a string... And the truss rod on that bass needs the neck joint loosening to get to it. That's when I though I really, really need to do this stuff myself. Edited June 4, 2019 by uk_lefty 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazzbass Posted June 4, 2019 Share Posted June 4, 2019 If changing string type I'll do a whole setup. Clean fretboard and frets An electric toothbrush with a circular head is great for cleaning the fretboard, just a bit of warm water is all you need. Clean around pickups and bridge with a shaving brush Check intonation check and adjust relief Set witness points at bridge and nut, pressing down in front of and behind the saddles and nut. It reads like a lot to do, but once you've done it a few times it gets easier. Also helps to have GAS and buy six basses ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted June 4, 2019 Share Posted June 4, 2019 4 hours ago, gary mac said: Skank's advice is good Lozz. When you come over to collect your P bass, I can show you the stuff that I use, brings frets up a treat. Another solution is to use the Fret Rubbers that Crimson Guitars do: https://crimsonguitars.com/store/fret-rubber-fret-polishing-abrasive/ You still need to watch the effect of the rubber on the fretboard. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkey Steve Posted June 4, 2019 Share Posted June 4, 2019 1 hour ago, bazzbass said: If changing string type I'll do a whole setup. Clean fretboard and frets An electric toothbrush with a circular head is great for cleaning the fretboard, just a bit of warm water is all you need. Clean around pickups and bridge with a shaving brush Check intonation check and adjust relief Set witness points at bridge and nut, pressing down in front of and behind the saddles and nut. It reads like a lot to do, but once you've done it a few times it gets easier. Also helps to have GAS and buy six basses ! I'm pretty similar, although some of my methods vary from yours, and I'd add giving all the electrics a damn good spray with Servisol Not typically when changing string types - I'm pretty much set on one type/gauge these days - unless I've bought a new instrument and are putting on "my" strings for the first time, but I'll typically do as much of a set up as possible whenever: changing playing technique - the action may need raising or lowering and that then prompts the rest of the set up starting a new band playing a gig for the first time in a while using the particular bass for the first time in a while need inspiration to get me out of a playing rut (although sometimes that can be solved just through changing strings for new, zingy ones) something doesn't feel right or is nagging at me that it could be better haven't done it for a couple of years 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted June 5, 2019 Share Posted June 5, 2019 The cheap alternative to the Fret Rubbers mentioned by @Grangur above is a Ladies 3-way nail buffing block. One surface is a very fine abrasive, the second is for buffing the nails and the last is a sort of soft rubber for shining. They're good for getting out the really baked-on corrosion or for getting tiny scratches out of the frets after dressing. Sainsburys do these for a couple of quid but I nicked mine from the wife. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted June 5, 2019 Share Posted June 5, 2019 (edited) Good point @skankdelvar, but even the softest nail file would be a lot more coarse than the most coarse fret rubber. I have 3 different ones and they actually feel just like a eraser we use for graphite on paper. Edited June 5, 2019 by Grangur 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted June 5, 2019 Share Posted June 5, 2019 My partner has a nail polishing pad which is made of a hard foam substance, that would probably work 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EliasMooseblaster Posted June 5, 2019 Share Posted June 5, 2019 On 04/06/2019 at 06:31, SpondonBassed said: That reminds me what a sales person told me in a high street car audio shop once. He was trying to sell me a sub. I declined and said that I didn't want it competing with the sound of my motor when driving and anyway, it's a mono signal and I like my stereo to be full range. He replied by saying that the human ear was incapable of telling from which direction bass sounds come from so it doesn't matter. He also went on to say that the ear can not tell what note is being played at low frequencies. I quietly walked out and left the cloth-eared chappie to it. Must have been a guitarist... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted June 5, 2019 Share Posted June 5, 2019 5 hours ago, Grangur said: Good point @skankdelvar, but even the softest nail file would be a lot more coarse than the most coarse fret rubber. I have 3 different ones and they actually feel just like a eraser we use for graphite on paper. Oh, absolutely. The nail-buffing stick-thing is a cheap and inferior option to Crinson's task-specific fret rubbers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted June 5, 2019 Share Posted June 5, 2019 I’ve just tried her nail buffer on the edge of a fret , they come up gleaming 🙂 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teebs Posted June 5, 2019 Share Posted June 5, 2019 14 minutes ago, Reggaebass said: I’ve just tried her nail buffer on the edge of a fret , they come up gleaming 🙂 You are in sooooo much trouble when she gets home! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted June 5, 2019 Share Posted June 5, 2019 Just now, Teebs said: You are in sooooo much trouble when she gets home! 😂 yeah I know 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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