Cuzzie Posted September 1, 2019 Share Posted September 1, 2019 Cool flash me a DM Lets see! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wishface Posted September 2, 2019 Author Share Posted September 2, 2019 That's very kind but I'm not going to be able to get into Bristol right now 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wishface Posted September 2, 2019 Author Share Posted September 2, 2019 i found some feeler guages in town today so I'm going to have a proper go, John Carruthers recommends .15 inch. However i have read that fingerboard radius determines the standard. In my case .12 (source: the fender document I'm sure everyone's seen). So what's the advice when you set the relief to that amount and you still get buzz? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 As I said earlier you might have a/some dodgy fret(s) and it’ll need professional help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wishface Posted September 2, 2019 Author Share Posted September 2, 2019 2 minutes ago, ped said: As I said earlier you might have a/some dodgy fret(s) and it’ll need professional help. How high should frets be? To my admittedly untrained eye, they don't seem uneven. Anyway, I can't do much about that until I can get it looked at so I'll do what I can Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 56 minutes ago, wishface said: How high should frets be? To my admittedly untrained eye, they don't seem uneven. Anyway, I can't do much about that until I can get it looked at so I'll do what I can You can’t tell by eye. You’re just going to have to take this somewhere to get the thing level and setup properly I think. Let us know how you get on... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulWarning Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 the way to set neck relief is to lower the strings until fret buzz starts then adjust neck relief and string height until slight buzz is the same all the way along the neck, then raise the strings to suit 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wishface Posted September 2, 2019 Author Share Posted September 2, 2019 1 hour ago, ped said: You can’t tell by eye. You’re just going to have to take this somewhere to get the thing level and setup properly I think. Let us know how you get on... I didn't mean literally I meant using a straight edge to detet any abnormalities. I couldn't, but that doesn't mean there aren't any Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 Ok well I don’t think we can say anything more to help at this point, everything’s been covered - so take it to a tech. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wishface Posted September 3, 2019 Author Share Posted September 3, 2019 Can we confirm whether or not it's true that fret buzz in the upper register can be caused or is a symptom of excessive relief? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulWarning Posted September 3, 2019 Share Posted September 3, 2019 6 minutes ago, wishface said: Can we confirm whether or not it's true that fret buzz in the upper register can be caused or is a symptom of excessive relief? Well I don't think so, neck relief is in the middle of the neck so if you're fretting from, say, the 12th fret that'll be after the neck relief, hope that makes sense Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted September 3, 2019 Share Posted September 3, 2019 (edited) 18 hours ago, wishface said: i found some feeler guages in town today so I'm going to have a proper go, John Carruthers recommends .15 inch. However i have read that fingerboard radius determines the standard. In my case .12 (source: the fender document I'm sure everyone's seen). So what's the advice when you set the relief to that amount and you still get buzz? Ive been having a bit of trouble setting my Yamaha bass up to how i like it. Nothing wrong with it as such, just not comfortable. I read as many set up guides as i could, and i have been setting my own basses up for years. What i found strange was that the more relief i had, and going by most of the guides say more is better for harder playing, the more fret buzz i would get abve the 6th fret. I play with a pick so fret buzz can be a bit more obvious, and although dont dig in to hard i can get a bit heavy handed. Against my better judgment, i was going for .012 - .015 at he 8th fret, while trying to get the action down to 2.25(ish) at the 12th on the E. Most of the guides were saying this is needed if you play herder. In the past ive gone for .008 -.010 like in the Lakland video. In fact that video as been my reference point for years. Now i have the perfect set up for me, and its at the Lakland settings of .008, with just over 2.25mm action. My point of this long winded post, is that i was getting quite a bit of buzz when i was using the higher relief measurements, and although i dont go over the 12th most of the time it was in the upper part of the neck. I can now dig in a bit more and have a relatively low action. So yeah, tighten the truss rod beyond what you have it now and if the frets are fine i think its going to work. You have nothing to lose. I found this PDF to be quite interesting, although as i said, i went against the advice and used a tighter relief. https://www.dropbox.com/s/kos2qqse8q1vdj2/Truss_Rods_Made_Easy.pdf?dl=0 Edited September 3, 2019 by dave_bass5 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wishface Posted September 3, 2019 Author Share Posted September 3, 2019 38 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said: Ive been having a bit of trouble setting my Yamaha bass up to how i like it. Nothing wrong with it as such, just not comfortable. I read as many set up guides as i could, and i have been setting my own basses up for years. What i found strange was that the more relief i had, and going by most of the guides say more is better for harder playing, the more fret buzz i would get abve the 6th fret. I play with a pick so fret buzz can be a bit more obvious, and although dont dig in to hard i can get a bit heavy handed. Against my better judgment, i was going for .012 - .015 at he 8th fret, while trying to get the action down to 2.25(ish) at the 12th on the E. Most of the guides were saying this is needed if you play herder. In the past ive gone for .008 -.010 like in the Lakland video. In fact that video as been my reference point for years. Now i have the perfect set up for me, and its at the Lakland settings of .008, with just over 2.25mm action. My point of this long winded post, is that i was getting quite a bit of buzz when i was using the higher relief measurements, and although i dont go over the 12th most of the time it was in the upper part of the neck. I can now dig in a bit more and have a relatively low action. So yeah, tighten the truss rod beyond what you have it now and if the frets are fine i think its going to work. You have nothing to lose. I found this PDF to be quite interesting, although as i said, i went against the advice and used a tighter relief. https://www.dropbox.com/s/kos2qqse8q1vdj2/Truss_Rods_Made_Easy.pdf?dl=0 In terms of numbers, is 2.25mm considered low action? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulWarning Posted September 3, 2019 Share Posted September 3, 2019 6 minutes ago, wishface said: In terms of numbers, is 2.25mm considered low action? well fender recommend 2.4mm so a bit low, but it depends on your style and how much fret buzz you're prepared to put up with Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted September 3, 2019 Share Posted September 3, 2019 2mm is as high as I like to go, I've got a couple of basses that are happy at less than that, but it's all very personal taste... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted September 3, 2019 Share Posted September 3, 2019 51 minutes ago, PaulWarning said: well fender recommend 2.4mm so a bit low, but it depends on your style and how much fret buzz you're prepared to put up with Yeah, its medium low rather than low IMO. I know a few players who play with a lighter touch and can get 2mm or just under. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wishface Posted September 3, 2019 Author Share Posted September 3, 2019 2 hours ago, Muzz said: 2mm is as high as I like to go, I've got a couple of basses that are happy at less than that, but it's all very personal taste... is that for every string? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted September 3, 2019 Share Posted September 3, 2019 41 minutes ago, wishface said: is that for every string? Ideally the height of each string follows the fingerboard radius. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wishface Posted September 3, 2019 Author Share Posted September 3, 2019 1 minute ago, dave_bass5 said: Ideally the height of each string follows the fingerboard radius. Can you achieve that with a ruler? Most people don't have (I assume) those specific radius measuring tools. Won't find them in B&Q! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted September 3, 2019 Share Posted September 3, 2019 17 minutes ago, wishface said: Can you achieve that with a ruler? Most people don't have (I assume) those specific radius measuring tools. Won't find them in B&Q! Well if you have a ruler that is accurate enough then yes, you can. No need to be too specific, its all about how it feels rather absolute numbers. Once you get the E and maybe G in place just adjust to what feels comfortable. I do find one of these cheap string action gauges very useful though. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Durable-String-Action-Measuring-Luthier/dp/B07CNY6HF2/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=string+set+up+tools&qid=1567524751&s=gateway&sr=8-9 After all the years ive been setting up my basses i recently got a set of cheap radius tools and found i have no need for them. Acton is a personal thing but as it happens i was already 95% there so left things alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulWarning Posted September 3, 2019 Share Posted September 3, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, wishface said: is that for every string? Fender recommend 2.4mm for the E string down to 2mm for the G string. I use a metal ruler and magnifying glass to measure string height, putting the ruler behind the string you're measuring helps a lot Edited September 3, 2019 by PaulWarning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wishface Posted September 3, 2019 Author Share Posted September 3, 2019 Is there an amount of fret buzz that is acceptable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky 4000 Posted September 3, 2019 Share Posted September 3, 2019 36 minutes ago, wishface said: Is there an amount of fret buzz that is acceptable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted September 3, 2019 Share Posted September 3, 2019 47 minutes ago, wishface said: Is there an amount of fret buzz that is acceptable? You tell us. We all tolerate different things in different ways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wishface Posted September 3, 2019 Author Share Posted September 3, 2019 Ok thanks for the replies 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.