woodyratm Posted 21 hours ago Posted 21 hours ago Hey guys, I’m wondering if anyone in the know could advise the cost to setup a bass from standard to lower, with the nut being adjusted to suit the larger strings? Also, adding the strap locks which I believe needs a wee bit of drilling? Right now, I have no idea how to do it myself and was generally happy to pay. But since 2022 when I was first using a local place, the cost has increased 163%. I understand everything costs more nowadays but I feel this is a bit mad… it’s kinda making consider buying the tools and cheapo bass and learning myself. obviously, I understand there maybe cost changes depending on area but I’m looking for ballpark really. thanks in advance. Quote
bassbiscuits Posted 21 hours ago Posted 21 hours ago (edited) It sounds as tho the job is really making and fitting a new nut, probably tweaking intonation and neck relief. Fitting strap locks is a five min job. As a guide I think I’ve usually paid about £40 for a set up (fret dress, set action and intonation) and the same sort of price for a new nut (the jobs go together as a new nut will require the rest to be set up around it.) But that’s based on one local repairer that I’ve used for years. There’s probably a few luthier websites online with prices listed for that sort of work to give you an idea. Edited 21 hours ago by bassbiscuits Quote
franzbassist Posted 21 hours ago Posted 21 hours ago (edited) Are you going to a much heavier gauge? You may not need to make any changes if it's just the next gauge up. As @bassbiscuits says, you may need to adjust the intonation and relief, but you may not! Also, I've never had to drill out a strap lock hole to allow for a bigger screw (and I have fitted Dunlop locks to loads of basses); I just put a little bit of wax on the new screw and they always go in easily enough. As to cost, these are the kind of tweaks I've made on my basses for years, so I'm afraid I have no idea. Sorry Edited 21 hours ago by franzbassist Quote
woodyratm Posted 21 hours ago Author Posted 21 hours ago (edited) Cheers folks, there is a drastic change on the nut tbf - standard to A#. But that was the exact same back in ‘22. Every bass I get gets the same treatment. String gauge is usually 105 to 135. EDIT: also - there has never been a new nut fitted, always just filled to suit the larger strings. Edited 21 hours ago by woodyratm Quote
franzbassist Posted 21 hours ago Posted 21 hours ago Just now, woodyratm said: Cheers folks, there is a drastic change on the nut tbf - standard to A#. But that was the exact same back in ‘22. Every bass I get gets the same treatment. String gauge is usually 105 to 135. Okay, so yes, a new nut may well be in order. You could wrap fine gauge sandpaper around each string and then run them up and down the nut slots to file open the existing nut (put a little pen mark right at the bottom of each slot so you don't take it lower!), but I appreciate you may not be comfortable with that! Quote
neepheid Posted 21 hours ago Posted 21 hours ago If you don't mind naming names - which local establishment have you been going to at which you have noted the price rise? Quote
woodyratm Posted 20 hours ago Author Posted 20 hours ago (edited) 7 minutes ago, neepheid said: If you don't mind naming names - which local establishment have you been going to at which you have noted the price rise? Posted but maybe shouldn’t name. Will PM. Edited 20 hours ago by woodyratm Removing name Quote
neepheid Posted 20 hours ago Posted 20 hours ago 3 minutes ago, woodyratm said: Ramjam. I like them, but feels a bit much. I don't have much data to go on when it comes to Ramjam - the only time I engaged their technical services was over 2 years ago for a full rewire of a bass, which cost £50, which I thought was pretty reasonable at the time. But who knows what it would cost me today, sorry. Quote
Mokl Posted 4 hours ago Posted 4 hours ago Would be interested to hear what you've been quoted! In my view a lot of instrument setup work has been undervalued over the years, and these days a guitar setup is one thing that you can't really buy off the internet. I always think about how much time a job is likely to take, how much do I think it's reasonable for a skilled person (who's also taking liability for my instrument whilst on their care) to charge for that time? Quote
woodyratm Posted 4 hours ago Author Posted 4 hours ago 20 minutes ago, Mokl said: Would be interested to hear what you've been quoted! In my view a lot of instrument setup work has been undervalued over the years, and these days a guitar setup is one thing that you can't really buy off the internet. I always think about how much time a job is likely to take, how much do I think it's reasonable for a skilled person (who's also taking liability for my instrument whilst on their care) to charge for that time? The price was £47.50 in 2022, I was quoted £125 yesterday. Quote
HoorayForAnonyms Posted 3 hours ago Posted 3 hours ago This is the Bass Gallery’s based in London price list. Might be a helpful comparator: GENERAL SET UP - £55 Full Gallery setup including: truss rod adjustment, intonation, action, nut height, fingerboard & fret cleaning and pickup alignment. SAME DAY SET UP - £65 As above. Must be dropped off before 11.30am and picked up at the end of the day BATTERY COMPARTMENTS - from £50 Fitting new battery compartment DE FRET – from £150 Lines from a choice of woods and colours ELECTRONICS SERVICE - from £15 Electronic Maintenance FITTING NEW ELECTRONICS - from £40 Fitting on board EQ's (Not including the price of the electronics) ROLLING EDGES – from £65 Fret edges filed in for a smoother and faster neck FRET STONE – from £110 Fret stone to level frets including crowning FRETLESS LINING - £250 Adding fretlines to an unlined fretless instrument FRETTING LINED FRETLESS – from £250 Adding frets to an already lined instrument FRETTING UNLINED FRETLESS - from £350 Adding frets to an unlined fretless instrument HARDWARE FIT - from £15 Fitting of replacement hardware NECK RESHAPE - from £100 Reshape neck to make a flatter profile NECK STRIP - from £50 Remove varnish and smooth off neck NEW FINGERBOARD - from £350 Replacement fingerboard, maple, rosewood ebony etc NUT REPLACEMENT - from £50 Choose from from brass, bone, phenolic, graphite, graphtech etc. PICKUP FITTING - from £20 Fitting and wiring up of replacement pickups RAMP - from £80 Ramp between pickups RE-FRET - from £280 Fret maple fingerboard including re - shooting and re - varnishing of fingerboard RE-SHOOT – from £110 Re shoot fingerboard and levelling RE-STRING - £20 Re-string instrument, strings not supplied ROUTING - from £80 Routing for pickups etc SCREENING - from £40 Electronic cavity screening Quote
Mokl Posted 3 hours ago Posted 3 hours ago 38 minutes ago, woodyratm said: The price was £47.50 in 2022, I was quoted £125 yesterday. That is a large increase! Did they explain why (sorry if you've explained elsewhere, sneaky work-based forum browsing!)? Quote
lemmywinks Posted 3 hours ago Posted 3 hours ago Been years since I paid for a setup, get yourself a decent notched straight edge (I have a Crimson one which does all common bass scale lengths, not cheap though) and some basic tools then watch a ton of luthier videos on YouTube. £125 is a lot for a basic setup and nut adjustment, unless you also need a fret dress then I'd look elsewhere. The last four basses I bought all had wholly unsuitable setups for me, one needed a fair bit of adjustment and two of them needed frets knocking down higher up the board, the tools have paid for themselves already. 2 Quote
Hellzero Posted 2 hours ago Posted 2 hours ago 18 hours ago, bassbiscuits said: As a guide I think I’ve usually paid about £40 for a set up (fret dress, set action and intonation) and the same sort of price for a new nut (the jobs go together as a new nut will require the rest to be set up around it.) Fret dressing, action and intonation for £40 must be so badly done that the instrument must be unplayable as it takes a lot of time to do it perfectly, including adjusting the neck to the fitted string tension (simply putting the neck super straight without strings on it is an heresy as it doesn't take the laws of physics into account), protecting the fingerboard, dressing the frets, crowning them (a huge time consuming process) and then polishing them (which takes a bit of time too), plus setting intonation and action... Maybe this £40 price tag for that job was in the 80's or 90's? 1 Quote
neepheid Posted 2 hours ago Posted 2 hours ago I'm a big advocate of self-sufficiency, at least up to a level of doing basic setup (relief/intonation/action) work. Setup is personal - and it's really not difficult. Of course when you get into territory like what is being discussed here, it's player's choice if they want to stretch themselves and learn these other skills. Me personally I do all my setups, I'm OK with the electronics if it's not too taxing, replacing hardware is fine, and I'm currently at the grinding back ratty fret ends/knocking down proud frets kinda stage. Mostly using improvised tools, because I'm a cheapskate. 2 Quote
woodyratm Posted 1 hour ago Author Posted 1 hour ago 1 hour ago, Mokl said: That is a large increase! Did they explain why (sorry if you've explained elsewhere, sneaky work-based forum browsing!)? Initially it was “sorry - prices are needing to go up. You know what it’s like”. Everywhere I’ve seen so far has been about 40-60 - which id have been happy with paying. 125 for the same service seems bit of a kick. Quote
neepheid Posted 1 hour ago Posted 1 hour ago 1 minute ago, woodyratm said: Initially it was “sorry - prices are needing to go up. You know what it’s like”. Everywhere I’ve seen so far has been about 40-60 - which id have been happy with paying. 125 for the same service seems bit of a kick. Classic Aberdeen mentality, thinking it can charge "London prices" for things 1 Quote
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