Eight Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 I was in a music shop today... having a good ol' time mucking around with equipment etc. (mainly guitars I'm afraid - the basses were mostly all strung up out of reach) and chatting with the shop manager who seemed a good guy if a little determined to flog me anything. But they had this Dean - probably quite nicely priced - which I looked at and thought the action was very high. Then I did the thing where you press the first and last frets and look at the string gap. Except there wasn't any. The string sat on the frets all the way up the fretboard. That's bad right? Neck needs adjusting? I did mention it briefly to the guy who replied that's a pretty nice bass at a good price and whilst action etc. can be adjusted, he disagreed that it was as bad as I thought. Which lead me to wonder, have I misunderstand the wise words of The Bass Doc and the friendly people here when I've tried to learn about this stuff? Or am I absolutely right in my assessment that the action was pants? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bass Doc Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 You're right - it's pants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eight Posted June 10, 2009 Author Share Posted June 10, 2009 [quote name='The Bass Doc' post='510701' date='Jun 10 2009, 10:26 PM']You're right - it's pants.[/quote] Hahaha. Hey mate, I didn't realise you were online there. Good to know your time explaining this stuff to me wasn't wasted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bass Doc Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 And Y-fronts at that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YouMa Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 I have finally managed to get the action down on my jazz. The badass or whatever lifted them higher than i like,but fenders are just higher than more flat profile fingerboards. I made a drunken shimming attempt which failed badly,but then did it sober and it worked superbly.I am now chuffed to bits,i used very thin card. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eight Posted June 10, 2009 Author Share Posted June 10, 2009 That's way too hardcore for me Ma. Especially to do it drunk!?!?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YouMa Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 [quote name='Eight' post='510713' date='Jun 10 2009, 10:32 PM']That's way too hardcore for me Ma. Especially to do it drunk!?!?![/quote] I really am pleased with the results i got shes one hot bitch now it took ages to get the neck settled,cant wait till shes turbocharged with an audere or john east. I have really got into messing with my planks lately and hopefully im going to build a jazz body with a figured maple top this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 That test is actually something different - what you see by pressing the first and last fret is the RELIEF of the neck, i.e how much bow there is in the neck. Some people like a bit of bow to compensate against clank when playing. They say the 'textbook' amount is a credit card's thickness under the middle of the neck between the string and the fret when the string is pressed at the first and last frets (actually I think they normally say about the 3rd and 17th fret) Personally I like almost no relief at all, so I would look for a bass with a perfectly straight neck, or as near as I could get. I can then get my action super low, and because i play very lightly, it suits my style and growls when I dig in. Different strokes for different folks! Cheers ped Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YouMa Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 I would love to go really low but i stay at the threshold where i can still get a good slap tone off the E and A. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bass Doc Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 If there's no gap when you press 'top and bottom' you can't even be sure the neck is straight or has a 'back bow' - just off straight is a better test unless of course you can 'sight' the degree of bend in the neck and then you you need to check the truss rod can do it's job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eight Posted June 10, 2009 Author Share Posted June 10, 2009 (edited) I probably should have played it to satisfy some curiosity. To me it seemed like a really weird kind of setup for a bass they're hoping to sell. BTW Loving the extra knowledge this casual thread has turned out. Cheers guys. Edited June 10, 2009 by Eight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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.