Hi
Ive got a lovely old German flatback bass which sounds amazing (and much better than my playing). Trouble is that the action is sitting a bit high (15mm E 11mm G) and seems to be a good bit higher than most guys on here. I recently had it repaired by a really good luthier and she was saying that the fingerboard wouldn't be able to take the strings being lowered any more than they are and that replacing the fingerboard would be the only option to get the action lower. The fingerboard is already pretty thin and wouldn't take any re-profiling. Trouble is this would be really expensive and the bass isn't worth loads so Im not sure its worth doing! She did fit a new higher saddle which has eased the string tension slightly and said that the best option might be to look into lower tension strings- it seems that the G string is currently the hardest to play.
Has anyone any advice on what to do or string recommendations? Its currently fitted with D'addario Helicore Hybrid, low tension. I currently play both pizz and arco so I wouldn't want to go super low- maybe another 2-3mm.
I was wondering about the possibility of bridge adjusters so I could lower the action to the point at which it might start buzzing and raise it slightly from there but not sure this is a good idea!
Any advice appreciated!
cheers
Phil