donslow

Thanks again fellas, you’ve been most insightful

@Andyjr1515 that’s a fantastic explanation, a massive help! Thank you for taking the time! @itu & @ikay thank you also, the help and links you posted were also quite insightful! So, if I have this right, the string tension really only relates to how/of what the strings are made of, so generally speaking, the harder/stronger/thicker the materials used, the more tension will be required to tighten that string to get it to pitch?! on that note assuming the strings on one of my basses being a bit flappy when tuned up, one would assume that, for example, the center core for example isn’t so thick as the ones in my flats (la Bella deep talkin’) on my precision bass?! In my head, I’m kind of comparing it to two lengths of metal studding, for example, one at say, 2mm diameter and one at 6mm, if they were strings on an instrument, tuned to pitch, the 6mm would be the high tension string due to having a lot less flex in it?! would that very long winded analogy sound about right?!

Apologies if this is posted in the wrong section, mods please feel free to move if so So I’m preparing to hide under the table for asking such a noob question, buuuuutt.....Can someone explain to me what is meant by string tension?! i read things about high tension this and low tension that And I’m struggling to work out what it all means If I may share with you a little understanding (or misunderstanding) of mine I use the same gauge strings (105 85 65 45) on all of my basses and all are set up to my personal preferences, on one bass for example, an sr300 the strings feel tight with little give in them when their plucked, which is something I like, where as the flats on my p bass feel a little looser when plucked. my understanding is this is the difference in tension but then I assumed, setting up a bass differently, higher bridge saddles for example will tighten the strings or would buying “high tension” strings make them feel tighter, I don’t really understand how this works if that’s the case as surely their always strung up the same way?! or is string tension referring to how the strings are made or strung up on the body?! really want to understand this a bit better than I apparently do (or don’t) at the minute so any guidance is much appreciated

Both old instruments, my only two basses that see regular use hence not attempting it myself as I wouldn’t want to make them worse which would more than likely be the outcome

@chris_b thank you for the suggestion, was hoping for somewhere a little closer to home though as don’t venture into London too often @gary mac PM on its way....

Hey all, I’ve been setting up my basses and guitars to my liking fairly well on my own but have noticed rattles and buzzes of late so am looking at getting my frets checked for leveling. This isn’t something I’ve tried before due to a) not having the right tools b) through fear of seriously messing it up as I’m not 100% certain of what I’m doing so..... does anyone know of any Essex based luthiers that would level, dress and polish my frets if I took my necks to them on their own?! What sort of cost would I be looking at for such a service as the only prices I can find seem to be for full setups?!

I would / have done before, pre-drill, put full length cocktail sticks in the holes and then lacquer, once lacquer is done and set, either snap off the cocktail sticks or VERY carefully, cut off level to the body with a craft knife or similar. Lightly and carefully jab the sticks in the holes with a bradawl or similar and then screw in equally as carefully into the unlacquered wood of the sticks. has worked for me in the past with no ill effects.

Shim was the first thing I tried but was looking at best part of 3mm of shim before I could get any decent adjustability on it, at which point the neck screws were struggling to sit in any decent amount of meat in the neck heel the saddles on the bridge are massive, I’ve not seen any this big before so I suspect changing those would help a lot, other options I had considered were recessing the bridge into the body so it sits flush neck is dead straight currently so no further adjustment needed there I think I have another bbot bridge in my spares box so will try that over the weekend and see what difference it makes

Never owned a fretless before, never played one, just had a massive GAS for one in the collection, now I have one, no idea what to do with it! Anyway, without further ado.... As I believe, started life as a black, fretted squire MB4, neck stamp is feint but looks like May 2002 has been defretted, and body stripped of its blackness, the color of the body now is closer to a dark butterscotch than the pictures will allow you to see, some age related marks and the defret job doesn’t look the nicest in places, although smooth all round, but nothing to quibble about considering the price I paid for it, it works action needs sorting out, currently 5.9mm at the 12th and 6.7mm at the last fret, action at the nut seems about as low as it’s going to get, I suspect the action is mostly due to the massive saddles on the bridge, will see if I can get hold of something smaller and see how that works In in the same day, also acquired, for an equally good price an Ibanez SR300, I originally learnt to play bass on an SR800le but have since become a precision man but figured this’ll be nice for a little variation and familiarity, it’s in good nick, all works, some minor body damage but nothing to concern myself about, again, considering what I paid

oddly, I had considered this also but concerned as to how it would affect the string...

depending on where on the East coast you are, these guys http://www.essexamprepairs.co.uk/ sorted out a well hidden problem with my SVT2 Pro some time back and was quite easy on the wallet also

At least it’ll give me time to work out if the monstrously high action on the fret less is due to the monstrously sized bridge saddles or something else...

Yes! Good shout! Have to also work out if the monstrously high action is due to the monstrously sized bridge saddles or something else also....

That’s the missus plotting to keep me from making too much noise in the house I suspect....

Just acquired two new basses to add to the collection for an absolute steal Ibanez SR300 Fretless Squier MB4 i get them home, all excited to get them out of the bags and have a tinker, Mrs donslow calls me to the kitchen for a job and then.....DISASTER....!!! Doesn’t look like much but a craft knife expertly (accidentally) jabbed into the finger hurts like an absolute mutha..... cant play, too much blood, too much pain so now I have to wait until it’s healed before I can tinker with new toys..... S*?#......

....I get one.....what do I do now....?!