The never ending quest for the lowest possible action

[CHRISDABASS]

hey



Ever since the dawn of (my bass playing) time i've been constantly playing around with the setup of my basses trying to achieve the lowest possible action!

My Sadowsky's can go LOW!! but ive only just started to realise that you CAN go TOO low and the quality of the tone / notes played can suffer quite a lot!

Yesterday i decided enough's enough and gave each saddle on the bridge one & a half turns clockwise to bring the action up, to my surprise it made the bass easier to play!!??!! strange!!

by easier i mean easier to play cleanly, it lets me have way more control over the dynamics, this is something i'd previously lost sight of!

so, do you have your action set stupidly low?? do you suffer from noisy nastiness in between notes?

Go on, be a devil and raise your action a bit! Give your bass a little room to breathe!


feel free to post your thoughts / results here

[Soliloquy]

I have mine set up really low, a couple of millimetres at the 12th fret. I have ramps fitted to all my basses, that kind of helps to keep my playing under control so I don't get rattles and buzzes, unless I want them.

[markorbit]

I have recently come to the same conclusion. I was pretty much obsessed with obtaining the lowest action possible. I was getting quite a bit of clack which needed precise playing to manage properly. However, I then spent a small fortune trying to buy the warm round sound that I could never get!

Years ago (ahem) I would have liked liked the aggressive, fretty sound but tastes change and I now want round, full and warm. I want just one note to sound good and be able to hold it's own.

I went too far with the action and after reading about Jamerson and Flowers I decided to bite the bullet and raise it on one of my basses. Suddenly the notes were cleaner, richer and fuller and yes, easier to play. I'd just play without having to worry about digging in too hard. I remembered again how enjoyable it was just to play freely.

I would still class my action as low (and I always alter the truss with the action set super low so I can hear the relief of the neck better) but it's not crazy anymore.

So I can see where you're coming from, definitely. I'd lost sight of it too.

Edited October 20, 2010 by markorbit

[MythSte]

I love the feel of a well setup bass with a super low action, thats for sure! However, there's something about a passive jazz with the action high that just sounds so ballsy and feels so manly!

[Bigwan]

Yeah! Grow a pair! You're not guitar players...

Edited October 20, 2010 by Bigwan

[lozbass]

I play with the lowest possible action on all my basses - I don't seem to suffer problems with lack of sustain, buzz or 'clack' but the set-ups are usually performed by Martin at the Gallery. I also play with a very light touch and this probably contributes to avoidance of buzz.

[JTUK]

Mine are pretty low..but am nowhere near as anal about as I used to be.
I am more after the response of the string than anything else.

I don't play heavy so if I can get any interference, the actions needs a hike.

[Clarky]

Because I mainly play my basses at home un-amplified I like them to be comfortable and slick and that means low-ish action (c.2.5mm at 12th fret). However, from experience I have noticed that when playing live I don't care if the action is a bit higher and frankly I don't notice the difference (as long as the action isn't silly high)

[Wil]

I probably have about 10-15mm on the B at the 12th fret, and a good 2mm of neck relief. I do it by feel so not 100% sure, but I'd call it high. Notes ring out clear, I get almost no fret clatter at all (I'm a hard hitter) and it gives you excellent control over string sustain. Love it! I may try lowering a few mm to see what I can get away with now I've added more neck relief though, just to give my left hand a break.

[razze06]

I'm very heavy-handed, so low action never appealed to me. I like to be able to big a little further and finding "the clack", without fret buzzing everywhere.
However, a well set up bass is a joy to play, and makes a difference!

[thodrik]

I used to be obsessed with obtaining a really low action, but its not something that bothers me now. Not that a play with a really high action, but its nothing that I'm overly concerned about. I do have limitations though as I do don't like anything overly 'spongy'. I think that there is a difference between having a higher action and a poorly set up bass (generally off the wall basses in a guitar shop, though there are exceptions). I don't really measure my action though, I just tend to know when it feels and sounds right for me, and usually I won't go far away from a set up provided by someone that knows what they are doing and knows what I want.

[BottomEndian]

[quote name='Wil' post='994609' date='Oct 20 2010, 11:47 AM']I probably have about 10-15mm on the B at the 12th fret[/quote]
Sweet holy mother! That's quite something... or have I stumbled into the DB/EUB forum? Can you get the saddle back far enough so it intonates properly all the way up the neck?

We did [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=57575"]this a while back[/url]. Quite an eye-opener.

[Wil]

It's as far back as it will go, and it's not quite perfect, but it's good enough up to around the 7th fret. Sounds immense though!

After reading that thread you linked, it sounds like my action is very high! It can't be that bad, I'll try and measure it later.

Edited October 20, 2010 by Wil

[BottomEndian]

[quote name='Wil' post='994632' date='Oct 20 2010, 12:00 PM']Sounds immense though![/quote]
I'll bet! No danger of fret buzz.

[dave_bass5]

I have mine at 2mm at the 12th fret if i can get it. I also like to shim my necks so the action stays pretty much at 2mm right up to the last fret.
It doesn't bother me too much lower down the neck but i prefer to not have too much of a gap past the 12th.
I also tend to lower the pups a bit.

[Musicman20]

I tend to leave it as factory standard now. I did tweak my USA P Bass though as it was TOO low...

[Truckstop]

I quite like having quite a high action for my playing hand and but I love having a nice low action on the fretboard, so I just sink the pups a bit rather than mess with the action. I'd rather be playing comfortably than worrying about changing the sound by moving the pups.

Truckstop

[Jerry_B]

A bass always feels a bit odd to me if the action's too low - no doubt due to the fact that for years all my basses have had a somewhat high action. I play with a plectrum so anything too low sounds bloody awful. The action of my fretless is high (which is what some people noted at the London Bass Bash back in June), but too low an action of a fretless gives you less control IMHO. And anyway, I have strong fingers

[Lozz196]

I`m much the same, as I play with a pick, and tend to hit rather hard - due to playing for years thru an underpowered amp - ultra low action doesn`t work for me.

I recently had my bass set up properly, and the action was really low, but luckily the luthier had used reg gauge strings. As soon as I put heavies on, it went to the exact right height for me.

[Wil]

[quote name='Lozz196' post='994885' date='Oct 20 2010, 02:51 PM']I`m much the same, as I play with a pick, and tend to hit rather hard - due to playing for years thru an underpowered amp - ultra low action doesn`t work for me.

I recently had my bass set up properly, and the action was really low, but luckily the luthier had used reg gauge strings. As soon as I put heavies on, it went to the exact right height for me.[/quote]

Interesting that you mention playing for years through an underpowered amp. When I started I must have played for a good 5 years with no amp at all, and then maybe another few years with low powered amps before I could afford a decent rig. It's probably why it's ingrained in me to dig in so hard.

[Chris2112]

I generally don't like it so low that it's flapping and creating buzz. A little bit of tension can be nice to help you get those finger funk lines grooving!

Like here we have a video of a lovely Status S2 classic and it just sounds like a load of crap because the strings are buzzing and clacking off the frets. If the action were raised a tiny bit it would sound so much better!

[Doctor J]

I used to have it as low as it could go and I used 95 gauge strings too. Nowadays, it's a bit higher still probably lower than 95% of others and I'm using 110s, like to keep the relief minimal, keep the neck very straight. I like to have it clean when I play soft, but still give me a bit of grind when I dig in.

12mm action would make me cry though, it really would

[Jerry_B]

[quote name='Chris2112' post='994967' date='Oct 20 2010, 03:43 PM']Like here we have a video of a lovely Status S2 classic and it just sounds like a load of crap because the strings are buzzing and clacking off the frets. If the action were raised a tiny bit it would sound so much better![/quote]

Hmm - all that isn't coming through the amp though, is it? I think it sounds okay.

[Wil]

[quote name='Wil' post='994632' date='Oct 20 2010, 12:00 PM']It's as far back as it will go, and it's not quite perfect, but it's good enough up to around the 7th fret. Sounds immense though!

After reading that thread you linked, it sounds like my action is very high! It can't be that bad, I'll try and measure it later.[/quote]

Ok, turns out I'm awful at estimating distance.

3mm at the 3rd, 5mm at the 12th and 5mm at the 17th. Around 1/2mm relief, hard to tell with a tape measure. So maybe my action isnt as high as I think it is?

[BottomEndian]

[quote name='Wil' post='995199' date='Oct 20 2010, 06:37 PM']Ok, turns out I'm awful at estimating distance.[/quote]
Still, better to find out now than when you're trying to judge whether you can make the leap over a 200ft gorge filled with ravenous alligators. With lasers on their heads.