Setting up a Ray 5

[Musicman20]

My Ray 5 HS has been in very cold weather due to the temperatures in Newcastle. I have kept it mainly in its case due to moving so thats a good thing.

All is fine with the bass, but as happened with my Jazz, the strings appear to be a little high off the board.

I have a bass tool kit now, so I looked at the EBMM site and hunted for advice.

Firstly, I turned the TR Wheel towards the G, eg that should flatten the neck out and let me have a lower action.

I did very small turns, one at a time, then adjusted tuning and left it for 20 mins or so.

I did this 3 times, and I was very cautious, so im guessing at most its had half a turn, with gaps in between.

I THINK this has sorted it a little, as doing the EBMM test of holding the second fret, then the twelth, and checking the string height, it seems it is about the height of a credit card....eg another tiny turn might help?!

The strings do seem to have less pressure and tension, which is what I was seeking....Id just like the strings lower and the action faster.

I have left it overnight, but as EBMM have said, their necks react quite fast so often the changes will occur within minutes.

Ill check it tomorrow, but what can I do next? I dont want to lower the saddles too much as I dont want loads of fret buzz...they are at factory height still.

Am I safe to turn the wheel more?

PS - The TR Wheel is truely a fantastic invention. It makes TR adjustments SO easy...and less stressful.

[Ou7shined]

You are safe to turn the wheel as much as you want either way (*in theory). One way it will eventually stop and the other it will fall off. What you don't want to do is use force.

*The more you take it out of true though the more rests and readjusts you will have to do to put it back.

[gareth1982]

I'd say yes, give it another little tweak...you can't really hurt anything if it's gradual. The neck on my SR5 hasn't been touched in about 3 years and it is still give me a low fast action and I use it for probably 3 or 4 hours a week....having said that, I'm going to clean it later today after last night's rehearsal, and I might just give the wheel a tweak and see if it will go down a bit more. I like to tweak!

And yes, the wheel thingy is fantastic

Cheers

[Musicman20]

I just want to make sure im not doing anything wrong. The changes I made havent really done that much as far as I can see, BUT, the relief when using the test with a business card shows it has gone down a little, but still not 'business card' low. More of a thick plastic credit card.

[Ou7shined]

Slowly, slowly catchy monkey

[ikay]

Hi Musicman20, SR5s are generally very easy and forgiving to set up. The truss rod wheel is a stroke of genius. Half a turn is quite a lot and should have made a noticeable difference. I find it helps to slacken off the strings when tightening the truss rod, let it rest for a few minutes and then bring it back up to tune and check where you're at. If you didn't do this then you might try loosening the strings now for a few minutes to let the neck find its new position. When you're happy with the relief have a play with the saddles. You can't do any harm and can always set them back to where they were (keep count of how many turns you lower them). I'd wind them down until you just start getting a bit of buzz and then bring them back up half a turn or a turn. Good luck, Ian

[Musicman20]

Thanks, im letting it rest. I think at most its had half a turn. The EBMM setup guide says dont slacken the strings, but most other guides say DO slacken the strings! Very odd!

I will try that re: slackening the string a little tonight and let it rest at room temp, and Ill also then lower the saddles a little. Im quite happy with intonating and saddle height, but Truss Rods are always a big 'arghhh' to me!

[Ou7shined]

I don't usually slacken the strings either but give the neck a helpful nudge (bend) either direction on each adjustment.

[Wil]

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1157800' date='Mar 11 2011, 10:58 AM']I don't usually slacken the strings either but give the neck a helpful nudge (bend) either direction on each adjustment.[/quote]

This. I dont think slackening the strings is a good idea personally, as you're trying to get the neck to settle where you want it while it's under string tension.

[Monz]

I set my SR5 up using the two Lakland videos on youtube where you give the neck an 8/1000ths relief and it works perfectly... I don't know how to put youtube links in here but if you just search for lakland setup on youtube you will find them, and follow them to the letter and you get great results

[ikay]

[quote name='Wil' post='1157886' date='Mar 11 2011, 11:59 AM']I dont think slackening the strings is a good idea personally, as you're trying to get the neck to settle where you want it while it's under string tension.[/quote]

Heheh, six of one and half a dozen of t'other Slackening the strings has the same effect as a little backward nudge but does it without applying any force which I prefer. In the end I guess it's down to what you feel more comfortable doing.

[LawrenceH]

[quote name='ikay' post='1158008' date='Mar 11 2011, 01:19 PM']Heheh, six of one and half a dozen of t'other Slackening the strings has the same effect as a little backward nudge but does it without applying any force which I prefer. In the end I guess it's down to what you feel more comfortable doing.[/quote]

It's a bloody great lump of solid wood and metal! Unless there's a defective glue or welding joint then it'd be damn hard to damage any correctly designed neck with even the most cavalier truss adjustments, with the exception of forcing it when the rod is seized or beyond its range.

[TRBboy]

[quote name='LawrenceH' post='1159729' date='Mar 12 2011, 07:15 PM']It's a bloody great lump of solid wood and metal! Unless there's a defective glue or welding joint then it'd be damn hard to damage any correctly designed neck with even the most cavalier truss adjustments, with the exception of forcing it when the rod is seized or beyond its range.[/quote]

A bass is usually a pretty sturdy instrument, and in most cases you would have to do something pretty stupid to damage the neck.

IMO it is best to adjust the TR with the strings tuned up, as the whole point of the truss rod is to counter the tension of the strings. When adjusting it, you want to be able to 'feel' these forces acting against each other.

I never usually bother with the whole 'wait for x amount of time' thing - you just need to be sure that the TR is moving. I usually give it a tweak, and then let the bass hang with your hand just under the headstock. Use the heel of your other hand to firmly tap up and down the neck - if your TR is a bit stuck this will help to make sure it has moved.

You can even physically bend the neck a little in the required direction to make sure it is moving.