Benplaysbass Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 (edited) Well I'm not one for playing with the setup of my basses, there's no adjustment on my acoustic so have learnt to play with an action high enough to drive a car under, my Aria pro was setup a couple of years ago by Grandwazoo when he threw some new strings on and that has been pretty good. On my thunderbird I just played it as it came out of the box, should've known better really as I've been playing for about 17 years. So just had a fiddle and lowered the action and set the itonation(almost) as far as the stock bridge will allow and its like playing someone else's guitar, so much easier to play. I'm hoping to get hold of a hipshot bridge and tuners for it pretty soon so will have to properly set it up then, are there any tips or tricks to get a good setup or is it just a personal thing. Edited September 30, 2011 by Benplaysbass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 There's plenty online for helping you with your setup but the only person that can set it up exactly the way you want it is you [IMG]http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad111/Delberthot/Thunderbirdnew/DSC08781Large.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad111/Delberthot/Thunderbirdnew/DSC08777Large.jpg[/IMG] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiOgon Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Yep it's a personal thing but don't be afraid to experiment & most important - patience. There are relatively few adjustments you can make & nothing that can't be changed back if you don't like it. Cheerz, John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benplaysbass Posted September 30, 2011 Author Share Posted September 30, 2011 Is that a hipshot bridge? Do they make a big difference over the stock three point one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 [quote name='Benplaysbass' timestamp='1317411667' post='1390587'] Is that a hipshot bridge? Do they make a big difference over the stock three point one? [/quote] Yes - The added mass improves the balance and if you believe it, the sustain. i personally do as it sustains for ages and that's with flatwound strings. the third thing is that its so much easier to adjust the height, intonation and even string spacing. They are expensive and you can generally only get them from the US. Not sure how the Euro is doing against the dollar but they're a tad cheaper now than they were a few months ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benplaysbass Posted September 30, 2011 Author Share Posted September 30, 2011 Think I will be going for one very soon, along with maybe some hipshot tuners. Trouble is er indoors has eyes like a hawk and will notice new shiney shiney. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fender73 Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 well done mate. Only advice i can give is do the adjustments in small stages, makes it easier to undo if you don't like the results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bassman7755 Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 (edited) As already mentioned theres loads of stuff on t'inernet. A quick checklist of the major things to look at would be: string height at the nut (should be the same as a fret) string height at the bridge (i.e the "action") string height profile at bridge (i.e. the string height follows the curvature of the fingerboard) intonation (12th fret intune with open octave harmonic) angle of strings behind nut (should be as uniform as possible across the strings) neck relief/curvature (should be set so that the amount of fret buzz is constant on low and high frets) pickup height at low and high strings (get an even volume between strings) relative pickup height of neck and bridge (to get the right balance) BTW nice bridge you got there, I do hate stock "captive" bridges i.e. the ones you have to thread the strings through. Edited October 1, 2011 by bassman7755 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 Some good advice here. One more thing, though. Watch out for changes in the weather. A sudden change in humidity will cause the neck to "move", i.e. become either more convex or more concave, so the action will change more-or-less abruptly. If you're fiddling with the set-up and there's a major change in humidity at much the same time, you may end up with unexpected results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 That's one thing I would say about the Epiphone- As soon as i have set up my gear at a gig I get the bass out and onto the stand. Bearing in mind that it could be sitting there for the best part of an hour before I play it. I have mostly found myself adjusting the tuning for the first 3 or 4 songs of the night as it settles into the conditions. Probably due to having a very slim neck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Apple Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 I've got a Hipshot fitted to my TBird, and it makes a load of difference. Gives a much richer fuller sound, and much more adjustable. I bought mine off eBay, and it came in around £80. I think I was lucky tho, as it turned up at the door with no added tax on UK entry. If you get one, get it fitted by a pro luthier. They can be easy to over tighten which pulls up the thread spigot in the body as the mahogany is quite soft. Plus the lower shaft carries the earth lead, which you wouldn't want to disconnect. I taught myself truss rod adjustment from you tube, and it surprised me just how much movement you can get out of a TBird neck with very little nut movement. I always leave over night to settle in, but once done I find she is rocksolid holding the tuning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benplaysbass Posted October 1, 2011 Author Share Posted October 1, 2011 Also now thinking about doing something with the nut, don't know if its an Epiphone thing or just the way mine came out but the nut is so high, can you get a decent one that will go straight in, or is it a make fit type job? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ancient Mariner Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 Normally you'd adjust the nut to fit the instrument. Many factors affect nut height, including fret height, and it's preferable to tweak to taste on a case-by-case basis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 The only trouble is that Epiphones don;t come with standard nuts like Fenders. They have stupid big plastic things. You could get yourself a blank Tusq nut as they seem to do bigger sized blanks for Gibson instruments but to save yourself money you'd probably be as well to take a piece of sandpaper and rub the bottom of the nut against it to take off as much as you need. I've never found the nut to be too high on mine but I guess they can vary from instrument to instrument althought they are solid plastic things. 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.