DB noob setup questions

[bassfunk]

Hi Guys

As you may have seen from my previous topic My bass teacher has left me an Antoni Debut DB to try for a couple of weeks to see if I like it and want to buy it. This bass is brand new (literally never played or gigged as it was won in a Jazz competition by a friend of his) with a Fishman Full Circle pre installed.

But I seem to be having problems with the set up. When I first played it the G string seemed to be really low. After several hours of playing over Sunday and Monday I left the best resting in a corner like my teacher had shown me. Last night When I played it the G seemed to have dropped even further (could this be the strings stretching in?) I've tried to adjust the height of the bridge but I'm not sure if it's at it's full height? On the G side the adjustable bits seem very much higher (more thread is visible) than the E side. but when I look down the neck from the head the clearance from the fingerboard height to the top of the G side of the bridge looks unusally low? I've put a business card between the strings at the nut and that seems fine. When I play the open G it is clear, but as soon as I stop a note (correct terminology?) it buzzes and quacks. Anything above the first C just causes the G to buzz against the end of the fret board. should I take the G and D strings off and try adjusting the bridge height? Am I ok to keep turning the bridge adjusters until they stop, will I damage anything?

I want to put my super silvers on the bass but I'm worried about the above, and that the nut isn't going to be wide enough for them as the strings on the DB seem to be lighter? I guess I'm going to have to give it a try and see? Any tips for changing strings etc I need to look out for?

Also I tried plugging the Full circle into a practice amp, and into my mixing desk connected to some studio monitors last night and the output seems really quiet, even with gain and output up full the signal was barely audible, Do i need a preamp? is there something I should do to Fishman before plugging in?

Sorry for the long winded questions, If I'd purchased this bass I'd just take it to a luthier, I know that for such a cheap bass I might have to pay a bit to make it playable, but I'd expect the action to be too high not too low?

Any advice will be gratefully received.

Thanks

Pete

[keeponehandloose]

be carefull not to raise the bridge too high, there is no "stop". the bridge will just collapse.

[stingrayPete1977]

The joys of DB I would say dont change the strings unless you are buying it so start with the adjustable bridge. The string wont of got lower unless the tuning has dropped by quite a bit, is it in tune? If it is could the front of the bass or neck be unstable? If you are going to adjust the bridge I would say two things from my own limited experience so far, put some masking tape to mark exactly where the bridge is before loosening the string tension, it is amazing how easy it is to move it without getting it to seat correctly afterwards! the second thing would be dont remove the strings at all just loosen them enough so as you can raise the bridge, at least if it does fall to bits you will have the marks for the feet and the strings under some tension enough to stand it up and get it roughly in one piece

I'm not sure if its right or not but as a rough guide reading other threads I have got mine set with 7.5mm from the underside of the G string to the fingerboard at the end of the fingerboard, rises up to 10mm for the E string roughly. I am tempted to take them all a tad lower but I have the opposite problem in as much as I need to remove a bit of the bridge as my adjusters are right down, I wanted to wait until I was sure the wood has settled as it is a brand new Gedo bass.

[bassfunk]

Thanks for the replies guys, I've had a look and I think the bridge has moved. I've given it a bit of a tug as seen elsewhere on the net and it's more upright now, but it doesn't appear to be dead centre, my string height on the G is below 5mm! But the other strings are 7.5, 8.5 and 10mm so seem ok. I think I am going to buy the bass, I've checked and my strings won't fit without a bit of filing etc. So I think I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and invest!

Also I dug my GKMB500 out and hooked it up to my compact and the Full Circle is loud enough - I played a few bars of fever and my neighbour texted my the lyrics because she could hear it!

Panics over for now - This real bass scares me a lot!

I've seen your Gedo Pete - It's a beaut! If I start making regular dough from this lark I might have to get me one!

[stingrayPete1977]

Ah the old bridge falling forward problem, karate chop!

You might have to redo the top of that bridge then if its been slotted too deep or do you think you can raise that end a bit without raising the other strings too much? Also are the f holes in the centre of the bridge feet?

[bassfunk]

No I don't think they are. Now I've had a proper look the tail gut is off centre and all of the strings at the end of the fingerboard have a bias toward the E side. It looks to my untrained eye like this shift means that the G string is over a higher piece of the fingerboard radius and that's why the action is so low (I hope that makes sense?) Also when I look down the fingerboard from the head the bridge looks like its about 1/4 or 1/2 on inch over to the E side. I've managed to get it in a playable condition with a bit of wriggling. I think I need to take it to somebody who knows what they're doing to take off the strings and re-centre the tailgut/piece and bridge. I wonder how much that will cost?

[stingrayPete1977]

I did my own using a good ruler, centred the bridge between the f holes and the strings run niceley up the board, middle of the bridge feet centred on the notches, made sure the bridge sat up square to the body at 90 degrees, 105cm from the nut to the bridge slots.
I'm sure someone who knows what they are doing could improve it but it is playable, the Gedo basses are shipped with the bridge removed so you have to fit them anyway, took me a few goes to get it where it is now

[bassfunk]

Cheers Pete. I might give it a go. Should I slacken all the strings off? I read somewhere If I do that the soundpost might fall?

[thisnameistaken]

If the G is too low and the bridge is in (pretty much) the right position on both axes, then there might not be much you can do except replace the bridge. That's not a cheap thing to do, probably £80+.

Bear in mind too that if the current strings are steel and you're planning to put Super Silvers on it the strings will need to be higher to play properly with the lower tension, so a new bridge might be on the cards then.

[stingrayPete1977]

Mine came shipped without the bridge fitted with no problems but I just laid it on it's back on the bed with the head hanging over the end then made sure I didn't knock the bass around, had no problems.[quote name='bassfunk' timestamp='1369862007' post='2093773']
Cheers Pete. I might give it a go. Should I slacken all the strings off? I read somewhere If I do that the soundpost might fall?
[/quote]

[fatback]

If you change the bridge height by rotating the Full Circle adjuster, the sound and output level will change. It's only a few degrees difference in rotation, so you can get the height you want, then twiddle a little bit listening to the sound.

http://www.fishman.com/files/full_circle_install_guide.pdf

[bassfunk]

Cheers Fatback. That makes sense!