Anyone set their action really low?

[Angel]

I remember reading once that Billy Sheehan set his action so low that the strings rattle on the frets. Having got back into bass recently, I thought I'd try a different setup, so I went really low on the strings. Yes, they do rattle but I am really liking it so far!

Not for everyone I guess (for various reasons), but does anyone else have a very low action?

[Conan]

Not me. I am quite heavy-handed so I need to give the strings room to breathe...

That's not to say that I set my action deliberately [b][i]high[/i][/b], just not so low that the strings rattle and buzz against the frets.

Edited April 2, 2014 by Conan

[RhysP]

[quote name='Angel' timestamp='1396447725' post='2413763']
I remember reading once that Billy Sheehan set his action so low that the strings rattle on the frets.
[/quote]

Not true. I played one of Billys basses at a clinic he did back in the mid 90's & I was amazed at how high the action was compared to most basses I've played. It wasn't unplayable by any means but 90% of people on here would think it needed a good set up.

[Oopsdabassist]

I tend to really dig in too, so nothing too low for me, just annoying.

[flunkie]

Fairly low, but no rattle

[Angel]

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1396448911' post='2413789']
Not true. I played one of Billys basses at a clinic he did back in the mid 90's & I was amazed at how high the action was compared to most basses I've played. It wasn't unplayable by any means but 90% of people on here would think it needed a good set up.
[/quote]

I think that must be a one off bass, if you look on the internet generally he definitely has fret rattle.

[stoo]

[quote name='Angel' timestamp='1396450968' post='2413821']
I think that must be a one off bass, if you look on the internet generally he definitely has fret rattle.
[/quote]

He seems to think so anyway, and you'd think he'd know!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VjmTQv_KOA

[Roland Rock]

To me, if a bass buzzes or rattles, it needs a better setup or better player technique.

[thodrik]

I used to be fairly low, but have raised it over the years as fingers have strengthened etc. Still, I generally have a lower set up than the average bass I will try in a shop, but I think that is more to do with having basses set up properly rather than having a preference for low action.

[marcus bell]

Straight neck, extremely low action on my status Kingbass, fender jazz is a bit higher (not much), and the jaydee is low too , I love effortless playing

[AttitudeCastle]

[quote name='Angel' timestamp='1396450968' post='2413821']
I think that must be a one off bass, if you look on the internet generally he definitely has fret rattle.
[/quote]

Yes and no. RhysP is (generally) right here. (Warning: Queue fan boy here) The Attitude X manual stated his prefered set up string heights. And having met him and played one of his newer basses, he had it notably above where I do, I have my 4 strings middle low, it's lower than my bands guitarists action, and on my 6 string I have it just above as low as it can go, that said, I pluck pretty hard and hammer the strings if I get carried away live, so that's maybe middle low on the "super low to super high" spectrum as I like minimal/zero noise to maximise core tone. Feeling the difference is nice as it's just really smooth! Makes going back to my Attitude a little bit of a workout as I play the 6/7 string basses 90% of the time these days!


He talks about his set up quite a lot on the facebook group and did a video about it from the Yamaha Attitude event day (IIRC, and filmed by the incredible Jon Willis who built the Wife replica featured on No Treble), and it's certainly not part of his tone unlike Entwistle or Chris Squire.

I think John Entwistle's Status Buzzards have/had the lowest action of any basses I've ever seen. I believe Wolverine on here used to have one and agreed with this a while back.

Billy having super low rattly action is a common misconception tagged to him due to his monster playing, but with hands as strong as his he doesn't need it, his main bass for years and years the famous "Wife" modded fender P has action on the middle high side, which is likely why it became his preference. He plucks with quite a lot of force in a very firm and clean fashion, and it wouldn't work with super low action as it would get noisy. You do hear in videos in his home on his basses at home that there is slight 'fret grind' on like the low E and Low D but on tour most definitely higher tha usual, and little to no fret rattle along the board. His studio and home set up is lower for ease of playing but his action gets higher the longer into a tour he gets as he really thrashes the bass live.

End massive fan boy moment...

Would you believe I've not played my Attitude or listened to any Vai/Mr Big in months till today?! True I swear sir...

Edited April 2, 2014 by AttitudeCastle

[Angel]

In that case I bow to your superior knowledge!

[HowieBass]

I wouldn't say I have my action particularly low; I find that note choking determines how low I go rather than wanting to dial in a particular degree of fret buzz.

[JTUK]

Low enough that the strings choke unless standing upright. If I am in a comfy slouching positon on the sofa, the bass can be unplayable.
I have a very light touch on the bass so no stress through the hands or playing..that is the idea.
The upside is that the action is fast, the downside is that I need a lot of amp as most players get waaay more volume out of a bass than I do.
Some like finesse, some like grunt and grind, but my sound doesn't need cleaning up..it is simple to get down into mixers and desks.

Low for me...

[Greggo]

I don't know about anyone else but do you find some basses suit a lower action more than others? My 5 string is a bit of a munter unless it's got super low action but my 4 string plays and feels better with a medium action.

[AttitudeCastle]

[quote name='Angel' timestamp='1396524749' post='2414590']
In that case I bow to your superior knowledge!
[/quote]

I think maybe pity at my lack of life would more apt haha!

[0175westwood29]

I like having a lowish action, like a bit of fret noise when i dig in if i play softly then theres nothing really noise wise.

Gives an attack to the note that works well with my band

Andy

[Dom in Dorset]

I like my strings under the frets.
It took a while to get the set up just right but there is very little fret buzz.

[PaulWarning]

I play with a 1mm pick so I get fret rattle when I get carried away, but it doesn't seem to come through the amp, I'm at about 2.5mm on the 12 fret bottom E string, is that about average?

[thisnameistaken]

I set mine up so I don't get any buzz played without an amp. I use a lot of pitch tracking effects so I try to give them the best opportunity to work properly.

[DiMarco]

Find the sweet spot! Bit of fretbuzz in the attack phase of your notes and when you dig in only. You can really start to "play" then.

[MacDaddy]

[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1396457293' post='2413928']
To me, if a bass buzzes or rattles, it needs a better setup or better player technique.
[/quote]

this.


my set up is ultra low, but no fret buzz, even on my basses without a ramp.

i dig in too on occasion.

[Wolverinebass]

[quote name='AttitudeCastle' timestamp='1396482379' post='2414287']


I think John Entwistle's Status Buzzards have/had the lowest action of any basses I've ever seen. I believe Wolverine on here used to have one and agreed with this a while back.

[/quote]

I still have the buzzard. You can get the action supernaturally low on them. Almost beyond anything you can imagine being possible and mine is about 0.5mm at the 12th fret. I do play very lightly though. It makes it so stupidly easy to play that after a week of playing something that you can't do that with like my 12, the it feels like you're playing a toy...

[winterfire666]

as low as possible for me, i wanna hear a litle rattle when i dig in, not too much though.

[Mr.T]

What are we calling 'Low' .....?
I run my Basses at 2mm on the G to 2.5mm on the E (at the 17th).