Jesus Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 (edited) Its far from the most expensive, best looking, best conditioned, greatest sounding bass to grace these pages, but it is MY bass and i love it! Made in the late 90's in a small but modern factory in Korea, this is from a prototype range Aria released in limited numbers sporting passive/active electronics, selectable humbucker, and this particular instrument shows off a shiny clear-red finish. Not much is known about this very rare import but it is believed it was crafted by Buddhist Monks, exiled from their native land because of unresolveable musical differences. We can also presume Michael Knight and Stringfellow Hawke had something to do with the design due to its all-round kick-ass-ness. Purchased on ebay and i believe formally owned by a member of this forum, straight out the box i was well chuffed with it. Described as "very good for secondhand" i expected a little tattiness, a scratch here or there, but i was p[leasantly surprised. It has surpassed all expectations. I feel that the action is a little high, and to begin with there was no fret buzz whatsoever and it played well, but since saturday im getting some pretty crazy fret buzz on the E-string, and i still feel i'd be more comfortable playing with a lower action. Remember tho this is the first bass i've owned, played, and really taken much detailed notice of so maybe this is the average kind of string height people use, i've tried to take some pics to show the string height, let me know what you think? I know this isnt the place but the pics will be here. Comment & Criticise away... (Im sure you can see i am a professional photographer and i am available for weddings, christenings, graduatuons, and those other really important cant miss moments) edit: Ive just seen how truly sh*t these pics are. That'll teach me for uploading before ive seen them, i'll strive to do some actually worth looking at tomorrow, sorry guys. Edited July 21, 2008 by Jesus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesus Posted July 22, 2008 Author Share Posted July 22, 2008 lets try again... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutToPlayJazz Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 That's a really nice looking bass Just one thing, is it the picture angle or is the action of your E string really high? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesus Posted July 22, 2008 Author Share Posted July 22, 2008 [quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='245170' date='Jul 22 2008, 10:52 AM']That's a really nice looking bass Just one thing, is it the picture angle or is the action of your E string really high?[/quote] As i said above, this is my first bass and im of the opinion thats the action is high, but im getting some fret buzz all of the fret board. Would it be easy for a complete novice to attempt to set it up lower? Are there guides here or anywhere that i could follow? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutToPlayJazz Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 As a novice, best thing to do is to take it to a shop. They'll do it for you for a very small fee, sometimes completely free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dubs Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 If you’re gonna take it to a shop anyway then have a little fiddle around with it and see if you manage to do anything constructive…you’re not gonna break it The hands-on approach is the only way you’re going to learn these things. Nice looking bass though man. I love the deep trans-red and black hardware – great look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesus Posted July 22, 2008 Author Share Posted July 22, 2008 Cheers guys... im going to do a search a bit later on to see if there are any tutorials or guides to setting it up. Like you say if i get it wrong its gonna ahve to go to a shop anyway. Cani cause any damage or anything pissing about with the truss rod? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-soar Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 (edited) Hi Jesus have you got any allen keys to fit the grub screws in the saddles? Have you got a tuner? Have a fiddle around trying to to lower the action, as Ben says, it's best to start getting to know how your bass functions because you will probably save a fortune in the long run. If the neck is shaped like a bow, the truss rod could do with tightening. Put your finger on the first fret and one on the last fret and have a look at the gap between the strings and the fret half way between these two points, around the ninth fret, if it is more than a couple of mm's then it could survive tightening. Take the truss rod cover off and find the CORRECT size allen key, normally 4 mm but check first till you find the key that fits exactly, if you use one that is too small, it could shear the sides of the nut off and leave it useless. Give it a quater turn clockwise, this should feel quite stiff but don't worry, just be careful and don't turn it any more. Now check to see if there is any difference. It may take a minute to react. If there is no difference try another quater turn. What you are aiming for is to have a tiny bit of a backward bow on the E string side a pretty much straight on the G string side. The extra tension of the E string will make this happen naturally. If you have something that looks like I have described you can now look at adjusting the height of the saddles. You could spend hours doing this but it is all good, clean fun. Try to get each saddle to be straight, so that one side isn't higher than the other, that way you will have a better contact with the bridge plate, you don't won't wonkey saddles. Start by having each saddle too low and then adjust the height with equal quater turns on both grub screws of each saddle, this will keep the saddle stright, until you don't get fret buzz anymore. Some players have a really low action and play softly, if you gave there bass to someone who plays harder, it would buzz all over, so it's a compromise. Just be paitent and remember to do small adjustments Try to post a pic of the bass neck, side on, looking down the edge of the fretboard from the headstock down so we can see if the neck needs to be straightened using the truss rod. Do you have a friend who knows what they are doing when it comes to setting up a bass? If so get them to show you how it is done, if not, I'm sure we could help you be remote control (a bit like trying to land a plane when the pilot is out of action). Just remember to do small adjustments and retune each time you make them. We'll get you sorted. Keep us posted. P.S. intonnation is another matter. Edited July 22, 2008 by steve-soar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesus Posted July 22, 2008 Author Share Posted July 22, 2008 [quote name='steve-soar' post='245316' date='Jul 22 2008, 01:04 PM']Hi Jesus have you got any allen keys to fit the grub screws in the saddles? Have you got a tuner? Have a fiddle around trying to to lower the action, as Ben says, it's best to start getting to know how your bass functions because you will probably save a fortune in the long run. Try to post a pic of the bass neck, side on, looking down the edge of the fretboard from the headstock down so we can see if the neck needs to be straightened using the truss rod. Do you have a friend who knows what they are doing when it comes to setting up a bass? If so get them to show you how it is done, if not, I'm sure we could help you be remote control (a bit like trying to land a plane when the pilot is out of action). Just remember to do small adjustments and retune each time you make them. We'll get you sorted.[/quote] Ive got a tuner, and some small allen keys so i'll check that out when i get home, i dont think the necks in bad shape, apparently it was set-up 3months ago. could it be just a simple job of lowering each string at the bridge? Im worried that if i do that, then the buzz i have already will be a lot worse? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 [quote name='Jesus' post='244761' date='Jul 21 2008, 08:21 PM']Purchased on ebay and i believe formally owned by a member of this forum, straight out the box i was well chuffed with it. Described as "very good for secondhand" i expected a little tattiness, a scratch here or there, but i was p[leasantly surprised. It has surpassed all expectations.[/quote] Yes, that was mine, and when I sold it I went over it trying to find the slightest mark on it and couldn't, which really did surprise me. Very attractive finish (which had me terrified of chipping it). Played well too. I'd done a fairly rapid setup on it, so the trussrod was set with minuscule relief and the strings were pretty low across the neck, but it sounds as if the buyer (your seller) had another one done which has gone the wrong way somewhere. One of the two switches is active/passive, the other is a three-way with various coil combination options for the humbucker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesus Posted July 22, 2008 Author Share Posted July 22, 2008 Yeah it is in awesme condition, Im going to watch a mates' band play tonight in Colchester. They're supporting Brigade if thats means anything to anyone, they're not my cup o tea. Anyway, i'll have a a look at how low his strings are get an idea of how high mine are. If i lower the strings on the bridge, how would i go about adjusting the strings to stop the buzz? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
budget bassist Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 Lowering the bridge saddles can be an easier way of lowering your action without messing about with the truss rod, but you don't want it too low. Basically just turn the grub screws in the saddles with an alan key keeping them level and every time just give it a quick play to see if it's still buzzing, i usually keep going until it's so low that it buzzes and just make them a touch higher to stop it. 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.