surfguy13 Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 Hi guys I'm a guitarist that plays bass rather than a pure bass player and so the luthiers i know are really more guitsr orientated. I have a couple of mid 70s P basses that i've tried to set up myself and they're 'OK' but i think they could be a hell of a lot better. Wondering if anyone knew a good bass tech in cambridgeshire or in this general area? I do't have any issues with shipping a bass to someone for work if that's the best option? Cheers Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobthedog Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 Not too far away from you but I would recommend Andy Viccars nr Milton Keynes. Not only a good bass man (and builder) but a good down to earth man who will not rip you off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barkin Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 Is Stevenage too far? If it's not...I've not used him myself, but I've heard good reports for Terry Chapman at tjcguitars.com I think Lozz on here has had work done by him, so he might chip in here soon... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 [quote name='barkin' timestamp='1412288609' post='2567642'] Is Stevenage too far? If it's not...I've not used him myself, but I've heard good reports for Terry Chapman at tjcguitars.com I think Lozz on here has had work done by him, so he might chip in here soon... [/quote] Yes, Terry is well regarded. Band mates have used him and I have chatted to him, very friendly and knowledgable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowieBass Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 I'm curious to know what you've done and in what way you think your basses can be better? I tend to follow Fender's guide for advice on height settings for action and pickup heights and this affords a nicely playable instrument IMHO. http://www.fender.com/en-GB/support/articles/bass-guitar-setup-guide/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfguy13 Posted October 4, 2014 Author Share Posted October 4, 2014 [quote name='Bobthedog' timestamp='1412288313' post='2567635'] Not too far away from you but I would recommend Andy Viccars nr Milton Keynes. Not only a good bass man (and builder) but a good down to earth man who will not rip you off. [/quote] Andy is one of the nicest guys I've ever met and a great bass player too. He did my guitars for many years throughout the 80s and 90s when we were living in Bedford. For some strange reason I hadn't even considered Andy probably, I guess, because it's a fair drag to his place there and back and then to have to do it all again the following week is maybe pushing the pain barrier!! Really appreciate the suggestion though and it's definitely food for thought!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfguy13 Posted October 4, 2014 Author Share Posted October 4, 2014 [quote name='barkin' timestamp='1412288609' post='2567642'] Is Stevenage too far? If it's not...I've not used him myself, but I've heard good reports for Terry Chapman at tjcguitars.com I think Lozz on here has had work done by him, so he might chip in here soon... [/quote] [quote name='gary mac' timestamp='1412318118' post='2567705'] Yes, Terry is well regarded. Band mates have used him and I have chatted to him, very friendly and knowledgable. [/quote] A la Andy Viccars, Terry refretted an old Gibson 330 for me a year or two ago and also did the binding too......really superb job I have to say. I hadn't thought of Terry because I assumed he just did guitars but that sounds like it's not the case!! I'll have to give him a call and have a chat. Thanks for that guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfguy13 Posted October 4, 2014 Author Share Posted October 4, 2014 [quote name='HowieBass' timestamp='1412321449' post='2567740'] I'm curious to know what you've done and in what way you think your basses can be better? I tend to follow Fender's guide for advice on height settings for action and pickup heights and this affords a nicely playable instrument IMHO. [url="http://www.fender.com/en-GB/support/articles/bass-guitar-setup-guide/"]http://www.fender.co...ar-setup-guide/[/url] [/quote] Strangely enough I did set it up using Fender's online guide but just haven't been able to get it 'right'. Bernie Goodfellow used to own this bass and when I bought it it was great but a couple of string changes later and a lot of use it doesn't feel quite as sorted. I am fairly competent at setting up my guitars but don't feel [i]that [/i]confident with basses. I do have a high fret which needs sorting around the 5th and that's something that I think would be better done by somebody that really knows what they're doing but it's not critical. I thought I'd get it set up properly at the same time as getting that done. My own attempts at set up using Fender's guidelines have resulted in a [i]very[/i] high action which isn't unplayable but could definitely be improved upon. All I've really done is to get the truss rod right and then set the bridge up but using Fender specs string height is quite severe. It's obviously me and [b]not [/b]the spec that's the problem!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted October 4, 2014 Share Posted October 4, 2014 Not suggesting that you start whacking it with a large hammer but if it's just a case of the fret having popped up a little, a gentle tap can sort it. Last time I did one, I used a little piece of wood placed over the offending fret and then a couple of taps with a light tacking hammer and all was good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero9 Posted October 4, 2014 Share Posted October 4, 2014 http://www.jonhaireguitar.co.uk if you're near Peterborough at any time. He worked on some of my basses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfguy13 Posted October 5, 2014 Author Share Posted October 5, 2014 [quote name='gary mac' timestamp='1412414047' post='2568674'] Not suggesting that you start whacking it with a large hammer but if it's just a case of the fret having popped up a little, a gentle tap can sort it. Last time I did one, I used a little piece of wood placed over the offending fret and then a couple of taps with a light tacking hammer and all was good. [/quote] [quote name='zero9' timestamp='1412414290' post='2568676'] [url="http://www.jonhaireguitar.co.uk"]http://www.jonhaireguitar.co.uk[/url] if you're near Peterborough at any time. He worked on some of my basses. [/quote] First of all thanks for the tip re John Haire.....I've heard of the shop but never been there, it's a definite possible. Not round the corner but no further than Stevenage. When I said I have a "high fret" I[i] assume[/i] it is a high fret but after playing the bass again this morning I'm not so sure. When the bass is plugged in the problem I'm going to describe is FAR less obvious but acoustically it is really obvious. The problem appears to be somewhere between the 5th fret and the 9th fret and probably on the A. This is what's happening: When individual notes are hit between the 12th and the 5th on each string the GD and E are all clean. However, on the A the 7th/8th/9th and to an extent the 10th fret buzz. The 12th and 6th frets are clean. To make it all the more weird when I fret the 5th on the G and the 7th on the D the G buzzes!!!!! Hmmmmmm? No other combinations buzz though and all the notes on both the G and the D fret cleanly when fretted in isolation. I might even post this as a separate issue but I'd be very interested to know if anyone has any views as to what this could be? Cheers Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowieBass Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 If you're getting fret buzz with mostly one string and the others play cleanly I'd guess the action is too low for the offending string; it might only need raising slightly to cure it. As a guide, fret buzz near the nut usually indicates too little neck relief, fret buzz at the 'dusty end' usually indicates too much neck relief... since yours seems to be in the middle that to me suggests the string's too low. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfguy13 Posted October 5, 2014 Author Share Posted October 5, 2014 [quote name='HowieBass' timestamp='1412510096' post='2569419'] If you're getting fret buzz with mostly one string and the others play cleanly I'd guess the action is too low for the offending string; it might only need raising slightly to cure it. As a guide, fret buzz near the nut usually indicates too little neck relief, fret buzz at the 'dusty end' usually indicates too much neck relief... since yours seems to be in the middle that to me suggests the string's too low. [/quote] That's interesting, I wasn't aware of that and it's good to know. Cheers. I decided to re-set the bass up this afternoon going back to the Fender spec page you suggested. The truss rod appears to be spot on according to the Fender guide for a 7.25" radius.....it should be 0.14 and it's 0.15 so as close as it needs to be. I then checked the saddles and the E had to come up a touch, and only a touch, to get it it 2.8mm and the G had to come up even less to get it to 2.4mm. I then used a radius gauge and got the string alignment over the bridge and all the way up the neck to 7.25". To get this spot on the D and the A had to come up a fraction. It feels fine and I'm going to stick with this and see how it goes. However the buzz on the E when fretting the E at the 5th and the D at the 7th is still there. The buzz on the A is now mainly there when fretting the 7th fret but there is slight buzz on the 8th and 9th fret too. Mind you, this is almost impossible to hear when it's plugged in and so maybe not worth bothering about? However the buzz on the top E is just there when plugged in. I went up and down the neck with a relatively small, but good quality, fret rocker that I use for the guitar and the only discrepancy seems to be on the 9th fret on the A. When the rocker is resting with one tip on the 9th fret and then over the 10th/11th and the other tip on the 12th fret it rocks [i]slightly [/i]on the 9th. When I say rocks I mean it dips very slightly onto the 9th fret suggesting that it is a little low? I then checked the frets around the 5th fret on the treble side and when the rocker is resting on the 5th/6th/7th frets (beneath the E string) there is a similar rock on the 5th fret. The rocker just dips fractionally. Does this suggest that the 5th fret may be a touch low a la the 9th on the A. Could this be the problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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