£65 for a set up.?

[Sibob]

3 minutes ago, discreet said:

Great Scott man, are you telling us you only have one bass??

Haha, far from it, but I am impatient lol

Si

[gjones]

I bought a Jazz from bass direct recently and the action was so low, it was if the strings were painted on. 

I can get my action pretty low but whoever set up that Jazz really knew their stuff.

For £65 I would hope you'd get a pro setup that will really make a difference to playability.

 

[Happy Jack]

5 minutes ago, gjones said:

I bought a Jazz from bass direct recently and the action was so low, it was if the strings were painted on. 

 

And then the weather changed, and they might as well have been ..

[chris_b]

When I get a new bass I'll have it fret stoned (if required) and set up, usually by the Gallery. After that I'll adjust the bridge if the action needs fine tuning. 

I don't know what they charge. I can afford it and they give me back a stonking instrument. IMO worth every penny.

[discreet]

9 minutes ago, chris_b said:

I can afford it and they give me back a stonking instrument. IMO worth every penny.

Probably well worth it if you have a great big load of stonking to do.

Haha! Haha!  *Sigh* 

[Bridgehouse]

If the bass was perfect before the string change, and they are heavier - then yep, truss rod to compensate for the change in tension pulling the neck, and then a tweak of the saddles/bridge to compensate for the truss rod adjustment. I'd probly check the nut slots to see if they were ok and there was no binding with the new strings. On a good day, 15 mins tops. 

 

Oh and don't forget - Righty tighty, lefty Lucy..

[discreet]

17 minutes ago, Bridgehouse said:

Righty tighty, lefty Lucy..

'Loosey', Shirley?

[T-Bay]

What this shows more than anything is the vagueness of the term ‘set up’, unless the OP knows exactly what was and wast done then it’s impossible to know if £65 was well on the high side or a complete bargain.

[gary mac]

14 hours ago, CameronJ said:

This is exactly what I’d expect. Roughly how much time would you say the process you’ve described above takes to complete?

I allow between 1.5-2 hours, which might seem like a long time but it's not something to be rushed. Also, I almost always end up masking the entire fret board, prior to any cleaning /polishing of frets.

[lownote]

I don't have the choice.  Every time I take my bass to a tech round here they look at me as I'm mad "It's easy enough, do it yourself" they say.  This is also a part of the world where teachers won't teach me - both bass and sax - cos I'm 'a natural'.  This is also a part of the world where they rarely have any money.  You have to have lived and worked in Norfolk for a while for this to make perfect sense. 

Edited September 3, 2018 by lownote12

[Dom in Dorset]

It would be interesting to see the itemised bill.
We charge £30 per hour + parts +VAT , (1/2 hours are charged at £15)
 

[mcnach]

19 hours ago, bubinga5 said:

Strange because Mr Overwater in a Scott bass lessons vid says if your action is high, adjust the bridge only. 

 

It must have made sense in context, but it's not a general rule: if the neck relief is not adequate, moving the saddles up/down will only get you so far. You need the correct relief (neck curvature), neck angle, and suitable height at the nut and bridge. Once a bass is set up nicely, you won't need to touch all those things and a minor truss rod tweak will do, and/or perhaps just bringing the saddles a touch down/up... but it all has to work together. You need nicely level frets too if you want to get away with lower actions, so a set up that deals with retouching a fret here and there is definitely worth £65 to me. I can do all that myself... but it takes me a while (when dealing with fretwork) and I am not as good as a professional, so I prefer to pay to get it done perfectly. Then routine tweaks, I will just take care of it myself as I will only be dealing with truss rod and bridge. 

The neck angle often gets overlooked by players, and the effect of a tiny shim can be pretty dramatic. Don't forget that too.

[mcnach]

18 hours ago, bubinga5 said:

I guess this comes down to what is a full set up.?

 

I think this is it.

For some a set up covers just a few tweaks here and there and I would not pay any amount for that as I am pretty good at that myself, it's pretty simple. But for many, it'll cover checking frets, nut etc. Touching up a couple of high frets won't take very long for a pro, but it's a little extra time and effort on his part, and you're paying for his knowledge/ability. It does not strike me as expensive to pay an extra £20 for that at all, even of it only takes him 10 minutes. Some may charge more. If the result is good, you will not need to touch your frets in a long time, and minor seasonal adjustments you will do yourself. Start with an instrument that is well set, and it's smooth sailing. Start with an instrument with some small problems, and you may find they only reveal themselves when it gets more humid, or when you try for a lower action, or...

 

[mcnach]

17 hours ago, goblin said:

Pretty much this! Also knowing what you want, if you can tell a tech what you want, a good tech will be able to deliver too. I'm fortunate where my tech has seen / studied my playing, and we were talking in general and he went "Yeah that's the thing about your playing, because you've got etc etc touch and you're a fairly etc etc player" - so luckily, he knows what I like and it makes it easier for me to relay back to him what I want.

 

That's very true too, and the main reason I took an interest and learnt. Not all techs I went to listened enough to me, or remembered what my preferences were. However, if they can ensure the fretwork and everything else is right... then anybody should be able to tweak to taste with just a little bit of knowledge.

[HazBeen]

That does it, I am going into the setup business..... looking at providing set up services and clients can choose a scheme to suit their needs.

For a tenner (aka the cotton scheme) I will look at your bass, frown, sigh with clear disdain and give half thruthful tips on what to do

The gold scheme will be 75 quid (strings excluded) for which I will take your bass, bring it to Gary Mac who charges 35 and when back make you a cuppa whilst explaning how difficult it was to get your bass just right.

oh dear............I am in one of those moods, apologies especially to Gary Mac 

[TheGreek]

1 hour ago, mcnach said:

I am not as good as a professional, so I prefer to pay to get it done perfectly.

This...

[Happy Jack]

Trouble is, any setup is only 'perfect' until something changes. Like the weather getting more humid, the strings starting to 'go off', how hard you pluck at your next gig, and so on.

Setting up a bass is not a 'thing', it's a process. It's never perfect for more than a brief period before the next tweak is due.

Probably the best comparison is with tuning. My Status Streamline stays in tune for unfeasibly long periods, but no matter how perfectly I tune it, sooner or later I will need to tune it again. 

You wouldn't pay a guitar tech to tune your bass, would you?

 

[MacDaddy]

11 minutes ago, Happy Jack said:

 

You wouldn't pay a guitar tech to tune your bass, would you?

 

 

if I owned this I might

[discreet]

1 hour ago, Happy Jack said:

You wouldn't pay a guitar tech to tune your bass, would you?

Er... no, of course not. Now where's that damn kid with my pineapple??

[Delberthot]

1 hour ago, Happy Jack said:

Trouble is, any setup is only 'perfect' until something changes. Like the weather getting more humid, the strings starting to 'go off', how hard you pluck at your next gig, and so on.

Setting up a bass is not a 'thing', it's a process. It's never perfect for more than a brief period before the next tweak is due.

Probably the best comparison is with tuning. My Status Streamline stays in tune for unfeasibly long periods, but no matter how perfectly I tune it, sooner or later I will need to tune it again. 

You wouldn't pay a guitar tech to tune your bass, would you?

 

I only adjust the truss, saddles & intonation when changing string gauges. Once I get my setup done it never changes.

I don't have a high action, in fact someone commented on how low it was which was a surprise to me so it actually does surprise me when players mention having to adjust everything due to humidity, time of year etc.

[FinnDave]

51 minutes ago, Delberthot said:

I only adjust the truss, saddles & intonation when changing string gauges. Once I get my setup done it never changes.

I don't have a high action, in fact someone commented on how low it was which was a surprise to me so it actually does surprise me when players mention having to adjust everything due to humidity, time of year etc.

Same here, once relief and action are set, they stay set unless I change to a different type of string.

[Twincam]

£65 pounds is disgraceful. Even if the strings are added.

I charge around £10 - £15 setup only with fret board oiling if needed i will adjust tje nut also if needed. £20 for a light fret dress and polishing Inc setup. And for £35 - £40 typically I will do a full fret level, recrown, 4 stage polish, fret board oiling. Including setting up of the bass typically a 3 to 4 hour job bass properly masked up using the right tools so not one mark is left. And i will spend time after with the person getting the setup as best I can for there individual preference. Of course those prices are not including new strings, I will boil your old set though if asked haha. No no £65 for a setup only just isn't right.

If I charged more then I would feel I was ripping people off. I understand people in shops or whatever have over heads and will price things higher, but I'm strongly for fair prices for the correct amount of time put in. 

As for adjusting the truss rod yourself I think it depends on if your a handy, hands on sort of person. It is actually pretty easy to do a full basic setup. I even wrote a novices guide how to do it with only a set of Allen keys and a paper business card. 

I've seen basses and guitars that need a setup twice a year. And others that have stayed rock solid for years. I really think thats just the random nature of wood and the different environments people keep them in. A fret dress can be years inbetween and much much longer durations between a fret level, recrown etc.

Oh and while I'm on a roll. So called techs who level frets without a hint of a proper recrown then charge for it really annoy me. 

[peteb]

This is what Jon Shuker charges for a set-up (assuming that you want it done properly by a genuine craftsman): http://shukerguitars.co.uk/services/

Basically starting from £25 + strings for a basic set-up (action, intonation, truss rod, nut height) rising to £75 + strings (action, intonation, truss rod, nut height, fret level, re-crown and polish, fingerboard clean and oil), depending to what you want doing. I think that is pretty reasonable... 

[goblin]

3 hours ago, Twincam said:

£65 pounds is disgraceful. Even if the strings are added.

I charge around £10 - £15 setup only with fret board oiling if needed i will adjust tje nut also if needed. £20 for a light fret dress and polishing Inc setup. And for £35 - £40 typically I will do a full fret level, recrown, 4 stage polish, fret board oiling. Including setting up of the bass typically a 3 to 4 hour job bass properly masked up using the right tools so not one mark is left. And i will spend time after with the person getting the setup as best I can for there individual preference. Of course those prices are not including new strings, I will boil your old set though if asked haha. No no £65 for a setup only just isn't right.

If I charged more then I would feel I was ripping people off. I understand people in shops or whatever have over heads and will price things higher, but I'm strongly for fair prices for the correct amount of time put in. 

As for adjusting the truss rod yourself I think it depends on if your a handy, hands on sort of person. It is actually pretty easy to do a full basic setup. I even wrote a novices guide how to do it with only a set of Allen keys and a paper business card. 

I've seen basses and guitars that need a setup twice a year. And others that have stayed rock solid for years. I really think thats just the random nature of wood and the different environments people keep them in. A fret dress can be years inbetween and much much longer durations between a fret level, recrown etc.

Oh and while I'm on a roll. So called techs who level frets without a hint of a proper recrown then charge for it really annoy me. 

It's down to what people are willing to pay then.

I get my main gig bass setup twice a year at a rate around £50 (possibly more, to be honest I can't remember), and I provide the strings. I don't feel short changed or ripped off. My gear and playing earns me my living, and it has to be right. They get worked hard, I work hard and ultimately I can't be arsed to do it myself. I know how, but it's easier to drop it off with my tech. I'm happy to pay that price, and considering you've said it takes 3 - 4 hours, that works out less than £5 an hour average, which is less than minimum wage. Technicians have livings to earn as well. 

As far as I'm concerned, if someone feels the services are worth it, then they'll pay the fee. I know I'm not the cheapest session musician around (be it for live and studio), but guess what? I get repeat calls and earn a good living from it. Why? Because whilst I may not be the cheapest, I certainly do the job properly! 

[Twincam]

3 hours ago, goblin said:

It's down to what people are willing to pay then.

I get my main gig bass setup twice a year at a rate around £50 (possibly more, to be honest I can't remember), and I provide the strings. I don't feel short changed or ripped off. My gear and playing earns me my living, and it has to be right. They get worked hard, I work hard and ultimately I can't be arsed to do it myself. I know how, but it's easier to drop it off with my tech. I'm happy to pay that price, and considering you've said it takes 3 - 4 hours, that works out less than £5 an hour average, which is less than minimum wage. Technicians have livings to earn as well. 

As far as I'm concerned, if someone feels the services are worth it, then they'll pay the fee. I know I'm not the cheapest session musician around (be it for live and studio), but guess what? I get repeat calls and earn a good living from it. Why? Because whilst I may not be the cheapest, I certainly do the job properly! 

Thats right people can pay what they like. But if your just getting a string change and setup which takes literally 5 or 10 min. Assuming there's no other issues then I'm sorry but that is extortionate! Just because your willing to pay doesn't mean everyone would want to or have the means to do so. A young musician just starting out might be put off getting his instrument setup correctly with those kinda prices. 

Of course If that 50 pounds includes some kind of fret work etc that's more reasonable. 

And i hope that your not suggesting I don't the job properly because i charge a lower and imo a fair price. I spend more time and effort then most "techs". And my work has been praised many times by bc members I shall add.

Also your maths is out if I charge £40 and i work 4 hours that's £10 a hour and not £5.

Edited September 4, 2018 by Twincam