Do you set-up your own bass?

[4000]

I know back when I first started playing (1980) you were actively discouraged from trying to do your own work on your instruments. Guitar shop techs used to put the fear of God into you; “don’t touch the truss rod, it’s really easy to break it if you don’t know what you’re doing” and suchlike. Now of course it’s different. 

[mowf]

Just now, 4000 said:

I know back when I first started playing (1980) you were actively discouraged from trying to do your own work on your instruments. Guitar shop techs used to put the fear of God into you; “don’t touch the truss rod, it’s really easy to break it if you don’t know what you’re doing” and suchlike. Now of course it’s different. 

Yep. They realised they'd make more money fixing a broken truss rod than just doing a normal service.

[Richard R]

I've done the essentials: trussrod, intonation, string height. I would be quite happy swapping electrics and shimming a neck but don't have the kit for fret levelling etc.

@Steve Browning. I had my first bass set up professionally. When I got my second a year ago it was strung E-C, so much higher tensiom than the B-G I wanted and with different strings. So I had to adjust everything, or pay for a setup.

This: https://www.studybass.com/gear/bass-setup/ is what I followed.  Carefully and step by step. Very straightforward and much easier than, for example, playing the bloody thing!

[4000]

Just now, mowf said:

Yep. They realised they'd make more money fixing a broken truss rod than just doing a normal service.

I think most of the time it was just a ploy to make sure you didn’t even bother trying to set up your guitar and simply took it to them….

[fleabag]

Fret crowing ?

 

I believe this might be shaping a Raven.  In fact, any Corvid will do

[EssentialTension]

Adjusting the neck relief, the action, the intonation, the pickup height, i.e. the things you might do more regularly with, say, a new set of strings, are normally quite straightforward.

 

It's difficult to damage a bass doing those adjustments unless you start winding the truss rod like a m*****f****r.

[fleabag]

9 minutes ago, fleabag said:

Like a few here, i'll  do everything except fret crowing, shaping levelling.

 

 

[Velarian]

Like most people I’ll happily do truss rod, bridge saddle height/intonation adjustments and perhaps a little light nut tweaking. I’ve installed a couple of KiOgon solderless wiring looms and adjusted pickup heights but that’s about it. I’ve yet to do any fret work.

 

I did put a bitsa p bass together which involved plugging and re drilling the neck bolts and also positioning the bridge and shielding the body cavities. I learned a lot from that process and would recommend it to any one wanting to learn more about the instrument 

[rushbo]

2 minutes ago, EssentialTension said:

It's difficult to damage a bass doing those adjustments unless you start winding the truss rod like a m*****f****r.

 

A close friend of mine (cough, splutter) once did exactly that. £100 later, I have it on very good authority that he never wound the truss rod like a m*****f****r ever again. Now every time he gingerly inserts his Allen key into the appropriate slot, I - sorry - "he" holds his breath a little bit and pulls a face. 

[Mokl]

Yes, I do it all myself,  initially  because I'm so picky about how I like my action that I'd probably not be able to afford to keep playing if I paid someone else to maintain it on my various basses and guitars!. I also think that it's very hard for someone else to get the setup exactly to your preference and playing style - unless you're a famous/ wealthy person with your own tech who works on your gear regularly.  

 

I worked as a guitar tech in a previous life and used to hand instruments back with setups way different to my personal preference,  apart from on the very odd occasion someone would be very clear about what they wanted and any acceptable compromises.  

 

Fret buzz was usually the issue.  Person A might play a standard setup, experience no fret buzz and want the action lowered, person B would play the same setup but experience buzzing all over the place and need it raising etc etc

 

So long as the fundamentals are there (and this is where techs can be really helpful if you're not sure imo) i.e decent fretwork, nut height correct, truss rod working,  saddles not bottoming etc, then I'd encourage anybody to try their own setups but seek advice (on somewhere like here for example) if unsure. 

[Doctor J]

12 minutes ago, Ricky Rioli said:

 

Be sure to keep that self admiration in the fridge, it curdles really fast

 

Nothing of the sort. Basses are not complicated to set up, they're really not. There's a lot of money in making people thinking there's black magic and sorcery involved but there are just a some basic principles to understand and that's it. It can be easy to be intimidated by it but if you take it step by step, understand why you're doing what you're doing, there is very little to it. No self-aggrandisement to it. 

[MacDaddy]

Does Louis Hamilton faff about under the bonnet of his F1 car? 😉

[RhysP]

I do it all myself, with the exception of fret work. 

 

I've not had to touch the Bacchus bass I bought on here recently though, as it's the best set-up bass I've ever owned.

@Shepster8316 did a superb job on it.

[lownote]

I took to doing it all after my local tech asked me why I was wasting my money on getting him to do it (I live near Norfolk).  Moved on to converting fretted to fretless.  The biggest confidence booster is to splurge a few bob on a crap bass and just get stuck in. I can't do active electrics but all is is fair game. 

[40hz]

Luckily, having a Modulus, I never have to bother adjusting anything

[pineweasel]

I do my own setups and have swapped hardware, pickups, pots etc. too. I used to steer clear of anything involving cutting or filing but did some protruding fret ends recently which was surprisingly straightforward and satisfying.

[neepheid]

I do all my own setups.  I can do basic additional things like filling and redrilling holes which have gone bad (like strap buttons), soldering, pickup/preamp replacements, shielding.  Have been known to attack basses with the drill press in order to fit additional switches, or bore out tuner holes for bigger tuners.  I checked out at anything more involved - (re)finishing, fretwork, building a new bass from scratch... I've found a level I'm comfortable at claiming I'm reasonably competent at.

 

Part of it is geographical isolation and the lack of choice of professional, and part of it was out of interest and a desire to learn how to do it.  It's not for everyone, and that's OK too.  I do believe that the basic rudiments of a bass setup are within the grasp of anyone willing to put their mind to it.

Edited January 28, 2022 by neepheid

[Steve Browning]

1 minute ago, neepheid said:

I do all my own setups.  I can do basic additional things like filling and redrilling holes which have gone bad (like strap buttons), soldering, pickup/preamp replacements, shielding.  Have been known to attack basses with the drill press in order to fit additional switches, or bore out tuner holes for bigger tuners.

 

Part of it is geographical isolation and the lack of choice of professional, and part of it was out of interest and a desire to learn how to do it.  It's not for everyone, and that's OK too.  I do believe that the basic rudiments of a bass setup are within the grasp of anyone willing to put their mind to it.

Filling and redrilling? I thought that was what matchsticks were for!!

[neepheid]

Just now, Steve Browning said:

Filling and redrilling? I thought that was what matchsticks were for!!

 

Please at least use cocktail sticks - they're made of tougher wood than matchsticks and they have the added benefit of being tapered.

 

You only need to fill and redrill if the hole's got really bad or if it needs relocated.

[Steve Browning]

Cocktail sticks? I thought they were for cleaning your teeth!!

[JonesTheCat]

Been too worried to do my nice bass in case of a balls-up, but am in the process of rebuilding my old Aria in order to get a bit more confidence. It's only wood right, what can go wrong.

[neepheid]

2 minutes ago, Steve Browning said:

Cocktail sticks? I thought they were for cleaning your teeth!!

 

Nah, they're where you find silverskin pickled onions sandwiched between small cubes of cheese and pineapple.  Perhaps I'm dating myself a little here

[Skybone]

Learned to do set up's a number of years ago, when I became convinced the shop I was using were taking the michael.

 

Thankfully, at the time, a few of the guitar mags had printed "How To" guides, so that was a good "starter for 10".

[gary mac]

1 hour ago, Lozz196 said:

Basic set up is fine, but fret work, nut work & electrics (other than installing a KiOgon loom) I leave to the professionals, which in my case is our very own @gary mac (sadly minus the curly perm & Capri).

Thanks Lozz. I did once have a curly perm but never actually owned a Capri.

[chris_b]

I just play them.

 

I'll change the strings and fit strap locks, but that's it. I want everything else to be handled by a professional.