Minininjarob Posted November 17, 2022 Share Posted November 17, 2022 (edited) Hopefully not sounding like a boast, I was surprised myself!! Just started playing the bass and I had to do some setup on mine as it was mail ordered. All I did was watch a few videos online and it all seemed simple. Full disclosure - I am a very handy DIYer (just built the staircase in my house) and good with tools, I’ve also resorted vintage push bikes in the past, and have an electronics background so none of the guitar setup stuff seemed difficult at all. Anyway, I was hanging out with a friend who owns 20ish basses and has been playing for 45 years and he said he had loads of fret buzz on a MM stingray 5 and it didn’t sound right anyway. He said he had never adjusted his own instruments so I said I could try what I had learnt on the MM - he said he hadn’t played it for years so it was worth a try. He gave me a set of strings and I took the MM home. Stripped it down, restored the chrome, cleaned the fretboard up, compound polished the body etc. Checked the electronics, put new strings on, set the truss rod and sorted out the intonation as well. He came to pick it up and when he tried it out (he is an AMAZING player) he was so pleased at the job I had done. I was genuinely surprised - I had been SO worried. He said he’d use it at a gig at the weekend he was so pleased. I’ve since learned that quite a few people don’t know how to set up their instruments - or at least the people I know - is this true of other bass players? I really enjoyed doing what I did and want to help other people out. I’ve looked at the specialist tools you can get to do more advanced stuff and it doesn’t seem too pricey and the work doesn’t look too difficult. Am I kidding myself about being able to do this? Edited November 17, 2022 by Minininjarob 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulThePlug Posted November 17, 2022 Share Posted November 17, 2022 (edited) A fettle with good fitting tools when things go as they should is one thing... A fix when they don't - mainly truss rod - is another... Well done for sorting yours and ya mates basses... as you say bit of research and the correct tools and an appreciation of how things should react... engineering background, sorted! Maybe get a cheapy or an old broken neck of the bay and try fret leveling how it feels etc, nut file etc. Edited November 17, 2022 by PaulThePlug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minininjarob Posted November 17, 2022 Author Share Posted November 17, 2022 1 hour ago, PaulThePlug said:. A fix when they don't - mainly truss rod - is another... Maybe get a cheapy or an old broken neck of the bay and try fret leveling how it feels etc, nut file etc. I’ve managed to sort out some bike stuff which other people have given up on - what happens to truss rods? I assume they can seize or snap maybe? Some sort of broken guitar would be helpful I suppose to mess around with. Fret levelling looks relatively easy but I would want to practice before trying it out on someone’s pride and joy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulThePlug Posted November 17, 2022 Share Posted November 17, 2022 They sieze or the nut / allen key hole gets rounded... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Starr Posted November 18, 2022 Share Posted November 18, 2022 Some people spent their childhood pulling things apart and re-building them, can remember buying their first hammer and socket set and have GAS for machine tools. Others spent their time in their bedrooms learning to play Dsus4 in four positions on a guitar neck and Clapton solos from all his recorded works. We forget those long hours acquiring all those skills. My youth was miss-spent on all things mechanical and electrical and I didn't start playing music until well into middle age. I find playing some music daunting and what skills I have on bass have felt like climbing mountains but I'd happily rebuild a house or a car engine. For many musicians anything mechanical looks as scary and impossible as reading music does to me. Instruments are really simple technology in the main and an electric bass or guitar at the simple end of that. You could probably improve all of your friends 20ish basses, trade that skill for some help with the bass playing and both of you will grow. Seems like you have another new hobby 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoham Posted November 18, 2022 Share Posted November 18, 2022 Well done - sounds like you've done a good job. Many of us do our setups. I learned the basics when I was younger, as I simply couldn't afford to pay someone to do it for me. However, lots of musicians are a little scared to tinker with their instruments - they've paid a lot of money and don't want to ruin them. They'd rather leave it to the professionals. I'm like that with my car, but I'll happily tinker with any of my instruments, bikes or computers. Last year I went on a week long course with Jon Shuker (well respected bass-builder!) and built my own bass from scratch. That really opened my eyes to how simple solid bodied electric instruments really are, but also highlighted how important it is to use the right tool for the job! George 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoham Posted November 18, 2022 Share Posted November 18, 2022 As a side note... legend has it that the great Leo Fender (creator of the solid bodied bass) was an electronics engineer who couldn't play guitar or bass himself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemmywinks Posted November 18, 2022 Share Posted November 18, 2022 2 hours ago, geoham said: As a side note... legend has it that the great Leo Fender (creator of the solid bodied bass) was an electronics engineer who couldn't play guitar or bass himself. They used to tune the guitars to an open chord so it was less painful when he was strumming them IIRC. I have a mate who has never been much of a player, has always struggled with timing and doesn't have good pitch. He likes guitars though and enjoys buying/restoring them, he's got really good at setups and can level/crown frets etc, helps that he has a bit of money and wasn't shy about buying good quality tools but he's found a little niche which enables him to keep tinkering with guitars. Just need to convince him to buy an expensive bass straight edge now. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minininjarob Posted November 18, 2022 Author Share Posted November 18, 2022 Thanks all for the kind comments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minininjarob Posted November 18, 2022 Author Share Posted November 18, 2022 (edited) 16 hours ago, PaulThePlug said: They sieze or the nut / allen key hole gets rounded... Sorting that out would be child’s play compared to removing a rusted in cup and cone bottom bracket from a bike that’s been sat outside in the rain for 10years. 8 foot long breaker bar on a spanner + only 2 mmm on metal to grip onto = large cracking noise + skinned knuckles. 🤬🤬 Edited November 18, 2022 by Minininjarob 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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