soulstar89 Posted July 5 Share Posted July 5 (edited) On the fender website regarding setting up your bass it advises that you place a capo on first fret and depress last fret. Use feeler gauge at 8th fret. I have seen and read other companies suggesting depressing at 17th and also 12th. my question is how does depressing a fret at a different location affect setup and playability? I get completely different feeler gauge readings at 12th,17th and last fret. My neck is a 9.5” radius so set a 0.30mm as relief as indicated on fender website. just rather confused with many different approaches. cheers Edited July 5 by soulstar89 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor J Posted July 5 Share Posted July 5 I wouldn't bother outside of the first and last frets. You're setting how straight the neck is, when you measure at the 8th fret you're roughly halfway down the length of the fretboard. That's where the bow should be at its greatest, that's all you need to measure. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyJohnson Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 What you're trying to do is determine the neck relief, straightness, front/back bow. These factors alone are just part of the overall setup process (along with fret levelling/bridge adjustment etc.). I would honestly take any recommendations from Fender's site with generous pinch of salt; even in these days of CAD design and machine production, there's still way too many variables in woods/hardware. If I can offer a bit of sage advice, delve into a couple of You Tube channels; https://youtube.com/@davesworldoffunstuff?si=RAgkdoZcedKyvx08 https://youtube.com/@twoodfrd?si=chpdAfMoK1FhUKXi Dave's World of Fun Stuff and Ted Woodford Instruments offer a lot of advice, albeit their delivery couldn't be any more different. You'll find a wealth of information about setups/repairs on both. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soulstar89 Posted July 7 Author Share Posted July 7 (edited) 2 hours ago, NancyJohnson said: What you're trying to do is determine the neck relief, straightness, front/back bow. These factors alone are just part of the overall setup process (along with fret levelling/bridge adjustment etc.). I would honestly take any recommendations from Fender's site with generous pinch of salt; even in these days of CAD design and machine production, there's still way too many variables in woods/hardware. If I can offer a bit of sage advice, delve into a couple of You Tube channels; https://youtube.com/@davesworldoffunstuff?si=RAgkdoZcedKyvx08 https://youtube.com/@twoodfrd?si=chpdAfMoK1FhUKXi Dave's World of Fun Stuff and Ted Woodford Instruments offer a lot of advice, albeit their delivery couldn't be any more different. You'll find a wealth of information about setups/repairs on both. Thanks for links. I actually watched a lot of Dave’s videos. He depresses at the 17th fret. I just find it confusing many people have different views. Maybe the more I do this the do this the clearer the patterns will show themselves. I restrung my 78 p bass with heavy gauge flats. At first the neck didn’t move (chunky neck) but I’ve had to do adjustment reliefs now. Waiting for it to settle. Also nice profile picture. Gregory crewdson is one of my favourite photographers. I’ve some of his books Edited July 7 by soulstar89 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolo Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 7 hours ago, soulstar89 said: confusing many people have different views I've never heard anything but 1st and last fret. Who are those people? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyJohnson Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 8 hours ago, soulstar89 said: Thanks for links. I actually watched a lot of Dave’s videos. He depresses at the 17th fret. I just find it confusing many people have different views. Maybe the more I do this the do this the clearer the patterns will show themselves. I restrung my 78 p bass with heavy gauge flats. At first the neck didn’t move (chunky neck) but I’ve had to do adjustment reliefs now. Waiting for it to settle. Also nice profile picture. Gregory crewdson is one of my favourite photographers. I’ve some of his books The idea of putting a capo on the first and going to whatever fret is simply just a way of having a straight bit of something to see which what the neck is bowing. If you watch some of Ted's stuff, you'll see a similar measurement, but he'll also measure string height/action at the 12th fret; he'll adjust the truss rod and then remeasure, tweaking individual bridge saddles.. Ultimately set ups are a very personal thing; I favour a low/rattly action - this just adds a certain characteristic to what the pickups output. (Big Crewdson fan here. Happy to report we've got the entire published works. If you get the chance, watch the Brief Encounters documentary on how he captured the shot.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soulstar89 Posted July 7 Author Share Posted July 7 26 minutes ago, NancyJohnson said: The idea of putting a capo on the first and going to whatever fret is simply just a way of having a straight bit of something to see which what the neck is bowing. If you watch some of Ted's stuff, you'll see a similar measurement, but he'll also measure string height/action at the 12th fret; he'll adjust the truss rod and then remeasure, tweaking individual bridge saddles.. Ultimately set ups are a very personal thing; I favour a low/rattly action - this just adds a certain characteristic to what the pickups output. (Big Crewdson fan here. Happy to report we've got the entire published works. If you get the chance, watch the Brief Encounters documentary on how he captured the shot.) cheers for heads up. on crewdson I’ve watched the doc many times it’s amazing. I shoot film and his style is very much inspired in what I do tbh. I went to his exhibition in London at the photographers gallery cathedral of the pines. Dream house is my favourite project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soulstar89 Posted July 7 Author Share Posted July 7 1 hour ago, Bolo said: I've never heard anything but 1st and last fret. Who are those people? You place a capo on first fret to get the nut out of the equation. Fender states depressing the last fret and then measuring the distance between 8th fret and string. I’m finding my way. Just like learning bass you just have to “do” and everything will fall into place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolo Posted July 8 Share Posted July 8 10 hours ago, soulstar89 said: You place a capo on first fret to get the nut out of the equation. Fender states depressing the last fret and then measuring the distance between 8th fret and string. I’m finding my way. Just like learning bass you just have to “do” and everything will fall into place. 1st and last fret depress is the way it's done, but you said some companies do 12th or 17th fret which is weird. What companies depress 12th or 17th fret? Id like to know so I can avoid them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soulstar89 Posted July 8 Author Share Posted July 8 5 hours ago, Bolo said: 1st and last fret depress is the way it's done, but you said some companies do 12th or 17th fret which is weird. What companies depress 12th or 17th fret? Id like to know so I can avoid them. Oh music nomad who have great videos on YouTube suggest depressing at 12th fret. A gentleman on YouTube named Dave does 17th. Thing is all are extremely knowledgeable. Either way I’ve found my approach and I’ll stick to it so that I make life easy while learning. 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.