Conan Posted January 27, 2010 Share Posted January 27, 2010 Recently bought one of these basses, and I'm really chuffed with it - especially for £320!! Problem I have is that I have lowered the action as far as possible, and its still on the high side! Now I usually like my action slightly high as I play very hard most of the time, but it is frustrating that I cannot lower it any further due to the curvature of the body. I have the saddles down as low as they will go!!! I suppose I could use lighter gauge strings, but this is not a route I would like to go down. Back in the 80s and 90s I used to use the Superwound strings that had a "piano wire" design whereby the part of the string that went over the saddle was not wound - just the core. This might solve the problem, but I don't know if those strings are still available. And I seem to recall that they were only available in very light gauges... Has anyone else experienced this, and is there an obvious solution that I am missing?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hot Tub Posted January 27, 2010 Share Posted January 27, 2010 How's the neck? Try tightening the truss rod a tad? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BottomEndian Posted January 27, 2010 Share Posted January 27, 2010 [quote name='Conan' post='726430' date='Jan 27 2010, 03:24 PM']Recently bought one of these basses, and I'm really chuffed with it - especially for £320!! Problem I have is that I have lowered the action as far as possible, and its still on the high side! Now I usually like my action slightly high as I play very hard most of the time, but it is frustrating that I cannot lower it any further due to the curvature of the body. I have the saddles down as low as they will go!!! I suppose I could use lighter gauge strings, but this is not a route I would like to go down. Back in the 80s and 90s I used to use the Superwound strings that had a "piano wire" design whereby the part of the string that went over the saddle was not wound - just the core. This might solve the problem, but I don't know if those strings are still available. And I seem to recall that they were only available in very light gauges... Has anyone else experienced this, and is there an obvious solution that I am missing?![/quote] No experience of the Cort itself, but... [list=1] [*]What's the neck relief like? Does the truss rod need a tweak? [*]Have you tried a new set of strings? That could change everything, especially if you switch gauge/brand/construction/type. [*]Might the neck need shimming? [*]If you think taperwound strings might help, I know La Bella do the "Super Steps" range which are all taperwound (unlike most situations where only the low B and maybe the E are taperwound). Available from [url="http://www.stringbusters.com/frameset.asp?MAIN=http://www.stringbusters.com/ko-kat/BASS%20STRINGS/LA%20BELLA/"]Stringbusters[/url] (down the bottom of the La Bella page). [/list]If in doubt, wor Howard's only a PM away, and I'm sure he'd fix you up nicely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conan Posted January 28, 2010 Author Share Posted January 28, 2010 Thanks for the tips guys! A few things for me to look into there... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radansey Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 (edited) [quote name='Conan' post='727389' date='Jan 28 2010, 11:01 AM']Thanks for the tips guys! A few things for me to look into there...[/quote] I had a similar issue with my Curbow 5-string. Shimmed the neck and loosened the truss-rod in small steps - sorted. The trick is to do a little adjustment and then allow a few days for the neck to settle before re-checking and re-adjusting as required. Hope this helps. Edited February 6, 2010 by radansey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gabson Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 Whoa there - leave the truss alone. You need to shim the neck from what ive read. Add some material to the bridge side of the neck pocket and this will create an angle there fore allowing you to set the action lower. there's a cracking article on here that's pinned about shimming. Good luck! email me if you need a hand Jack! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radansey Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 (edited) [quote name='gabson' post='737809' date='Feb 7 2010, 02:09 AM']Whoa there - leave the truss alone. You need to shim the neck from what ive read. Add some material to the bridge side of the neck pocket and this will create an angle there fore allowing you to set the action lower. there's a cracking article on here that's pinned about shimming. Good luck! email me if you need a hand Jack![/quote] In my case, I had fitted lower gauge strings and hence there was too much back-bow due to the lower tension imposed on the neck than previously with the heavier gauge strings. Agreed, some thought needs to be exercised before the truss-rod should be adjusted, but under my circumstance the strings were buzzing half-way down the neck - raising the bridge-saddles to accommodate this meant that I could drive a bus under the strings at the 17th fret!!. Loosening the truss-rod had the effect of allowing the strings to vibrate, shimming the neck meant that I could adjust the bridge for a lower action along the neck. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=74126&hl=neck+relief"]A similar problem here[/url] Edited February 8, 2010 by radansey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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