How do you set up your bass guitar?

Obviously the ideal is to have a professional do it for you – you can’t be a skilled hand and experience to get the perfect set up. However, sometimes just a minor tweak is required,  or getting a full set up isn’t affordable or practical.

Adjustments on the Bass

So, what is adjustable? Apart from the obvious one (tuning), there are four main things that are checked and adjusted during a set up:

• String height
• Intonation
• Trust rod (neck/fret board relief)
• Pick up height

The first two are made via adjustments to the bridge. Trust rod adjustment is more tricky, while pick up height is relatively straight forward. Additionally a good set up should also look at the condition of the frets and fretboard, and also check the nut for ware. If you are already someone who sets up your own bass, hopefully you’ll pick up some additional tips, but do share what you’ve learnt as well! If it is all new to you, don’t be intimidated. Think of it as a way to better understand your bass.

To be continued…

Related Bass Posts

• Fret Dressing – a Proper Polishing
• Setting String Height – Adjusting Your Action
• Tips for Selling a Bass
• Choosing a Bass Cab – Part II
• Choosing a Bass Cab – Part I

Two neatly stacked amps on the stage at the venue. Now, I’ve heard talk about Ashdowns  (and other) amps failing, but no-one was taking any chances with this set up – one amp labelled “MAIN” and one labelled “SPARE”. Well, there were no failures at SXSW, but it got me thinking… What failures could I deal with during a gig? I usually have:

• A ’spare’ bass – a little unusual, but because I play fretted and fretless, and have a double case, I always have both with me.
• Spare strings – this is a bit of a no-brainer. That said, I’ve broken one string on stage in 25 years.
• Spare lead – not much extra to pack, and it means I can bail out any clowns that don’t bring enough leads.
• A Bass Guitar Tool - for light repair work.

So that covers most of the front end. My usual big-gig cab has multiple drivers, so if one speaker blows, it should carry on, all be it at lower volume – a nice advantage of something like a 2×12, 8 x10, and  the like. Most bass cabinets are wired in parallel or parallel plus serial, so as long as the speaker coil doesn’t short when it fails, the cab should carry on. To be really sure you could stack two cabs (i.e. two 4×10’s to give an 8×10) I guess. I haven’t gone down that road, yet…

That leaves the amp / pre-amp as the single point of failure. At a bigger gig, you just loose your monitoring – you can still go through the main PA, and have some bass in a near by wedge. At a smaller gig, you might well be stuck. It seems pretty expensive and laborious to carry around a second amp, but if you want to be 100% backed up that seems the only option.

Related Bass Posts

• Ampless Bass Set Up

My Youngest on an Accugroove Cab - Meditating on bass?

Sometimes bass playing can get stale. It’s nothing to do with the role of the bass, and it’s not a pro vs amateur thing. It is just the nature of doing something for a long time. We get into a routine that becomes mundane, or we fall out of a practice routine that causes us to grow in our playing. So, how do you get back in to the groove?

I came across a great post be Peter Tambroni with suggestions to “Rejuvenate your playing” – finding your fire again. It really struck a chord with me (if you’ll excuse the pun).

It happens to all of us. We practice. We have our routine (which is good!). We have our allotted practice time and organized it into a balance diet of exercises and music for an efficient route to progress. And then after a few months, stagnation sets in. We’re zoning out, tuning out, and feeling generally flat.

Related Bass Posts

• Practicing with a Looper
• Meditating on Your Bass
• Ampless Bass Set Up
• Tips for Selling a Bass
• Enjoy Bass

The most recent departure is the custom Moses job featured in the “graphite bass” post. So, buying and selling basses has been part of life over the last decade. Here are some tips when selling your bass…

• Try to get an idea of a ‘fair price’ for the bass – with ebay and on-line sites, this is much easier than it used to be. Have realistic expectations and know what reasonable bounds of negotiation are.
• Put on the bass’s best face – give it a good wipe down with a soft cloth to get it clean and free from greasy finger marks. Check it is set up as best as it can be, and that nothing is about to come loose.
• Get some good pictures of the bass – good lighting is more important than a good camera here, use bright, natural day light, or collect together some angle poise lamps – don’t use a built-in camera flash. Get a number of shots, most basses are just too good to fit into one picture.
• Be clear and honest about the condition of the bass – anything less will come back at you, one way or another. Are there bumps, scratches, buckle rash?

Last, but not least, I’ve met some great people through the basses that have come and gone over the years – be friendly and keep in touch!

What tips would you add?

Related Bass Posts

• Choosing a Bass Cab – Part II
• Choosing a Bass Cab – Part I
• Bass Gear Mag
• Everyone on Bass?
• Darbucka London Gig – Take Two