Quote:
Originally Posted by Terry Atkinson
Setting the action up from the bridge I get. But for neck relief (i.e. the concave curvature of the neck), the guidance for bass seems to be "as straight as possible without buzzing". I wanted to check and see what Ken does on factory setups.
I am primarily a guitarist and on most guitars, some relief is always recommended. I guess bass and guitar are different.
So, board straight it is. Thnx for your response.
Terry
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Again, it's more about feel and that depends on the player. Part of the "action" set-up
is based on the neck relief. This doesn't necessarily mean "board straight". For me personally, I do like the neck/fretboard as flat as possible because I do like the action low. Now if that means I experience "fret-buzz", then maybe it's one of a couple things: The action is too low for an aggressive players playing style, need more relief, or the neck and fretboard aren't perfect (i.e. there are high-spots towards the end of fretboard) and require some slight relief (or repair, if necessary).
Ken's set-ups are not based on specific guidelines/measurements, but feel. I will say this, of ALL Smiths I have owned that came set-up from Ken, for me, Ken nails the set-up down to where
IF I do need to make an adjustment, it is very slight one direction or the other.
Guitar and bass
aren't that different. For me, as far as action (i.e. neck relief, etc.) I set up my guitars the same way I would my bass. I also like the neck/fretboard as flat as possible because I like my action low on guitars as well and it feels good to me.
Keep in mind, action relative to string and P/U height is also important. You'll need to let your ear guide you with that. String vibration too close or too far from the P/U's can create another set of issues.
Some bass manufacturers have and use "suggested settings" and "string height" guidelines. But, that's all they are; suggestions. Doesn't mean it's science; just a good starting reference.
If you have ANY reservation (and I'm certainly not implying you do) about how to set neck relief (or any other part of the set-up process) for YOU, find a professional that will sit down with YOU and make the appropriate adjustments for YOU, based on YOUR playing style.
There's simply not a "one-size-fits-all" answer when it comes to instrument set-up's.