Set up questiona?

[adimanto]

Ciao six month is passed since my new alembic is arrived,i think that i now time to change the strings(a bit in late i think) and use lemon oil on the fingerboard,that look a little bit dirty,but a big question?where i can buy in europe or in internet the lemon oil?and another question can someone send me the measurement for the set up in cm and not in inc?ciao bei bambini!grazie!

[adriaan]

Look for essential lemon oil.
 
Personally, I don't need measurements to do the setup, I just adjust the truss rods, the bridge and the nut, and make sure that the strings do not rattle against the frets.

[mario_farufyno]

Alan, to convert Inches in Centimeters you have just to divide it by 2.54. But Adriaan is right, don't start from a measure, it simply doesn't work by rulers.

[rustyg61]

Here's something I just got that helps immensely with setting your neck relief & action. It is a string depth guage that is very easy to lay on the fret & get an accurate measurement of the string height. Before I was using a ruler & it was hard to get an accurate measurement for 3/32 It is very easy with this tool! They have some other great stuff on this site too!
 
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Measuring_tools/String_Action_Gauge.html

[bigredbass]

Rusty, you are learning fast:  Nobody who even casually tweaks their own axes, much less most every guitar company you can think of, can NOT live without StewMac !
 
J o e y

[rustyg61]

Well Joey, thanks to you & StewMac, my bass is now PERFECT! You should ammend your post on setting up the bass to include a link to StewMac. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge!

[lefsalefsa]

Hi all,
 
I recently bought a very nice used Stanley Clarke Signature bass. However, I have problems with adjusting the action to my satisfaction - either I get too high action or buzz when playing higher than fret 5 on the E string. I have read and tried Joeys post on setting up, however adjusting the string hight to where the bottom of the string is about 4.7 mm (3/16) over the 24th fret in the final step gives a much higher action than I prefer.
 
What I am after is a similar action as on my Status bass, where the distance is a little more than 3 mm over the 24th fret, and 3 mm over the 12th fret. Also, if I press down the E string  at the 24th fret (only) and insert a 0.96mm plectrum between the string and the 12th fret, it stays in place (and similarly for the G string).
String buzz is not a problem on my Status with this setup, and I hope and believe a similar setup is possible on my Alembic. This seems to be the right place to get help!

[adriaan]

Hi Atle, welcome to the Club, and congrats on the SC!
 
Sounds like you have turned your bass into the proverbial boat oar, so you need to take a different approach. Two questions up front: how long have you let the bass settle in since you've made the adjustments, and are you checking the setup with the bass in playing postition?
 
I'd try loosening the trussrods a bit to give a bit more relief, and if possible lower the bridge somewhat to reduce the action at the 24th fret. If that is not enough, perhaps raise the nut a hair.
 
The relief at the 12th fret is more the result of what you do with the other settings, rather than a goal in itself.
 
By the way, what kind of strings are you using, and what gauges? If the truss rods are barely tightened, you might try settling in the neck by tuning up your strings a full note for a day or two, after that the truss rods may give you more of a range to play with at regular pitch.

[rustyg61]

Hi Atle, congatulations on your SC, & welcome to the club! I also have a SC Signature Deluxe I bought new in February. When I got it, the neck had no relief & I got buzz on about half the neck. I too followed Joey's post on setting up the bass & it helped, but I still had some buzz. I had my truss nuts completely loose & still barely had any relief, so I emailed Joey & he told me to loosen the nuts all the way & tune the bass up a full step, so the tuning is F#,B,E,A. Then let it set for 24 hours, snug the nuts where they are not loose, but don't tighten them down, then tune the bass normal. That gave me the relief I needed to lower the strings with no buzz. I was also fighting myself trying to measure with a ruler & not getting accurate measurements. I bought a string depth guage from StewMac that helped immensely! http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Measuring_tools/String_Action_Gauge.html My action was actually way lower than I thought it was. The trick is to not get in a hurry & let it settle for several days before making another adjustment. After a week or so I was able to tighten the truss nuts about a half turn & take some of the relief out & get the action even lower. I was playing through headphones last night & didn't hear any buzz anywhere, so I lowered the bridge another 1/4 turn on both sides & it is still buzz free! I am currently running 5/64 or 1.9mm on the E at the 12th fret, & 1/16 or 1.5mm on the G at the 12th fret with no buzz, & I play pretty hard. It took me 2 months to get the action I was looking for, mostly because I didn't use a depth guage, & was not waiting a few days between adjustments, but now it is perfect & plays AMAZING!! So be patient, make small adjustents & give it a few days or even a week to settle out then remeasure & readjust & eventually you will get even lower action than you have on your Status! With Alembic, perfection is not only attainable, it is our birthright! Good luck & don't give up!

[bigredbass]

If I am reading this correctly, on your Status you have 3mm clearance over the last fret and 3mm clearance over the 12th fret.  Unless it's late enough my math and visualization skills are way fuzzy, that's a dead-straight neck.
 
I'd ask . . .  
 
On your Status, what's the clearance over the FIRST fret?
 
And are you sure there's no relief in this neck (the Status) if checked by the usual manner with a capo'd first fret, etc. ?
 
I've never gotten a used bass that was adjusted properly.  And you must remember two things here:
 
First, there is an intertwining relationship between neck relief, string heights etc., where they can affect each other (get your string height over the last fret correct, then crank in more truss rod tension and the string lower themselves as the neck flattens, or the reverse of this, for instance).  And . . . .
 
Second, not a lot of this applies to graphite-necked instruments !  Even the ones with truss rods are just a different animal.
 
Thinking this over, I'd think it's buzzing above the fifth fret as the neck is not straight enough yet.  You always start with relief, then go to your string heights.  The great thing about an ALEMBIC is that we can easily adjust the nut to match the clearance on your Status.
 
I would certainly NOT start this process until you have installed the strings you plan to keep on this.  You are shooting for a low, straight action, and it will be pointless to do this with the strings it came with.
 
I feel like all basses have a range of adjustment that are unique to each bass:  Some will just go lower than others.  I don't know if we can match the Status, but it's sure going to be interesting in the trying . . . the best quick course in this is Gary Willis' routine:
 
http://www.garywillis.com/pages/bass/bassmanual/setupmanual.html
 
J o e y

[lefsalefsa]

Hi all,
 
First of all, thanks a lot for your useful input. This is clearly the right place to get help :-)
 
Second, let me make it clear that I am not complaining about the Alembic - I don't believe there is anything wrong with it, except that I, who am a newbie in this respect, have not yet succeeded in setting it up the way I like. My only reason for mentioning the Status was to explain the kind of setup I am aiming for. I consider both the Alembic and the Status to be very good instruments.
 
Third, to your questions. I did not let the bass settle after doing the adjustments (so that was probably one of my mistakes), but I did check the adjustments in playing positions. I have 0.40 DR strings on my Alembic, these were put on when I bought the bass. (On my Status I use 0.35 Status strings).
 
I do not have the recommended measuring device (yet), so my measures are likely not very accurate. There _is_ a string height difference between the 12th and 24th fret on my Status, but it is so small that I chose to say a little more than rather than try to quantify it. The string height above the first fret on my Status is very low - if I insert a .96mm plectrum under the string it visibly raises the string. There is definetely relief in the Status neck; the distance between the 12th fret and the E string is a little less than 1 mm when I hold down the string on the 1st and 24th frets.
 
My next step now will be to try to loosen the truss rods and tune up a full tone, as proposed. I will then leave the bass for a day or two, and then try  adjusting it again, following Joey's post. After that, I will wait another couple of days before drawing any conclusions.
 
I will let you know how it goes. If I do not succeed I will probably be back with more questions!
 
Cheers,
Atle

[rustyg61]

Atle, perseverance is the secret to success.....well, that & the right tools! I highly recommend you order the string action gauge. I fought mine for 6 weeks doing the same steps over & over with mixed results, then after I got the action gauge, within 10 minutes I had it perfect! I gained some relief by loosening the truss nuts & tuning up a step, but my relief kept increasing for a couple of weeks even after I tuned back down. That is when I got the action gauge & was able to accurately measure it & start tightening the truss rods to take some of the relief out & lower my action. Once you get it in the ball park, play it for a week or 2 then do slight adjustments to try to get your action even lower if you want to.
 
Good luck, it will be well worth the effort & time! I was almost late to work today because I was playing my bass & didn't want to put it down!
 
Rusty

[lefsalefsa]

Thanks Rusty, I ordered the action gauge yesterday. It will take 2-4 weeks before it arrives, so I'll have to make do with a tape measure until then.
 
Cheers,
Atle

[rustyg61]

That will give your neck time to settle after doing the step up tuning with the loose truss nuts. I would suggest just adjusting the bridge enough to make it playable until you get the action gauge in, then adjust the truss rod when you can get accurate measurements. You will be amazed at how much easier it is to measure with this tool!
 
Rusty