Set up why not DIY?

Erik Asma

Erik Asma

Jul 20, 2019
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#1
Probably been asked before. Noob here.

But why in earth wouldn't you learn it yourself?
Back in the day, early eighties, I never heard of setups except intonation. Played as it came.
Some where good, some where poopiee.
I learned about this later. Those kind of dark secrets were kept indoors of the workshops at pain of death back then.

Onky found out how good it can get when I got my first decent setup bass.
Since then I read up about it and setup all my stuff myself. This internet I heated about was very handy in this.
Single action was a bit scary at first. Loosening it meant putting pressure on the neck to get it to bend so you actually could loosen it. Stingray.
Yes. Read up first, then act.

But I quivkly learned how to set it up the way I like it, which is quite low action with a little bit of buzz when you slam it on.

I mean how hard is it? It is turning things, a little at the time for rods and never more then half a turn max per day as my rule of thumb, give or take.
And measuring, although you learn to use the old MK1 eyeball for string hight fast enough.
And intonation is a doddle.

I bought some basses which weren't setup at all. My Toby for one. It wasn't even remotely playable.
Set it up in no time and it plays like a charm ever since.

So why would you have someone do it? Big issues like ski ramps excepted.
Nothing bonds like setting up you stuff yourself in my book.
 
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#2
It's a double edged sword. I keep seeing people cranking on truss rods without "Coaxing" the neck by hand into position.
Say what you want about that but it's wrong. They are crushing the wood under the Truss Rod Nut. Basically destroying the neck.
If you understand this then you are on your way to possibly performing a decent setup.\
It's not hard but you have to be smart about it.
 
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#4
Erik Asma said:
Probably been asked before. Noob here.

But why in earth wouldn't you learn it yourself?
Back in the day, early eighties, I never heard of setups except intonation. Played as it came.
Some where good, some where poopiee.
I learned about this later. Those kind of dark secrets were kept indoors of the workshops at pain of death back then.

Onky found out how good it can get when I got my first decent setup bass.
Since then I read up about it and setup all my stuff myself. This internet I heated about was very handy in this.
Single action was a bit scary at first. Loosening it meant putting pressure on the neck to get it to bend so you actually could loosen it. Stingray.
Yes. Read up first, then act.

But I quivkly learned how to set it up the way I like it, which is quite low action with a little bit of buzz when you slam it on.

I mean how hard is it? It is turning things, a little at the time for rods and never more then half a turn max per day as my rule of thumb, give or take.
And measuring, although you learn to use the old MK1 eyeball for string hight fast enough.
And intonation is a doddle.

I bought some basses which weren't setup at all. My Toby for one. It wasn't even remotely playable.
Set it up in no time and it plays like a charm ever since.

So why would you have someone do it? Big issues like ski ramps excepted.
Nothing bonds like setting up you stuff yourself in my book.
Click to expand...
It takes a fair amount of time and tools to get right. With YouTube around it seems like a "no duh" kinda thing, but when I was a kid setups were a dark art you payed wizened alchemists of instrument sorcery to do.
 
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#5
I have two main concerns for DIY setups. First is that I have plenty of evidence of ham-fisted attempts that were awful, sometimes damaging the bass. Some folks just shouldn't try DIY at all.

Second is that there is both good and bad info on the internet. Anyone can post their particular way of doing setups. Some are exemplary. Some are just wrong. Most are in the middle. But the same is true if you take your bass to your local guitar shop for setup. I think some of the "techs" in many of the stores were shoe salesman last week, and the extent of their training is what they have found on the 'net - which may be the same garbage I have seen on occasion.

Not sure how you sort this out if you are new to setups.
 
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#6
Turnaround said:
I have two main concerns for DIY setups. First is that I have plenty of evidence of ham-fisted attempts that were awful, sometimes damaging the bass. Some folks just shouldn't try DIY at all.

Second is that there is both good and bad info on the internet. Anyone can post their particular way of doing setups. Some are exemplary. Some are just wrong. Most are in the middle. But the same is true if you take your bass to your local guitar shop for setup. I think some of the "techs" in many of the stores were shoe salesman last week, and the extent of their training is what they have found on the 'net - which may be the same garbage I have seen on occasion.

Not sure how you sort this out if you are new to setups.
Click to expand...
I'll go ahead and just say it bluntly: Learn how to do your own setups and do it better than the best Techs around.
Remember that there is a science to everything.
Opinions are mostly a waste of time.
You CAN ruin a bass in many ways if you lack the skills and finesse needed.
Examples: Crushed wood under truss Rod nut. Crushed wood beneath neck Plate. Broken Truss Rods. Cork screwed Necks on Rickenbeckers.
 
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#8
Turnaround said:
I have two main concerns for DIY setups. First is that I have plenty of evidence of ham-fisted attempts that were awful, sometimes damaging the bass. Some folks just shouldn't try DIY at all.

Second is that there is both good and bad info on the internet. Anyone can post their particular way of doing setups. Some are exemplary. Some are just wrong. Most are in the middle. But the same is true if you take your bass to your local guitar shop for setup. I think some of the "techs" in many of the stores were shoe salesman last week, and the extent of their training is what they have found on the 'net - which may be the same garbage I have seen on occasion.

Not sure how you sort this out if you are new to setups.
Click to expand...

When I was new to it, I had an amazing teacher here in Nashville. Her name is Lauren Ellis, and she works some serious magic when it comes to setups and repair. I had learned a bit from other local repair people, But Lauren let me stand there and watch while she did her thing. I wish she was still working in Nashville, but she relocated to Austin, TX. I still ask for her advice at times through Facebook. She has some of the coolest solutions to problems that I've never seen anyone else use. She was nice enough to pass those things on to me. Many techs keep things a secret, and I understand why. Lauren wasn't that way at all. I feel very lucky to have learned from someone who has mastered their craft.

You're right about YouTube as well. A lot of the stuff I see people doing, and telling others to do, is crazy, and just wrong!
 
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#9
Thing is. You do need a bit of technical insight and understanding.

If you cannot build an Ikea cupboard without setting your house on fire I would advice against even thinking about it.

And on those 'lessons' you tube, I prefer written accounts myself, but yeah.
You should know that getting information beyond doubt means not blindly trusting the first and only thing you see.
You watch a bunch, take some notes and read a couple of things.
Most do warn against the pitfalls and some how to know you're forcing something you should not.

As I said that single action trussrod was already something.
Obviously, to me at least, since it is single action it can only force one way.
So the other way would result in disaster when forced.
It made so much sense when someone told me to put some pressure on the neck.

And there you go.

If you do not straight away understand what some pressure means and plunk you full body weight on it, you are in technical terms 'a idiot'.

You got to be able to find the amount of force strings have on a neck and sort of mimick that.
It does help I'm a tech by trade.
So for me it is logic not to try and pull a saddle against a string on full tension.

But still.

Setting the amount of give in a neck isn't rocket science.

But yes. Information is essential before even starting.

Thank sofar.
 
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#11
Guitar_Player_Repair_Guide.jpg
 
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#12
Some folks are not technically inclined or are just bad at using hand-tools.
Some folks have more money than they have free-time to educate themselves & do the work.

I coached a person in Thailand how to do some wiring in a bass, even mentioning where to buy the parts & details about the parking situation in those areas.
On Monday it was taken to a local tech & the job was done for next to nothing, w/o the need to drive 100s of kilometers.

So, sometimes it just cheaper to pay someone to do it.

Things are different in Asia however, & it's probably the exact opposite in Europe.
 
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#15
FunkHead said:
No. I mean bending the neck by hand so the truss rod nut is no crushing the wood underneath it.
Click to expand...
It depends on the truss rod. Some rely on the adjustment nut exerting pressure on the end grain of the neck wood, which can crush it. In other cases the truss rod flexes without applying endwise pressure on the neck, it just flexes the neck. No chance of crushing.
 
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#16
Erik Asma said:
Probably been asked before. Noob here.

But why in earth wouldn't you learn it yourself?
Back in the day, early eighties, I never heard of setups except intonation. Played as it came.
Some where good, some where poopiee.
I learned about this later. Those kind of dark secrets were kept indoors of the workshops at pain of death back then.

Onky found out how good it can get when I got my first decent setup bass.
Since then I read up about it and setup all my stuff myself. This internet I heated about was very handy in this.
Single action was a bit scary at first. Loosening it meant putting pressure on the neck to get it to bend so you actually could loosen it. Stingray.
Yes. Read up first, then act.

But I quivkly learned how to set it up the way I like it, which is quite low action with a little bit of buzz when you slam it on.

I mean how hard is it? It is turning things, a little at the time for rods and never more then half a turn max per day as my rule of thumb, give or take.
And measuring, although you learn to use the old MK1 eyeball for string hight fast enough.
And intonation is a doddle.

I bought some basses which weren't setup at all. My Toby for one. It wasn't even remotely playable.
Set it up in no time and it plays like a charm ever since.

So why would you have someone do it? Big issues like ski ramps excepted.
Nothing bonds like setting up you stuff yourself in my book.
Click to expand...
I completely agree with you, I see no reason not to learn to do it yourself.

When I started in the late 80s, where I lived, you had to fend for yourself. The so-called "guitar techs" of the region were nothing but sellers in music stores, and it was a safe bet that they knew no more than us.

But we did it ourselves anyway, because nothing in the settings of a guitar really seemed very complicated to us. One turn of a hex key here and there and it was good. We used to repair and tinker with our bikes, so we knew how to use a screwdriver or other tools. And frankly, a Fender bass can be dismantled, reassembled and adjusted with only a screwdriver if you know how to use your fingers. I'm exaggerating a bit, but you know what I mean.

Internet has changed the game, a lot of information has appeared. I understand that if a beginner starts bass today, he can be lost, especially since these informations are sometimes contradictory. But that's not why they're necessarily false, they may simply be inappropriate for what he's trying to do and, indeed, he'll have to make mistakes. I made mistakes too, but I soon realized it. If something is wrong, we realize it when we play, and the next time we do it differently.

That's why it seems to me very important to learn how to do it yourself, in order to learn how things work on a bass guitar. It's also a way to learn more about your own instrument, and I think that it can help to evolve musically. There's no other way to get there than to get your hands dirty, but with a minimum of common sense, reading and patience, I think anyone can do it. Especially since to damage a bass, honestly, you really have to be a brute.
 
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#18
Killed_by_Death said:
Some folks are not technically inclined or are just bad at using hand-tools.
Some folks have more money than they have free-time to educate themselves & do the work.

I coached a person in Thailand how to do some wiring in a bass, even mentioning where to buy the parts & details about the parking situation in those areas.
On Monday it was taken to a local tech & the job was done for next to nothing, w/o the need to drive 100s of kilometers.

So, sometimes it just cheaper to pay someone to do it.

Things are different in Asia however, & it's probably the exact opposite in Europe.
Click to expand...
That is to say, in Europe, guitar tech is not really a job, there is simply not enough customers. Except perhaps in capitals or some big cities, but nobody will make 100 or 200 kilometers to pay someone to make a truss rod adjustment. If you really need to have an instrument repaired, it's better to go directly to a professional luthier.
 
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#19
I used to do setups on my own basses, but no more.

I have arthritis such that I can still play, but I have trouble with small tools.

Keep in mind that not everyone who has a tech do their setups is lazy or incapable of learning.
 
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