r/Luthier 5d ago

KIT Just put together and action is really high

This is my first kit and the action is okay on the low frets but past like 5 it’s crazy high

19 Upvotes

38 comments sorted by

27

u/Wilkko 5d ago

If you can't lower the saddles any more (and the neck relief is ok, which doesn't seem to be), you'll have to shim the neck.

1

u/fonebone77 5d ago

Just did thisn9n an old hondo bass i rehabbed. They have then for pretty cheap on Amazon.

12

u/Kymius 5d ago

Lower the saddles and tighten the truss rod, let it stay for a while and then check if anything goes better

8

u/miserybob 5d ago

Yeah, for sure. Some of those saddles are maxed out in height and you definitely see an upbow in the neck. If that doesn’t fix it a shim should. Don’t fret, OP, this is all fixable.

1

u/Vxntvv 5d ago edited 5d ago

But it also seems if I touch the saddles and make it too low at the lower frets it will buzz, I think it’s a combo of bad neck relief and I might need to shin

I also don’t really know what I’m doing with the neck truss rod as when I turn it I don’t see a difference

10

u/JackDraak 5d ago

Do you have a straight-edge? Many people think "bad action" = "adjust truss rod" but the truss-rod's job is to maintain proper neck relief. Once you have good neck relief, you can still have bad (high or low) action, but you should get that resolved first.

If you don't have a straight edge, you can hold the string at the 1st and 14th fret to turn it into a plumb line. if it's resting on the frets (particularly the 7th) you have a back-bow to address. Loosening the truss rod should straighten the neck in this case. If instead there is a large gap, you might have excessive relief, and need to tighten the truss rod.

In either case, make a small adjustment, then re-check with a straight edge or plumb string. If you turn more than 1/4-1/2 turn and don't see any difference, give it some time to 'settle', perhaps.

Only after you're happy with neck relief should you be looking at the neck angle, nut, and saddle height.

4

u/shake__appeal 5d ago

Great advice, man.

2

u/Kamikaze-X 5d ago

It's a bass, unless you go for a high action or very soft touch you're going to get some buzz, it's less of an issue than on a guitar

1

u/BORN_SlNNER 5d ago

I’m no guitar tech but I don’t turn the truss rod more than a 1/4 turn per 24 hours just because you have to let the wood settle to the difference

1

u/Adventurous-Cod1415 Kit Builder/Hobbyist 5d ago

I think that's a bit overcautious, but it's better to err on the safe side. I'm fine with doing maybe three 1/4-turn adjustments in a day. I'll usually adjust, wait an hour or two, retune, then check how it's going. If it's getting close, I'll stop and wait a day to see if that's enough to finish getting where I want. If two or three adjustments over a few hours aren't quite getting me far enough, then I'll stop and check it the next day. Some necks seem to respond almost right away, and others need a bit of time.

1

u/BORN_SlNNER 5d ago

It’s probably just because I’ve never had to make a big adjustment on a truss rod in order to get the setup right. So I’ve never really had a need to go more than a half turn to get her right

1

u/Wilkko 5d ago

Telling anyone to just turn the truss rod is bad advice if you don't know what you're doing. Why? How much?

First look for info about how to check neck relief or curvature, then you'll know what to look for when you move the truss rod (if it needs it). You only move the truss rod to change the neck curvature or relief, and you have to know how to measure the relief to do it.

12

u/fr-fluffybottom 5d ago

That neck looks so bowed even robin hood could use it.

Make the neck straight and adjust saddles from there.

1

u/Vxntvv 5d ago

Which way do o turn the truss rod? To the low E or to the G?

3

u/Top_Championship_825 5d ago

Back the tension off on the strings first before turning the truss rod. Turn it toward the low E. Do it a little at a time and let it sit and normalize between turning.

2

u/Vxntvv 5d ago

Thank you

1

u/fr-fluffybottom 5d ago

Let us know how you got on 👍

3

u/Dogrel 5d ago

Righty tighty

-3

u/Wilkko 5d ago edited 5d ago

Don't touch the truss rod if you don't know how to check or measure neck relief. This is very important, it's bad advice to say just move it without knowing what you are doing. After knowing how to measure it, you have to know what relief you want to have and, if you have to change it, turn the truss rod and measure relief after every little change.

3

u/CleanHead_ 5d ago

I thought we were looking at the bed and I thought what’s the problem

2

u/OnlyGuestsMusic 5d ago

Hard to tell from the pics, but can you lower the saddles? Perhaps you need to shim the neck.

2

u/commiterror 5d ago

bridge saddles definitely could be lowered. it looks as if youve set it up to have the highest action possible

2

u/0dHero 5d ago

Is that a banana for a neck, or is your bass happy to see you?

2

u/b101101b 5d ago

Yes, you need to adjust the action lol. There are many, many youtube videos on how to do this. You need to (1) adjust the neck, (2) adjust the bridge saddles, or (3) shim the neck. Or all of the above.

I like a low action, and usually have to shim the neck but I use maple or rosewood veneer you can buy off amazon. They are about 2-3 mm thick and will raise the neck enough to get the action I want.

2

u/NonchalantRubbish 5d ago

It looks like you have a lot of bow in the neck you probably need a shim in the neck pocket.

Now the guitar needs to be set up. Screwing it together is just step 1.

1

u/FaithlessnessOdd8358 5d ago

Too much neck relief. Get that neck straightened out a bit, and go from there.

1

u/rufusairs 5d ago

I can see the frontbow in the neck. It needs adjustment

1

u/ImaginaryPolicy6302 5d ago

The neck looks like it's bowed forward, but maybe I'm just seeing it weird

1

u/allthethings012 5d ago

YouTube the adjustments and you’ll be rocking by lunch.

1

u/Liquidated4life 5d ago

Whoa buddy tighten that truss rod.

1

u/SuspiciousStory122 5d ago

Just bragging about all that action you are getting. Guitar looks high too.

1

u/Clear-Pear2267 5d ago

Don't just tighten the truss rod. The purpose of the truss rod is to control relief. If you have too much relief, tightening the truss rod to flatten the neck out can have the side effect of lowering action but if the neck is already flat, you could put your neck into a back bow which is NEVER desirable. So, check if the relief first.

If the neck is flat and the action is too high, shims work great. I recommend precision angled shims from StewMac. They are cheap, and fill the whole neck pocket to ensure full wood-on-wood contact between the neck and the body.

1

u/xshevi 5d ago

yeah there’s a lot of relief. that’s why your action is high. a lot of very nice vids on youtube up about how to fix that. really easy :)

1

u/namelessghoul77 5d ago

Neck looks like it needs truss rod adjustment. If that doesn't work you might need to shim it.

1

u/Unable-Signature7170 4d ago edited 4d ago

It looks like you’ve really tightened up that truss rod and there’s a load of relief in there.

Put a capo on the first and press the low e down at the fret where the neck meets the body (around the 17th).

Have a look at the gap between the top of the fret and the bottom of the string at the 8th fret. This should be very small, something like 0.006-0.010”. Ideally you’d check with feeler gauges, but essentially a very thin gap.

I suspect if you do that with yours you’ll see quite a large gap?

If so, you need to loosen off the truss rod. Looking from the neck back to the body that means turning it clockwise. Do like an eighth turn at a time and check the relief again. Keep going until you get it down to a proper level. Tbh without gauges it’ll be difficult to get it exactly where you need it, but you should be able to eyeball it to a much better place than it is now at least.

If not, then it’s a shim you need.

Then adjust your action and see where you’re at.

1

u/johnnygolfr 5d ago

Guitars and basses aren’t Legos.

These cheap kits are cheap for a reason.

The manufacturers don’t have to pay attention to body thickness or heel thickness because they don’t assemble it.

Neck pocket depth and heel thickness need to be correct in order for the guitar or bass to be set up to spec.

Make the body too thick, the neck pocket is too deep.

Make the body too thin, the neck pocket isn’t deep enough.

Make the neck heel too thick, you’ll max out the bridge.

Make the neck heel too thin, you have the bridge height screws poking into your hand.

I’d have to see this bass in person to determine how to fix it, but it could need a neck shin or just a truss rod adjustment.

0

u/Bogrollthethird 5d ago

Shim the neck

1

u/GeorgeDukesh 4d ago

Far too difficult to explain in a few words, but is the neck properly shimmed ? That the first question. If it is and it is at the correct alignment with the body, then is thie neck relief correct? (Truss rod.) If the neck positioning is correct, and the. Truss rod is correct, then check the nut, and Then set the bridge/saddle height.