self set up advice for a fortess?

P

PHILIFAN313

Joined
Jun 14, 2009
Messages
62
Reaction score
0
hello everyone! ok so im trying to set up my fortess one bass and im having some challenges with the neck. im trying to lower the action as much as possible but have several problems arrise every single time i adjust a part. first i lowered every string on the bridge all the way and it came out fine but the strings are still too high in the second octave of the fretboard for some reason. Then in attempts to correct that, i adjusted the truss rod as best as i could (wenge neck is rediculously dense and all most impossible to adjust) and then too much buzz occured on the first octave. (second octave was suprisingly still pretty high up). the g-string still remains to be too high up to the point where i cant get it to pluck right. should i quit messing with it before i f@#K it up and instead take it to a pro? i've adjusted basses before but warwick basses are new to me as far as a set up.
 
First,adjust your truss rod,then your nut,then you can move down to the bridge.
This link might help.
 
nice!! thank you!! im such a douche bag! i didnt know there was an order in which to adjust the bass.
 
If the action was too high above the 8ve, it means the neck was already too straight. Adjust the relief first, be sure that you have some bow in the neck :-)
 
ok so this morning i began to adjust the neck and the action was a whole lot lower. better than before but.... the E and G strings still seem to be a lot higher than A and D towards the second 8ve. what do you mean by adjusting the relief?
 
The reliefe is the upward bend,or bow,in the neck.
You need to adjust the truss rod so the neck is not completely flat,but with slight relief.Then adjust the nut.Then adjust the bridge.
Warwick basses are very adjustable & once you get a hang of it,it's easy to get whatever set up your little heart desires.
 
I know where you're coming from Phili, tried setting up my fortress wen i first got it - same kinda clueless effort - and man was it frustrating. Soon as i got it back in to position so nothin buzzed i just stuck with that and learnt to love it lol
 
tried it again this morning. much better!!! thank you guys so much! theres a tad bit of buzz but it sounds good. (its the sleek sexy buzz) its as low as possible and feels super comfortable. ;)
 
Remember that the lowest possible action doesnt always mean the best tone.
I used to be obssesed with having a low action,but after experimenting I found that a slightly higher action makes for far better tone,& you can be alot sloppier with your technique coz the lower the action,the more precise you have to play.
 
+1. And you can get used with a higher action pretty fast.

You know... if you are happy with this setting, just turn the big 4 screws on the bridge clockwise, one turn each, and try to get used with this setting for one week :-)
You'll be happier, I am sure.
 
sorry it took so long to reply, i have a feeling my neck was a little warped toward the E string side. :( i kept getting an annoying buzz when i started tuning it down a whole step. it sounded fine in standard but went to hell in DGCF. so i took it to go get set up! i hope they dont call me telling me its unadjustable :(. i'll keep you guys posted. they said i wont have it till tuesday which is the same night that i have a show.
 
Well thats pretty understandable. If you setup your instrument to have the action as low as you can get it in standard tuning, of coarse you are probably going to have some buzzing when you drop the tuning down a whole step. That would relieve the tension on the neck a little, less relief, and if it was already set to just above the buzz threshold before, I would imagine you will get some buzzing now.

If you plan to play in a drop tuning, you really should set your bass up in that tuning, that way, when you tune up to standard tuning, you should have no issues. Of coarse the action may be a tad higher in standard tuning but I would think the difference would be barely noticeable and would sure beat having a buzz.
 
true true. the buzz is mainly on the E string though and its not the nice one. it sounds horrible!! i've relieved and tighted the neck and neither one worked. :(
 






I play mainly DGCF. In EADG I always used a
gradual, rather uniform string height increase
from the 'G' on thru to the 'E'. But in DGCF, I
usually end up with the gradual increase only
from 'F' thru 'G' plus a bit of a "bump up" for
the 'D'. An E-string tuned to 'D' is just more
floppier, not as bad as a B-string, but similar.

​


 
Last edited by a moderator:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top