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It has become apparent that using the tab software is not my forte so I will be leaving that to the pros. My area of expertise is the mechanical side of the Bass Guitar, so you can come to me for technical support. I will post some threads to get the best from your bass and therefore your bass playing
I'll start with a question.. What can I do with my bass without taking it to a pro, to get the action as low as possible?
Ok Johnny, you need to check ‘Neck Relief’ first. Tune the guitar then fret at the first and last frets, there should be a gap in the middle of the neck about 0.5mm from top of fret to bottom of string, too big a gap, tighten the truss rod one quarter turn clockwise and keep checking. No or not enough gap, do the same but anti clockwise. Tune up again. Using an Allen key, lower the bridge saddles evenly, there are two grub screws for each saddle, until all the strings are as close to the frets without touching. Now tune up again and play each string at every fret and gradually raise the saddles until all the strings play without buzzing. This is the quick and simple method, you could buy action gauges and a set of understring gauges but your results will be just as good without them, as long as you check neck relief first you can't go far wrong. A small fingerboard radius, eg, Fender, will need a slightly higher action to prevent the strings ‘Choking’ on big bends. Hope this helps, my Stingray has a crazy low action without any buzzes, that's why I love it
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Ok Johnny, you need to check ‘Neck Relief’ first. Tune the guitar then fret at the first and last frets, there should be a gap in the middle of the neck about 0.5mm from top of fret to bottom of string, too big a gap, tighten the truss rod one quarter turn clockwise and keep checking. No or not enough gap, do the same but anti clockwise. Tune up again. Using an Allen key, lower the bridge saddles evenly, there are two grub screws for each saddle, until all the strings are as close to the frets without touching. Now tune up again and play each string at every fret and gradually raise the saddles until all the strings play without buzzing. This is the quick and simple method, you could buy action gauges and a set of understring gauges but your results will be just as good without them, as long as you check neck relief first you can't go far wrong. A small fingerboard radius, eg, Fender, will need a slightly higher action to prevent the strings ‘Choking’ on big bends. Hope this helps, my Stingray has a crazy low action without any buzzes, that's why I love it
Ibanez's are like Music Man's in that sense. They have insanely low action without the buzzing. Only difference, I think Ibanez Basses are lighter than Music Man Basses. My Ibanez 5 string is so light, I forget I even have it on me.
Yeah you're probably right, MusicMan tend to use Ash a lot which isn't very light but have you ever played a Rickenbacker 4001? They are made from Maple and weigh a ton! Speaking of Ibanez, my lead guitarist owns an Ibanez Jem that once belonged to Steve Vai, he paid £10,000 for it!!!
I have a question if you can answer it. Is it possible to change one of the pickups of my ibanez SR-300 to a jazz pickup? Both the pickups are precision but my fathet has a modded ibanez with 1 precision and 1 jazz, just interested if thats possible for mine too.
This has to do with wiring. On my Tbird, the bottom knob the treble, makes a whole lot of noise when turning it. That's wiring right? Is it something easy me and my dad could fix or should I take it to my music store and have it done?
It's not the wiring, it is the pot (potentiometer) that is turned when you turn the knob. Sometimes easy to fix with contact cleaner. Sometimes you need to replace the pot. I'm sure Marko will have more details for you.
But if you bought new, it has a lifetime warranty, doesn't it? Might be best to take it back to the shop and have it fixed under warranty.
I bought mine used off Craigslist. It is from like 2008 or something
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I have a question if you can answer it. Is it possible to change one of the pickups of my ibanez SR-300 to a jazz pickup? Both the pickups are precision but my fathet has a modded ibanez with 1 precision and 1 jazz, just interested if thats possible for mine too.
The answer is Yes, apart from the obvious routing of the body. The Jazz pick up has the same wires as the Precision, the slightly thicker black wire goes to the left tab on the volume pot and the white earth wire goes to the right hand tab. The middle tab is the output to the next pot. Your new Jazz pick up might come with four or five wires for parallel switching and as your Ibanez has 3 band EQ you will need to take notice of how it is wired
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