Make your bass play like a DREAM! (5 basic steps)

[@marcocelestino4308]

can this apply to an electric guitar ? can you do the same video for an electric guitar ? this is extremely detailed and very easy to understand

[@stewmac]

Yes! Same basic process. The measurements will be slightly lower on a guitar and you can usually get away with a straighter neck, but the steps are the same order.

[@TedSchoenling]

a bass is just a big 4 string electric guitar, all the moving pieces are the same. You'll have to be aware of different bridge types for adjusting height and intonation but the process is great. and yes they did a wonderful job of explaining a setup

[@Egluck1]

Yup, principles are the same, but in some ways more critical as the guitar is played in more areas of the neck generally than a bass. Things that are not noticeable in an acceptable bass setup would possibly be problematic in a guitar setup as guitarists bend strings a lot more than bass players so that 3rd dimension of crossing the radius with the strings comes into play a lot more. Maybe Gene and I can do a guitar setup video one of these days! You can hear the 10 things i know how to play on guitar that I use to test the setup. They are atrocious but effective. :)

[@squirelova1815]

"I'm using Shadow and Light..." Evan says to perfect the nut height. Now THAT is some Yoda Matser level of expertise if there ever was: "Shadow and Light use you must for the Jedi's action to adjust." What an inexplicable pleasure it was to see Evan do this for us!

[@paulfield6815]

Awesome video and what a gorgeous looking bass!

[@joeygoenaga]

Hey gentlemen, thanks for the entertainment video, and sharing the impressive knowledge and experience; I wish to have a set up like that for my instrument in Florida, specifically in the Jacksonville area... Thanks again 👍

[@user-tu7um1oe9t]

This is possibly the best set up video on the platform.

[@Egluck1]

So glad you liked it!

[@elvisjones4773]

I’ve been scared to try to setup my guitar. The truss rod particularly scared me. Not any more. You’ve demystified the whole process for me. The best setup video ever. Thank you 😊

[@charlieburns1385]

This definately the most comprehensive set up lve seen Thanks much👍💯

[@SameFly365]

I mean this in the best possible way… this felt like watching the music version of “this old house” loved it

[@senhornobre1292]

This is what we can call a public utility video for any musician who wants to learn the basics about adjusting the instrument they use, be it a bass or guitar.

[@jcisme]

Thanks gents, loved this.. Backing off the saddles before putting on new strings is amazing advice.

[@kerryburnz7853]

Probably the best, most detailed and not boring set up video I have ever seen! Great job!

[@stewmac]

Thank you! It's never boring when Evan is in town...Glad you liked it!

[@Egluck1]

So glad you liked it!!

[@S0METHINGWILD88]

Only a few minutes in and you guys have already been a ton of help.

[@imperfectsguitarsounds]

I'm a guitarist but recently i bought a cheap bass. I think it had a very good value for money. But it had one major issue, like many cheap instruments, the setup. Thanks to this video i was able to make a very playable instrument. So, thank tou so much to share this type of content, they are very helpful.

[@jacobsmith1877]

You guys are awesome for making such quality content. Major point to clarify though - you really need to check tuning before and after each truss rod adjustment. It could have been tuned way too sharp to begin with which was causing the bow, then you went and tightened the truss rod and the strings would go even more sharp. You have to continually adjust tuning during a setup.

[@OlBillyBobBoy]

I'm amazed at how much flattening my neck affected my TONE!

[@davidhamilton7780]

Great video, many thanks. The tip regarding the "A" string was a winner... but I would add that it is worth the 30 seconds required when setting up a Fender-style instrument, to check that the bolts securing the neck are solid before proceeding.

[@mjmason75]

This is one of the best videos regarding guitar set-up that I've ever seen. Thank you!

[@harleyfine-gv8sl]

Hey Evan!! Long time.....Evan is the best guitar repair guy out there!!

[@davidg5898]

Love how you cover advanced mode (eyeball/feel) and novice mode (measurement) at the same time without being overly technical _or_ condescending.

[@stewmac]

Thanks! We felt the two approaches complemented each other very well.

[@Egluck1]

I thought it was a great demonstration of both ways! Not sure whose way is more advanced though! :)

[@musicmann1967]

Evan is amazing! I used him for many years. In fact he sold me a bass when he worked at Manny's WAY back! Feels like I've known him forever. Geographically, we no longer align, so I need to use someone else now, but I'll always think of him as the very best. This is a great primer video.

[@stewmac]

He's been around a very long time!

[@DokterRekt]

This was really informative, I setup all my basses and have done so for years, but I still learned new things. Great mix of moving back and forth between objective measurements, and developing your own feel to identify your preferences.

[@chadsmithpaintingsYT]

Thank you for doing this! It was very interesting too see your different views coming together 👍🏻

[@chrispreston1825]

Evan is the king. I've used him for years and years.

[@Egluck1]

Thanks Chris!!!

[@stevebrockman4090]

Great tutorial, lays out the proper way to set up a bass in the correct order. The additional tips are also very useful. Great job guys!

[@ipguyman108]

This is the best set up video! Have seen many..

[@stewmac]

Thank you so much! 😎👍

[@Egluck1]

Thanks! That means a lot to me! Gene and the Stewmac crew are just fantastic to work with!

[@jfrysinger]

Even has set up all of my guitars. He is a master at his craft! Happy to see him on here.

[@Egluck1]

Thanks so much James!!!

[@luctoulouse]

I watched the video and was able to confirm that I had a back bow in my neck, which caused a buzz on the first and second frets with the E and A strings. I wasn't sure if the nut was too low or too high. Thanks a lot.

[@anyday82]

These two are the best, I hope they do another episode! Well done gents!!

[@ChrisDaSilva]

Evan is great! He set up a bunch of my guitars and always did an amazing job.

[@stewmac]

We love Evan!

[@Egluck1]

Thanks Chris!!!

[@michaelanthony9068]

This being the StewMac channel I believe this is gospel, and I notice you adjust the truss rod and saddles without de tuning. I always de tune to avoid stress on metal parts, but great to see that it’s not necessary. THANK YOU !!!

[@fenegroni]

The Best video on bass setup. Thorough, concise, includes great tips, troubleshooting, even entertaining! Really went above and beyond! After watching this video I fine tuned the setup on my bass which was already pretty good, but now it’s perfect for me!

[@oleskadovbush-ik3ng]

This was awesome!

[@mikeenachos]

Evan's the man, hope everyone enjoy this! I always think about what Evan says when putting on strings every time i have a bass on the bench

[@Egluck1]

Thank You!!!

[@MrIrekK]

Gents, many sincere thanks for this video. I’ve been setting up all my 7 basses to my comfortable very low action playing style. However, I learned a lot of new and very useful tricks from this video! Many thanks and God Bless you both ❤

[@stewmac]

Thank You!!!

[@RJMelling]

Excellent video and also great camera work, nice one! Been doing my own setups for years but I love your tip about moving the saddles back before intonation. Gold.

[@johnmcvicker6728]

Great video. Just got into the bass journey. Bought a nice but inexpensive bass (markbass yellow MB JB). I think I will take it for a setup rather than pick up the right tools (gauges and good files) for the first one - cost of tools would be 1/2 the cost of bass. I guess that new guitars and basses are sold setup high (esp. nut). Truss rod was easy to do but the nut and filing are a step I want to let a luthier handle. Doesn't seem hard but use proper tools and don't file too deep or end up using the powder/glue fix.

[@mp9228]

Indexing the bottom of the nut slot is genius. Thanks

[@RoadhawK66]

What a great in depth video, just what i needed for my 4 string!

[@victorstellaris7148]

Great info. Thank you

[@rockereb]

A must watch! Evan is the best and highly respected in our field for good reason. I learned his bass setup in a class, and that’s how I do it now and bassist love it. If this isn’t how you do it, don’t make comments, simply restart the video and take notes!

[@Egluck1]

Awww shucks! Thanks!!!

[@SrinivasBulusu]

A perfect DIY tutorial ! Thanks guys !

[@aitordotco]

The video quality is superb.

[@DrSlick]

Good job on the video!!

[@ChiliMcFly1]

Thank you very informative

[@RobMods]

I train techs, and respectfully, you guys left out a very important piece of info, especially for beginners. When you adjust a truss rod, the guitar must be retuned to check the results of your adjustment. For example, if the guitar is at pitch with a significant up-bow, and you tighten the rod to get the perfect relief, you are also sharpening all the strings. So when you retune, the neck will lose that relief and likely have a back-bow. So "ABT" with truss rods too... Otherwise, cheers for another great video.

[@Egluck1]

Hi Rob! Good attention to detail! You are correct! Missed it in the excitement, nervousness of being on camera! With the amount of relief in that neck it probably went up an octave! Keep fighting the good fight with training techs!

[@RobMods]

@Egluck1 Thanks again Evan. If you were nervous, you hid it well mate. You are a natural on camera!

[@stewmac]

That is a fair point for sure. ABT applies everywhere...Thank you!

[@RobMods]

@SuperGaia01 I work for a large importing company. As senior technician part of my role is training junior techs. I'm afraid I don't offer private tuition, however there is a video on my channel where I cover the set up of a John Mayer strat in quite a bit of detail. This may get you started. Good luck with it!

[@neilmacmusic]

depends- not only are you talking about microscopic differences -but if your neck has too much relief and you tighten the truss-rod to straighten the neck you are actually Increasing the neck length from where it was! (and therefore microscopically increasing the string length i.e making it flatter not sharper)

[@marcellob.8893]

Gene, Evan and StewMac, thank you so much for a fantastic all-encompassing tutorial. I can delete all of my other bookmarks.

[@Zane_Doe]

Always learn something when Evan Gluck shows up

[@stewmac]

He has many tricks up his sleeve!

[@Egluck1]

So glad you got something out of it!

[@TheBassfresh]

I use a piece of stew-mac shim stock that's .012 between 1st fret and the underside of string and it's a perfect gauge every time, better than what I once used which was a business card.

[@jeffreystroman2811]

Thanks gentlemen, a very informative video and with a few nuances i had previously not known

[@RVADrummer]

Phenomenal video guys... thank you! I usually do my own bass setups and you pointed out some areas where I was making errors in adjustments. Kudos to you!

[@evanmcknight2566]

Some really helpful tips in this video. Thank you.

[@SuriSanJose]

Beautiful bass! Thank you for this. Setup videos are always awesome. Can't wait for Tomo's 65 Mustang refretting video.

[@Egluck1]

So glad you liked it! Me too and the Tomo guitar! It was in the shop when we shot the video!

[@bluecrueful]

Evan is the real deal...I have visited him many times!

[@strikninestudios6885]

Best setup video I've seen so far. Great job gentlemen!

[@jamiecoxe7327]

This video was amazing. I learned so much.

[@nnuunnooc]

Thanks for your time putting this video together, this is very informative. Great to see Evan, he’s one of the best Luther’s out here in NY, highly knowledgeable, honest and kind person 🙌

[@Egluck1]

Awww shucks! Thank you!!!

[@mikebchannel4329]

24:10 Downward pressure of A string.Thank you guys.My A string always rattle at C ,3rd fret.I'll try this method.

[@michael_caz_nyc]

Great stuff. Clearly explained and highly-informative. Thanks = stuff like this is Necessary.

[@stewmac]

Thank you for watching!

[@Egluck1]

Thanks so much!!!

[@oliviergagnon2592]

Thank you for this video. My bass needed a little bit more setup and I have found all the detailed info I was looking for. Awesome ❤

[@jimmymucho]

The a string nut trick is killer! Great video!

[@stewmac]

Yes, it's a good one...Thank you!

[@neilfradenburgh]

Master Class! Thank you gentlemen, the bonus tips regarding the stabilizing groove in the A string slot and the wick-tip on the DeOxit are great.

[@stewmac]

Thank you so much! So glad you found it useful. Those were two tips we (the StewMac team) didn't know about either! Evan rocks.

[@LagloriadeJuan]

Deoxit tip is gold!!!!

[@sevenpro]

Thank you for a crystal clear, understandable video! I'm now a subscriber!

[@jezharrop888]

Aewsome video. Thank you so much

[@pauldraffan8097]

FAB video, great to get a perspective from a player and non-player and very descriptive as to why you may need to adjust a bass and how to do it, think I have a new hobby.

[@stewmac]

Thank you!!!

[@anthonyhall9453]

Thank you guys, this is so very helpful, giving us the confidence to setup our instruments. Following your advise and bought my PU foam, and radius gages from StewMac. Appreciate the wax on the screws tip, as hardwoods are notorious for snapping screws.

[@stewmac]

Awesome! Best of luck with your future setups, you'll get better and better each time you do it. Thanks for the feedback!

[@davidtownsend1039]

FANTASTIC video!! Thank you.

[@Gregster1234]

Great video

[@JohnnyAndrew-n9v]

This was a good video guys. I like the nut adjustment , part. Thanks

[@stewmac]

Thanks for watching!

[@parisdblack1711]

AWESOME VIDEO, THANKS GUYS!!!

[@4stringz.]

Very helpful. Thanks StewMac!

[@stewmac]

Glad to hear! Thanks so much for watching.

[@Egluck1]

So glad you enjoyed it!

[@4stringz.]

@@Egluck1hi Evan!

[@Metalbass1979]

This is an absolutely excellent explanation. I'm getting ready to set up my Lakland for a European/African tour in March, plus a few U.S. dates in the works. Thank you for posting this. By the way, I've noticed that the older I get, the lower my nut height seems to be. 🤔

[@GuyManley]

Would have been cool if this video was out when I set up my first bass. Good thing I bought a 2nd bass recently. Gonna have to go back and do the 1st one again but better.

[@mattrodela2030]

Great tutorial. Thank you very much.

[@user-ir2bj3re1z]

Thanks guys. Very informative 👍. I love these videos on guitar and bass set ups. I learned some new tips and tricks. Keep em coming😃👊

[@stewmac]

Thank you so much! We've got a lot of great content coming soon!

[@neilmacmusic]

excellent video! Some great pointers which i'll be adding to my processes thank you ...and i looove Miracle Cloth! -Its impossible to find here in Australia and in my shop i have an ancient stash of lemon scented Miracle cloths i found on ebay 10 years ago...still getting thru them!

[@gwawd]

Extremely useful. Thanks for sharing!

[@stewmac]

Awesome, thanks for watching!

[@staringatrudeboys]

Thanks for putting this out fellas, it was really helpful

[@stewmac]

Glad it was helpful! We tried to pack in as much info as possible!

[@JoeSam-i1d]

Thank you very much. may god bless you .

[@jacckv1952]

This is the best bass set up resource out there. Thank you both!!! I’m hoping someone can answer a question about 5 string basses for me. I’m struggling to intonate the B string. I’m having to set the saddle all the way forward (towards neck) and still not in tune at the 12 fret (aka the note is till flat) It should be back behind the e string saddle in theory. All the other strings are right on.

[@Egluck1]

Thanks for watching. Sounds like a bad string to me. Have you tried replacing just the Low B?

[@AA-MusicVideos-zs1nu]

Great to find a vid where they got the sequence of steps in the correct order (IMO).

[@EricMerrow]

Thanks so much for this video! I've got a short scale bass that I've been troubleshooting a constantly dead low E string. Maybe the bridge intonation trick (pulling the saddles back before installing new strings) will help remedy my issue. Fingers crossed

[@Egluck1]

Hi Eric, try lowering the pickups as far as you can and see if it is any better. The low tension on short scale basses can sometimes make an E or low B problematic as the magnetism of the pickups can literally grab the string and impact its vibrations. Good luck!!

[@EricMerrow]

@@Egluck1 thank you for the suggestion! I’ll definitely try that.

[@simonphoenix9475]

Cheers! Well Done!

[@garrycope8923]

I've always done these adjust when ever I've changed string gauge. I've gone from light gauge to heavy as well as round wound to flat wound.

[@annegpsy]

Great, thanks A LOT. It makes me cautious about doing this as a beginner, but it's good to understand these things. Btw when will you convert to the metric system 😂🎉

[@theloothgroup]

Evan is Awesome !

[@Egluck1]

No, you awesome!

[@simonpaulengland7833]

ACE...! Really cool, nice wishes people......!!!!

[@freakbiker]

Haven't seen Evan in years, cool video

[@moonelfcosmo]

The best bass setup video I’ve ever seen. Thanks! Cool too ‘cause I have the same Jaguar bass.

[@stewmac]

They are very cool basses...thanks for watching!

[@Egluck1]

Wow! Thanks for saying that, means a lot to me, and Gene and the Stewmac crew are just the best to work with!

[@cornerliston]

Lovely. More bass guitar makers should do as e.g. Sandberg and include the A string in the string retainer.

[@6ev]

Отличный туториал, я сегодня так свой джаз басс наконец таки настроил нормально. Прям другой инструмент сразу.

[@danilobriz8499]

tons of tips, thanks a lot.

[@facelessman7733]

Leo Fender is said to have carried business cards in his pockets everywhere he went. He would use these cards as shims for his bolt-on necks. Perhaps some advice on the use of shims to set the angle of a bolt-on neck would be helpful as well. Thanks for sharing.

[@stewmac]

Yes, that is a great point! If your saddles are adjusted as low as they will go but your action is still too high, then you need a shim in your neck pocket. We sell precut tapered shims for guitar and bass and you can find videos on our channel about using them, but business cards work too...we've even seen picks in there!

[@Egluck1]

Yup, just not enough time to go into the shims. I do use the Stewmac ones a lot though! Great stuff! I used to make them myself but time is money in the shop!

[@1234drums]

Thank you very much for sharing ❤❤❤❤

[@aminahmed2220]

Absolutely awesome have a wonderful day ❤😊

[@stewmac]

Thank you for watching!

[@Egluck1]

Thank you!!!

[@TedSchoenling]

"this is glue, strong stuff" I caught the Blues Brothers reference there.

[@Egluck1]

ABT "Always Be Tuning" was a reference to Glengarry Glenn Ross ABC "Always Be Closing"

[@parisdblack1711]

😎

[@callanhulett503]

Great video. Could you do one for classical guitar setup?

[@stewmac]

Great suggestion! Yes, we will put it on our To Do list 🙂🤘

[@sharkman4928]

Great video guys!!!!

[@stewmac]

Thank you!🤘

[@Egluck1]

Thanks!!!!

[@mustafaornek6689]

Awesome! Thanks.By the way , bass pickups series and models? Sound is great.

[@heavyd9154]

Outstanding

[@stewmac]

Thanks!!