Warwick Tutorial: Adjusting Action

[@Tomcubus]

after two years of playing my corvette, i finally watched this video and attempted to fix my bass, and the difference is night and day. thank you so much!

[@maryerodrigo]

Because it i love Warwick!! The best bass company for sure!! Thank you

[@dizdozpurpleproductions]

I bought a used 5-string Corvette to 'semi-retire' my ancient Dolphin, and it has been a real dog to set up! I've been at it for a year and have hardly played the instrument because it just doesn't play well. I have now followed the instructions here to the letter, partly because in a last-ditch attempt to get it the play well I found I had to replace the nut because it was too worn, causing the open tuning on the B and E to be way off compared to the fretted tuning (might be something worth checking on troublesome basses). I have also come across a few issues setting up, but what I found might be of use to others! Firstly, I found that although the bridge and saddles were fully lowered, I still couldn't get the top G to lay on the neck. I mused on this for a good while before I realised that THE STRING WAS SITTING ON THE BRIDGE PICKUP! No wonder I couldn't get it low enough. Should've been a simple case of lowering the pickup, right...? Secondly, I found that the bridge pickup adjustment screws did not work, so I removed them and found that two of the brass ferrule inserts had popped out of their holes in the body, therefore the screws were simply rotating. I refitted the screws but also found that whilst the springs underneath the pickups might be a good strength for use on my car's front suspension, they were far too stiff and simply caused the brass inserts to pop out again when the pickup was lowered. I replaced the springs for similar sized softer rate ones I found in my garage, reinserted the brass ferrules and found I could then lower the pickup sufficiently to get all the strings to lay flat. I think the line "lower the height of the outer strings so they rest slightly on the bridge" should read "lower the height of the outer strings so they rest slightly on the neck" because as others have pointed out the saddles simply do not drop low enough, and there is no point in resting the strings on the bridge assembly anyway - they need to remain on the saddles in order for the string height to remain adjustable! I suspect that if ones strings are not getting low enough to lay flat on the neck then the truss rod is out of adjustment. This adjustment should be done first before anything else anyway. Thirdly, I have 'just' run out of adjustment on the E string; I cannot adjust the intonation far enough back to stop the octave and double-octave notes being sharp. I note on my bridge the low B has a shorter spring fitted, which allows the saddle to be pulled further back before the spring compresses fully, so I will fit a similar spring to the E saddle intonation adjusting screw when I next change strings. Incidentally, I set up my bass exactly according to the official videos. It plays perfectly but I dislike its setup intensely. My playing 'style' is a very percussive one with a super-low action, almost causing the strings to hammer against the fretboard when played. It's such a fine line between getting this sound and not getting fret buzz. I have now dropped the bridge to a much lower height than 'recommended' to about 1.5mm action across all strings. This works for me and it feels 'right' but I now need to go through the entire process again because the truss rod needs readjusting to stop fret buzz around the first octave. It appears that, for me, I prefer a slightly straighter neck. Good luck with it, fellow bassists. The Holy Grail of bass setup is out there somewhere :-)

[@nexttime4532]

note: please detune the strings until there's no more tension before adjusting the truss rod or any other screw in the bridge for string height and intonation. *especially* the truss rod , you don't want the tension of the bass strings creating and requiring unnecessary force to adjust components.

[@rmns1234]

I'm having the exact same problem understanding the instructions... What does "lower the height of the outer strings so they rest slightly on the bridge" mean? Even bottomed out, they don't touch anything but the saddles...

rmns1234 me too

[@danielstein5290]

I just lowered the saddles til they are bottomed out, then adjusted the whole bridge 2.5 mm (e string) then 2.0 mm (g string) Relief is at .05 thousands of a inch (almost flat)

[@literatetree8394]

He means the saddles touching the bridge

[@chuckhollins9891]

This video is awesome , this is my very first time attempting to do a set up on my own instrument , Warwick's tutorial is straight forward and easy to understand . I wanted my action lower on my Corvette 5 string and I did it with ease after watching the video .. thanks again Warwick and please continue to give us newbies the knowledge to work on our own 👍

[@BigeuleLP]

I did it like instructed and it got worse...

[@RigobertGumbs]

Can anyone recommend a store in Miami area that I can take my thumb for maintenance and settings?

[@rottingcorpse6565]

I have my bridge and saddles as low as they will go and the action is still too high. Someone help before i just go buy an ibanez or something plz

[@jaseborn5474]

the more i try to understand 1:45 onwards the more confused i get

[@basmeyer22]

Totally agree, it just is too rushy at this and other vital steps

[@User-zd3rf]

What do they mean under "inner" and "outer" strings.???

[@rmns1234]

Thank you for the tutorial! Still, I can't lower the saddles/bridge of my Streamer Jazzman 4 string far enough that the strings would touch the fingerboard - even when saddles and bridge are bottomed out, theres still more than 1mm between 24th fret and string - even though i followed your other video to correctly set up the neck before...

[@16YearsInHell]

Same here.

[@elvisminerva]

Me too ...

[@SuperEddietv]

Ditto.

[@GuitarHackery]

My dudes I figured it out! I had to unscrew the middle screw on each side of the bridge completely, then the bridge lowered itself with a sudden pop.

[@ronaldo1950]

thanks, I even setup my warwick very well

[@phillipsoares]

16mm string spacing ? 16,5mm string spacing ? 17mm string spacing ?

[@sondevirofficial]

thanks warwirck for everything.

[@kharvan2173]

what about fretless bass?

[@craigmack-cv3cp]

I ain’t doing nuttin way dude does in this video including tightening that saddle screw . The video says to loosen strings ? So if I set a bass up with loose strings when I tune bass after making adjustments the action will be much diff then when I did adjustment . I do it my way which is trial and error . I don’t tighten saddle till I got bass right

[@hellionstrike]

Hey this was really cool but id love to know how to set up my 6 string warwick corvette fretless. I would imagine it wouldnt be exactly the same. Iv tryed to have a go at it but im struggling to get it nice.

[@hommel_almeida]

where I found this kit of the luthier? i'm Brazilian and i want buy

[@maryoh7128]

This is a warwick thumb. What is the full name and year?

[@insertanynameyouwant5311]

where can I find such a wrench for truss rod? Those that come with bass are small corner-shaped and not handy

[@AbhiBass96]

They should come with the Bass when you order it or from a workshop closet to you. Best take your Bass and find the suitable wrench that fits your instrument-type.

[@edgarmascotorres2238]

Recomendación el audio también lo escuchamos la lengua española

[@Splatman17]

What's the model number of the bass being adjusted?

[@DirtyMikeOnTheMic]

How much do you detune the bass? Like a step down on each string, or is it more significant? Thanks

[@FramusWarwickOfficial]

Dear DirtyMikeOnMic, there is no specific step for the downtuning. Just loose the strings so you can make the adjustments. Cordially, Anne

[@danielbas]

I have broken the 1st string near the tuner after repeatedly loose and strengthen it several times. Do not loose the string too much to avoid making the string fragile near the tuner. Loose the string by rotating the tuner by 360~720 degree is enough to make the adjustment, in my experiment.

[@Dikad132]

Can you pleas make such a video for you fretless bass's as well ?

[@brunovelez3295]

And fretless bass?

[@AlexDr4c]

Hi, just one quick question. We must raise the bridge and lock it, and then tune the bass right? Or it should be the other way round? Thanks 😀

[@PeregrineTrousers]

Interesting... How about fretless? I had real issues adjusting the truss-rod, it just wouldn't shift. Wound up bending the neck over my knee before the nut would turn. Made in China.

[@brunovelez3295]

To reach the final height, the bridge is slightly tilted. Is there a problem?

[@becketthor]

No that makes sense, the strings are different guages

[@16YearsInHell]

I have every size but the 1.5 mm allen key :'(

[@RitchieRosson]

Damn that 1.5!

[@bingbongdingdong867]

Lulz, I have not this bridge type. Warwick printed right on it, though...

[@MrLordHasta]

Why don't they make these for Fender basses? :(

[@RitchieRosson]

Hello in 2019!

[@bderivan]

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[@bderivan]

@@RitchieRosson kzbin.info/www/bejne/qpaXZZiNjclspsU

[@NiceBassist]

how do you adjust the action on a fretless bass?

[@nybassgod]

Here’s an original solo bass composition of mine on a Warwick.. Thank you for checking out! kzbin.info/www/bejne/rpe8n3qYq5mtjdk

[@blindhouse83]

what does he mean by "lower the height of the outer strings so the rest slightly on the bridge." In the video he's raising the saddle while he says this. I don't get it.

[@jean-noel9037]

first , unscrew the saddles to the minimum --- they touch the bridge . Then lower all the bridge so that the string slightly touch the fingerboard at last fret. Do this for the E and the G . Then , adjust the saddles of the 2 middle strings so that they slighly touch the fingerboard ( the same way the 2 others ) . This is to follow the "curve" of the fingerboard. After that you can adjust the height of all the bridge ( both sides ) and you don't loose tne curve.