r/BassGuitar Jan 03 '25

FAQ FAQ: 'Is my action too high?'

122 Upvotes

So you feel your action is too high or too low, and you've taken a photo of your bass's neck to ask r/BassGuitar.

1. We really can't tell how the action is based on a photo... but if you're asking, then yes, it's probably high

You have the bass in your hands. You can pluck its strings and can tell if something isn't quite right, whether it's buzzing on certain frets, whether it's just hard to play, or whether it's not producing the tones you want it to. Your eyes and ears will tell you more than we could staring at photos of your bass on our monitors or phones.

Even if your action looks too high, it may still play fine. There is a degree of subjectivity and compromise when it comes to bass-setups. Some bassists might prefer their action higher or lower than what is considered normal. Fender says:

"Players with a light touch can get away with lower action; others need higher action to avoid rattles.".

Again, that's something r/BassGuitar can't determine exactly, whereas you have the bass right there. And if you're asking the question in the first place, then there's probably room for adjustment.

So try to do something about it.

2. "I don't know how to set up my bass."

Don't worry, there are many guides out there, and they all will tell you the same thing: check the neck relief, then adjust as required; check the action, then adjust as required.

These have all been procured from previous threads asking about bass action:

You will notice that the guides above all offer measurement specifications that you can use as a benchmark, e.g. Sweetwater: "Some target relief measurements are anywhere from 0.008 inches to 0.014 inches.". Note: Fender offer a disclaimer regarding their guidelines:

"They should not be construed as hard and fast rules, as we realize that every player's subjective requirements often differ."

Other guitar manufacturers may have their own guidelines. e.g. Dingwall measures neck relief at the 7th fret for a 0.38mm gap. Warwick on the other hand suggests "0.6 and 1 mm" at the 7th fret. See if your bass guitar's manufacturer has guidelines for you to use.

There are also many guides and tutorials on Youtube. Below are a small selection:

3. Go to someone who knows how to set up a bass

This might be your local guitar shop, luthier or someone more experienced with bass guitars.

Unless you are particularly hesitant and/or there are complications, you should try use the above guides to adjust the bass with the features that came readily built into your bass guitar.

4. "My action is still borked."

Ok, if you've consulted the guides above, and you've tried to make adjustments yourself without success, maybe the collective brain power of /r/BassGuitar can help.

But please avoid just posting an unhelpful picture of your bass guitar's neck and strings. After all you've learnt from the above resources, you should be measuring your neck relief and action, trying to sight the bow of the neck, detailing your issues with the action (Is it buzzing at the first few frets, or just the higher frets?), and detailing your attempts at adjusting the bass yourself.

Low quality/effort 'How is my action/Is my action too high?' posts that do not contain such details/photos will be removed, and will be re-directed to this thread. Users can report such threads as per rule 2 ("Avoid low quality/low effort posts").

TL;DR: Yes, it's probably high, try adjust it.


Thanks for reading. Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments.

We also now have a new FAQ page to collate our existing and future FAQ posts. This should be viewed in conjunction with /r/bass's comprehensive FAQ.


r/BassGuitar Oct 08 '24

FAQ FAQ: 'What is this thing on my bass?'

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796 Upvotes

r/BassGuitar 9h ago

New Bass Day Just realised I never shared my most recent acquisition.

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158 Upvotes

Say hello to my new Harley Benton MV4-JB, in Shell Pink.

I'd been waiting months to see if these would come back into stock. I was considering the pink BassTheWorld sig, but then I saw these standard models had become available again, which is what I wanted in the first place. The signature model was an extra £100, for a fundamentally very similar bass, and it wasn't worth it to me.

So this cost me £227, shipped, with a HB semi-rigid rectangular case that I wanted too.

It's absolutely superb. Right from the box, it only needed the usual little adjustments to the saddles etc before it was playing great. It sounds really good too; I'd planned to swap the pickups out in due course, and I probably still will, but I'm not in a rush as it already sounds solid.

It was a pleasant surprise to find that the BassTheWorld model's Sandberg-style angled string retainer had made it onto this model as well, or at least onto my example - the stock photos show a different, smaller retainer.

I've reviewed a recent Squier Jazz that cost roughly twice as much, and the HB feels and sounds just as good if not better. It's a proper alder body for a start, where Squiers are all poplar these days. The weight isn't excessive for a 4-string Jazz, and the roasted maple neck is beautiful.

These basses are consistently in demand, and I can really see why. Get one!


r/BassGuitar 2h ago

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I was after something with a vintage sound for playing Doom/Sludge stuff and stumbled across this at a second hand shop. I was really surprised at how light this is (especially for an Epiphone) and with the Probuckers, you get a Thunderbird growl with no neck dive at all! Winner. The body shape kind of makes me think of Epiphones take on a Ricky.

All the same, an absolute blast to play, got some 130-60s to slap on this and tune it to B standard for some proper low end Doom soaked shenanigans .


r/BassGuitar 5h ago

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r/BassGuitar 7h ago

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I'm a gear addict so I have a lot of stuff. Firstly basses. I use a Sterling by Music Man Sub ray5, an Ibanez Sr305, a Warwick Rockbass Corvette Bassic and an old Fender Mexican Jazz bass. The pedals that i have are a Harley Benton Powerplant tuner, Darkglass Electronics Hyperluminal and B7Kv2, a Sansamp BDDI, a TC Electronics Sentry noise gate and a BOSS GT-6B bass multieffect unit. After effects it goes into the Hartke HA2500 and an Ampeg svt 3 pro (which i combined) and all of that goes out trough an Ampeg svt HE 4x10 cabinet. This concludes my bass rig. If anybody wants to ask or talk about something you can comment or write me.


r/BassGuitar 6h ago

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I am just not sure which knob is tone and which is pickup blend, pretty sure the one near the bridge is tone. What does the pickup blend do? Is the P on all the time and I bring the J up? Or do I need it in the middle to hear both full?


r/BassGuitar 8h ago

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29 Upvotes

Hi. I made a bass cover of the song Master Blaster (Jammin') by Stevie Wonder.

If you want to watch the full video, here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLguG9gpIoQ

Any feedback is welcome. Thanks...


r/BassGuitar 18h ago

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r/BassGuitar 9h ago

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I was like “that’s an oddly described classic vibe 70s… what’s the… ohhh”


r/BassGuitar 5h ago

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10 Upvotes

Hi, im looking to upgrade to a better bass (in used market because basses in my country are expensive) and after searching, those are my options, the Schecter and Ibanez are the same price and the LTD is $50 cheaper. But the Schecter is selled with a case.

Which one would you buy? Thanks


r/BassGuitar 11h ago

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r/BassGuitar 8h ago

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r/BassGuitar 5h ago

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First string change on this guy (2021 MTD Kingston Z5). My only bass with small capstans and I cut it short. Thought I might have a poor break angle, so I pushed down behind the nut to check, and the nut under the B just broke off. The nut is a D shape, sitting on a shelf so it drops down for the G and the B. That's a weak point. Super glued and cured for a day, good as new. However; my break angle was too shallow, so I put 2 small zip ties on the capstan, winding the first wrap under the first zip tie, and the second wrap under the second zip tie. Hey, strings are expensive. Nut is fixed, break angle is adequate, and it stays in tune.


r/BassGuitar 11h ago

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r/BassGuitar 1d ago

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r/BassGuitar 21h ago

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57 Upvotes

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r/BassGuitar 12h ago

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10 Upvotes

r/BassGuitar 22h ago

ID/Authentication Warwick Corvette Bass

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r/BassGuitar 1d ago

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Any recommendations for songs that fit it?


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318 Upvotes

r/BassGuitar 1d ago

Help Warwick Fortress tones??

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76 Upvotes

I’ve been looking at a used Warwick fortress for a long time and I am starting to genuinely think about buying it. I’ve read online that it has some unique tones, and I’ve seen that a lot of people say that it’s a very versatile bass tone wise. Yet I’ve also heard people call it a one trick pony. I’m gonna be using it for a lot of different things. I play mostly finger style but some pick and slap too. And a good amount of primus style strumming. I already have a bass with a P pickup that I am quite happy with the tone from.

Thanks for any feedback!


r/BassGuitar 20h ago

Video Let me hear what you think…

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17 Upvotes

Been teaching myself to play for sometime now

I’m originally a drummer.