Do I need a setup?

I’m pretty new to playing bass, a couple weeks, and just finished B2B. I hadn’t thought about getting a setup cause of lockdown, but not sure how to tell if I need one. I’ve been playing with relative ease (I think) but would appreciate any thoughts. Thanks!

1 Like

Congratulations on completing the course. Hope your play has improved significantly. How’s Billie Jean :slightly_smiling_face::slightly_smiling_face:? I’m just on module 11 and I’m cringing to come back and tame that beast!
As per setup… a pro might have to take a look to know if you do need one. However, I did setup mine over the weekend cos it just didn’t sound right. My G and D strings were buzzing slightly at every pluck even without me fretting any note. I also noticed that on my E string, notes in the 1st octave were slightly different from same notes after the 12th fret. So intonation was off on that string.
So if you don’t have any of those issues and your current play is sweet, I guess you just keep enjoying the ride until the lockdown eases off.

2 Likes

Some of it is personal preference, action, how high or low you like the strings. Intonation will tell you if you really need one or not. Check the notes of your bass in and down the neck with a tuner, starting with the octave at the 12th fret.
If you find it going out of tune up or down the neck, then you will need that done.

There are plenty of good threads and YT videos that can show you how to do your own, with pretty common tools.

1 Like

Thanks for the help!

Slowly getting my speed up on Billie Jean… its a tough one for sure

3 Likes

Hang in there, you will get it when you come back to it later in the course, or after you complete it.

1 Like

Sounds to me like you don’t need one! :+1:

If there was something ‘off’ or bothering you about the way your bass plays, then you’d know you needed some adjustment done.

Also, in my humble opinion, if you can learn to play you can and should learn to do basic setup, it’s not that complicated. (But I enjoy that stuff and some people don’t.)

4 Likes

+1 to everything @infra said!

You may not need one, but getting into the setup know-how for your own bass is like knowing how to adjust mirrors and seats in a car.
You can drive all blind and cramped… but there’s a way to make it smoother! Better!

5 Likes