Had the action lowered on my bass it was so high that a car could drive between the strings and the pickups LOL But now it seems like my strings are ringing everywhere and that I have lost all the progress I made I feel award, today was my first day with lower action is this normal?
9 Likes
You had a major change in action, @MonsieurFahrenheit . . . 
It may feel different because of that, so I’d give it a few days of playing to get used to the lower action before making any other changes. If it still feels strange, then raise the action up a bit.
Sometimes it takes some trial and error to get it right.
Cheers,
Joe
11 Likes
Ok its what I thought that it will be a few practice sessions before I am used to it I will practice again later tonight so I will see what happens…
10 Likes
Remember with lower action you won’t need to pluck as hard as before . . .
10 Likes
How I usually approach setting up the action, since I like really low action, is this.
I take bridge saddles to the lowest possible point, then I try out every fret of every string.
Since the buzz will be too much I start raising saddles each by full turn of allan key.
And repeat these steps till my ears & fingers are happy .
Of course with low action you will have some buzz, it only depends how much can you tolerate. Also height of a nut can potentially lead to issues with action.
And what is most important is your truss rod, if you want low action straighten you neck as much as possible.
10 Likes
yes truss rod was tighten so the neck is all good my intonation is perfect so its liek you said its new so how much can I tolorate and tweek as I go until its buttery
9 Likes
And yes I forgot, depending of price range of your bass, but it’s not necessarily, your frets might not be even, so that can also lead to a lot of buzz on a specific fret but not on others.
Thats also something for consideration.
10 Likes
good point its a Fender MIM Jazz 70’s style
7 Likes
Just keep in mind if you are doing the method you suggest then loosen the strings as you are raising the saddles. Just keeps unwanted tension off the neck.
4 Likes
Yes and also don’t want to snap my strings. Actually I had another hour session last night and it was much better. I still suck at muting but it was much better so I think I will be fine. Will keep updating. Thanks
7 Likes
If you dont do pops really aggressive and if you succeed in snapping a bass string you should get a custom badge here on forums 
3 Likes
Are you playing thru an amp, or a headphone amp all the time, or just playing the bass sometimes? there is a lot of noise, like clacking of strings, some buzz, fingers / strings hitting the pick up, etc. that does not come thru the amp, and even some that does, will not cut thru the mix if playing with a band.
The lower the action, the more of these audible noises you can get, making it seem like you are playing worse, when you may not be so much.
Just things to consider. I prefer low action, and I live with some fret buzz myself, due to aggressive playing with low action. When I record with a track, most of the unwanted stuff doesn’t get thru.
The stuff that will come thru is the string scratches, and ringing out, so muting and technique will eventually overcome this stuff, with more and more time playing, and with some focused practice to work specifically on these things.
3 Likes
Thanks for the reassurance I appreciate it. I had another practice yesterday afternoon for about an hour I was doing a more difficult lesson and I didn’t notice the noise that I did after I lowered the action so I think I am already adapting to it and things are going much better. And I am sure as my fretting technique improves (still sometimes don’t know what to do with my non-fretting fingers) and my muting improves it will become a non-issue…
4 Likes
When I lowered my action, I didn’t like the increased string noises and such I was getting. I found that turning the Tone knob down helped it sound more balanced again. It’s a personal thing, but easy for you to test and see what you think.
2 Likes
Things are actually really good it was just getting use to the change. Makes a big difference and the noise is not noticeable anymore I guess I got use to it and my technique is improving each day.
4 Likes