There is no limit to perfection 
If you get to the nut, consider the abm nut and post again before purchasing.
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Do you have a Fender or Squire? This is a strong point of theirs, you can buy a nut (or any part with a few exceptions) to fit quite easily
Fender Players P Bass!
Interestingly, I noticed that he recommends a truss rod height of .015mm and the music nomad set I picked up recommends 0.08mm.
Maybe not a massive difference, but if there’s more height then it could improve the clanky feeling it has currently.
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$6.25 usd. Cheap
I would simply ignore the measurement and go by feel here. I never use feeler gauges; I simply adjust until there is a very slight amout of “bounce” on the capo’d/fretted string, and then check if it that feels right after tuning up. Fast and simple once you know what to “feel” for.
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I do this too now, but only after having done setup several times with measurements, so I understand what I’m doing.
Now I am setting string action as low as possible by setting neck tension more or less by measurement and ABM nut and bridge as low as possible (string touches frets), and then slowly set ABM nut (open string) and bridge (all frets) higher until it does not “buzz” anymore when playing…
So I want to thank EVERYONE who took the time to replay and share their advice.
I wanted to update you guys on how things are going.
I started to think about why things sounded different and I realized that there were quite a few changes to the previous bass I was playing:
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I now have a p bass with a maple neck, definitely brighter than what I was used to (rosewood)
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After following Music Nomad’s setup instructions (I decided to go with this because well, I bought their tools, so it made sense to at least try their method), the action is quite a bit lower than what I was used to before. Using the other methods, I had to sort of approximate with the tools I had which again, were Music Nomad’s set.
Sounds silly, but I think the clankiness is from the strings just hitting the frets. I was a guitarist in a previous life lol and that sort of thing wasn’t as audible. And if I’m not mistaken, that is sort of what gives a lot of a bass its tone… that “stank”.
I also don’t have an amp yet (on it’s way!) so I don’t even know if any of these extra sounds will come through anyway.
The frets don’t buzz when I play each one individually, which tells me any issues are more than likely poor (improving?) technique.
Considering the bands I’ve been mostly into use flatwound strings, I think I got used to hearing a more muffled/thumping bass sound than what I have now with nickels.
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World of difference playing bass by yourself and in a group. The nickels will serve you well in a mix, they will punch through better. And will grow on you.
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Yes great point!
There’s something to be said to doing my/own thing as well when most of the crowd is going in the same direction.
Not that I’m AGAINST flatwounds.
Maybe Fatbeams would be a nice compromise eventually.
I do want to give these dunlops a good run though before I consider trying something else.
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Never tried fat beams, do like the pure blues
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I heard a comparison of Hi Beams, PB, and Fatbeams.
PBs were a great balance of everything.
Fatbeams seemed to be especially meaty, while still being roundwound.
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Many, many nuts have grooves that are way too deep too. You shouldn’t have the complete string buried in the nut. The strings (except for maybe the G/C esp if you bend a lot) should only be about half the diameter into the nut.
If the strings don’t slide freely through the nut, you’ll end up with a guitar that goes sharp over time.
Can you explain this sentence?
When you tune a guitar, you should always tune up to a note so my statement assumes one would be doing that If you have excessive friction in the nut, when you get to the desired note, there will still be slightly more tension in the part of the string between the tuners and the nut which will pull the string sharp over time as it slides through the nut to equalize the tension. It’s common in guitars (esp 3+3 tuners) to go “ping” while you’re tuning them if the nut slots are too tight.
If your guitar is always sharp the next time you play it, it’s likely the nut slots are too tight and/or you need some lube.
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Ah, thanks!
Will check my nuts tomorrow for excessive friction
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LMAO…
I can’t resist laughing at this comment.
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If you use graphite, be careful where you stick the pencil… Big Bends Nut Sauce might be safer 
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Lol!
I have an abm 6240 brass nut on one bass, where the e string is 125. I already dremeled the gap wider to accommodate that string.
Perhaps I need to dremel a little more…
Make sure that the bottom of the slot is a nice smooth/round shape too.
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