I hope this vid helps you nail your first setup! If you’re an experienced setter-upper (?), please share your favorite tips you wish you’d known as a n00b to help out the bass fam. 🎸

babe wake up bassbuzz just uploaded the exact vid that I need

Man, you really are the bass dad we all need.

I got a bass for Christmas, a squier precision bass. I’m self taught and I always thought that maybe my technique was bad and that’s why sometimes the notes buzz, but after doing all these steps that you mentioned there is little to no buzz at all. Thanks for these tips, really helpful!!

From my experience: 1. Lower the string height a bit (too high and it's hard to play, too low and it buzzes) 2. Brush lightly and polish the neck (the original finish is often sticky) 3. Invest in good strings (most factory ones on cheap basses are shit) 4. Tune the bass properly, adjust the saddle as needed 5. Play a lot and revisit the setup in a few weeks Cheers!

Special note for owners of Rickenbacker basses (such as 4001, 4003): 1) If your truss rod needs adjusting, it's a nightmare due to the awful design 2) If your bridge needs adjusting for string height, it's a nightmare due to the awful design 3) If your nut needs adjusting, no special issues except for this being a job for a pro anyway 4) If your intonation needs adjusting, it's a nightmare due to the awful design 5) If your pickup height needs adjusting, it's just like any other bass. As long as you've removed that plastic pickup cover over the bridge pickup, the removal of which is a nightmare, due to the awful design...

Learning to do my own setups was a total game changer. I spent a lot of years playing basses that were NOT ideally setup because I didn't have resources to learn and I was afraid to mess around and learn the hard way. Thanks to KZfaq and videos like this my instruments have been much more playable for years now.

Well c'mon now... a squire precision is hardly a shitty bass

These tutorials you make are A+. Little or no movie director background music, fun and funny, snappy and we don't need to see your beloved dog. But most of all, talent as an educator and of course bassist. thanks

I watched 3/4 of the way when I realized I don't have a bass...

In 2008 I adjusted my truss rod and crashed the economy. Never again.

Instructions unclear... I dropped the bass and now my grandma is breakdancing

Another good test for the nut height is to use a tuner. First of all, make sure the bass is properly intoned at the octave/12th fret. Once you are happy with that, then hold down the note at the first fret. You will probably find that it's a little sharp if the nut is set too high (it's almost like you're bending the string just to fret it). Setting it right makes it so much easier to play as well as making it sound sweet. It isn't too hard to do this yourself with a set of nut files if you can afford them. Just remember there's no turning back if you go too far (well, there's a couple of fixes that can work, or buy a new nut; a good excuse for an upgrade).

This video actually saved my pbass. I was going to sell it for half the price out of frustration...all it needed was a trust rod adjustment. Safe and easy thanks ❤

Finally a lesson that explains the whole process of a setup, not only the how, but the why as well and what expectations you may have once each step is performed! Thanks from an absolute beginner.

I have no clue why I thought eating soup through this video is a good idea. Almost spilled some of it laughing multiple times.

I have always loved doing setups. Being a lad of low funds back in the mid 70s, learning to make my budget pieces play as well as possible was very necessary.

In my time selling basses I was blown away how much better a lot of squires were set up than MiM fenders. Some of those things had high enough action for hippies to slack line on

I hate it when adjusting my truss rod causes economic downturn... 😢

The amount of detail and clarity is incredible! Thanks Josh!

Thank you, Josh, for making our days better with your videos 😎

Excellent. You have taken control of your own bass playing comfort. And showed everyone!

Never condescending always pleasant always helpful never feels and never feels self serving . Favorite bass channel

Best setup walkthrough I’ve seen. Thanks for making it clear.

Can't believe you didn't mention "righty tighty lefty loosey" mnemonic regarding truss rod adjustment. Sounds dumb but it truly works :)

Such a great video. It's time to finally check the bow of my neck. I've been afraid to touch it, but you have given me courage.

This video came just in time for my first "in the box" Squier (before, I only played a used one, which was already set up for a music store's display shelf). Following the Josh's steps really made a night-and-day difference for what an out-of-the-box bass feels like to play. Thanks, Josh.

"Pickups are these magic blocks created by wizards to transform the vibrations of the strings into amplified bass sorcery." 🤣🤣

Thanks, what a great resource your channel is. I did the truss rod check just now and discovered my bass needs to be tightened a bit. And now I know how easy it is to do that.

This has to be one of the most helpful tutorials I've found on my journey into the lower frequency world (and I've dug deep!). It covers everything I need to know, and having spent a couple of years struggling to play a guitar with an awful set-up in the past, before giving up on guitars for the next 50 years, this is going to save me so much grief when my new (second hand) cheapish bass arrives next week. My sincere thanks from across the Big Pond, BB!

I recognized “Higher and Higher” at 1:40 instantly because of your fantastic course 🙏

yooooo the turquoise jazz is my exact bass model! made me smile to see it in a video haha

Really good video. Most other videos on the subject of bass setup tend to be overwhelming or intimidating. This, by contrast, eliminates all the extra nonsense and confines the discussion to the essentials. Great job!

Hey Josh - I just want to thank you for this video. I recently had my bass set up by a local shop ('cos I was afraid of the truss rod), but I wasn't happy with the job. Instead of going back and forth with the shop, I FINALLY overcame my fear of truss rod adjustments (thanks to you) and, following your awesome guide, was able to get my bass very comfortable to play. Your step by step instructions were super easy to follow. Thank you again SO much!

So VERY helpful and informative while being entertaining at the same time, thank you! Got my first bass/first electric guitar this week and out of the box it has a terrible buzz but even after reading what I could I was still uneasy to start doing adjustments beyond just tuning. I feel much more confident on how to approach this now. BassBuzz, count me as a fan (and subscribed)!

Just wanted to say that you’re one of my favorite bass channels. I used it when I first started, and I still use it to see what else you have to say, as well as forward it to my beginning friends.

Thank you for this. Setup was always super scary for me and I basically never touched anything. This was the first resource anyone has ever made that makes it actually easy to understand and doable lmao

Hi Josh, I followed every step carefully and now both of my basses play like a dream -a 4 string Fender PJ and a 6 string Ibanez-. I can't believe how simple it was and how well it turned out, just like a pro (and you also saved me a lot of money!) Thank you so much and greetings from Argentina!

I've had my bass a little over a month, and did my first ever truss rod adjustment a few days ago to eliminate some fret buzz. As I was retuning my strings, I noticed that my pickups were a little loose, so I mentally congratulated Ibanez on their *excellent* quality control and tightened the screws down. When I played it the next day, I noticed that not only was the fret buzz gone, but my bass just overall sounded better, too. Mellower, but more ring-y. More sustain, you might say. What an amazing truss rod adjustment I had done 😃 Now I know that the improved sound was actually due to me lowering the pickups.😅 I'm so glad Josh posted this video and I never told that embarrassing story on the internet.

I just bought a bass ukulele, worked out the tuning is the same as a guitar and found your videos. Every time I watch and play along with one, I end up almost transported with joy at how accessible you make it all. I've been wrestling with guitars for 25 years, and yours are the first videos about stringed instruments which truly resonate with me - to such an extent that I've even worked out that I've actually been fitting some fairly intense basslines in my 6 string playing, and although I've only been playing the U-bass the inside of two weeks (at this datestamp), I'm so much further along with my little bass than I could've dreamed; you've also helped to finally unlock looking for alternative notes and counter-riffs, and I'm even rapidly progressing with Tabs! I progressed so far in the first week, that my local music advisor has invited me to play the bass in their Uke Group - and I've already written/conceived TWO different simple (and obviously simple and naive) basslines for our next full rehearsal! ...and anyone thinking that this sort of thing can only happen up to a certain age needs to think again. I'm 61. My FORTY year old self would be jealous of this. My TWENTY year old self would think I'm one of the coolest old farts on the planet. You're part of me discovering myself, and rediscovering life and all that stuff - like one of those corny movies. Hell, yeah, I'm subscribed, and I'm glad to 'meet' you. Thank you so very much.

Incredibly thorough and helpful guide, Josh. Thank you. I have always taken my guitars to a good tech, because good techs are magicians, but I’ll run your tests here on my bass to check the setup.

I remember when I started playing, grooving out my LTD with a B string to make it a BEAD bass, and then when I went back to E had all these issues until I swapped the nut. Still never knew the card trick until now, wondering how many other of my axes have this issue. After 20 years and an arsenal of different styles, you literally covered every BASS. Thank you and it looks like I have to repeat this process 17 times now!

Thanks for this, Josh! It helped me finally nail my setup. Telling us where to fret when measuring and especially how to pull up on the strings when adjusting for intonation. This was like my 3rd or 4th setup, but it came out perfectly. (Former Beginner-to-Badass student here, by the way. TOTALLY recommend it for people just starting out!)

This is a Fantastic Video that covers all the Bass adjustment mysteries You MUST know!!

Excellent video guys, you got it all covered, and correctly for that matter. The hardest part of setting up the bass for me is getting the volume even across strings. It's easy to do with P-style pickups but beyond this, rarely do pickupas have pole pieces arranged exactly as they should in order to follow the contour of the strings and the end result is that you need to ask yourself what kind of compromise you want between strings volume consistency and action consistency. Usually E and G strings need to be higher than ideal, i.e. they must have higher action in order to get more even volume.

I've learned a lot from your videos, but this one might be the best one yet! I bought a new bass that I absolutely love, but the E string was buzzing, and the B string buzzed a little as well. Checking the B string, it was also a bit flat at the 12th fret. I followed the steps in the video, and by raising the bridge height on B and E, and changing the string length on the B, I got rid of the buzzing! The bass feels amazing to play now, and I'm happy I didn't need to take it in for a setup.

❤ Amazing, I just set my friends' bass yesterday, but completely missed some tips on 4th step and that last! Oh boy. Love you.

excellent video, been playing for years and still learned a few new things

Thank you for such a comprehensive video, this is so helpful!

I set up my $79 Glarry Jazz Bass and spent a little time sanding the neck and fret edges, reshaping the dorky looking head, and now it plays and sounds as good as some expensive Fender Jazz Basses. It was my first bass and the one I learned to play on l. it has a particularly sound I love and I wouldn't trade it for a real Jazz Bass.

The intonation part changed my whole view on tuning. No wonder my bass sounded ok open but bad when I played... Thank you!

never thought i would have fun playing bass until i followed your steps, thanks sm dude!

Thank you so much for this, I'm setting up an inexpensive bass and the action is sooooo high. This will be useful to make it more fun to play.

I just picked up a used 5-string bass. Now for the setup! Just subscribed!

Thanks so much for the explanation. I took my bass into a shop recently because I have no knowledge of setups. Cool to be able to get an idea of what they’re doing and how to start doing it myself.

If you are adjusting the truss rod and it doesn't want to turn it can be easier if you loosen all the strings at the tuners and then adjust the truss rod. Just remember to tune everything back up again before checking the string height. Loosing the string can also help with adjust the saddles without scratching the bridge up. Yes, it tedious to constantly tune over and over, but sometimes them the shakes.

Finally ran with my idea, nice! Awesome stream Josh. Loved the interview by the way, you're still the most interesting and coolest bass channel on here :)

Keep 'em coming brother! Learnt heaps from this vid

Thank you for this. You helped me so much

Love that tidepool with the maple fretboard. What a beauty.

Very helpful. Thanks Josh!

Love your videos, man, even though I play a guitar, not a bass. The production is golden, tips are quite helpful - not to mention your sense of humor!

That was explained so perfectly. I enjoy doing all my own set-ups & maintenance on my guitars and bass. (add a little fret end dressing) and it plays like a Custom-shop. Great stuff presented here. oNe LovE from NYC

All done. It's like magic. Thank you SO much.

Great video, and it solved a couple of doubts I had about string-to-pickup distance. I watched a couple of vids on this issue, and they NEVER actually tell you about it. Sadly, my terror about messing with the truss rod remains, but this encourages me to at least try it sometime. I played my bass for a whole darn year, factory setup, and when I regained the use of my hands, I decided to beat the fear of tuning it myself. My second source of doubt and cowardice is also, intonation. I've had a couple of tuning issues lately, so I fear the dreaded moment of saying goodbye to my beloved strings is near. I guess it's the right time to be bold and neurotically dip into a well deserved setup...

I got the exact same Jazz Bass in same colour since 2017. I can't believe the buzzing wasn't me. I'm going to fix the bass this weekend on Stream and see how far I can get it. Thank you very much for the amazing help!

THANK YOU!!! In addition to the very useful advice in your videos, I appreciate your great sense of humor.

Thanks for this clear discussion on how to do this setup. I've gone down this road a lot and simply gave up.

The best bass setup video! Very helpful and informative!

I'm starting with a Squire bass, and gave it a full tune-up. The strings are low, no buzz, and is a dream to play. It's a good starter bass for the light price tag, will be ugrading as I learn. Cheers! ☕️

My CARVIN came from factory (17 years ago) in pretty good shape but the truss rod needed adjustment. Thank God I had a buddy who knew how! This video will help a lot maintaining my guitar. I’m really grateful for your channel, Josh! I re-watch and practice to a BB video about 6-7 times a week. Jamming.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for this incredible video. I would have needed this 30 years ago. 😂 I was always amazed when others played their bass guitar with ease and my fingers cramped up. As my son wanted a drum kit for Christmas, I got my old bass guitar out of the attic. I was amazed at how good a condition it was in. I put on new strings and set up the bass according to your tutorial and I couldn't believe it. THE BASS NOW PLAYS SO GREAT!!! Now, after 30 years, I'm playing again with pleasure, even if I'm a bit "rusty".

The editing in your videos is top notch

This is my favorite video of yours so far! It was worth stopping my house cleaning just to watch once it was suggested by KZfaq. Well, back to work I guess, then I can get to perfecting my bass!

I starting learning bass in 2004 (still learning) my co-workers at the time taught me about setups and different ways to do it and string changes. They didn't explain to me people usually dont learn that early on so I was surprised to learn that some folks are afraid to maintain their own instrument. I was doing my own setups before I could play a major scale. So fast forward 6 months and I was playing with another bass player. Been playing for about 10 years and clowned me for my cheap bass. We tried each others and he was surprised that mine sounded better and felt better. Not because mine was a better instrument. He didn't know setups were a thing. If the Fretted note is Flat move the saddle Forward towards the Frets.

This is great information. I'm very anxious about tampering with my bass setup in case I get it wrong, making it sound rubbish, and then can't revert back to what I had before.

Gonna have to watch this 50 times to make sure I get it, but love that you went through in so much detail. Still a little scared to try to do it myself though. :)

Great channel, dude! You have PERFECT didactics!

That shirt is awesome! Went to a Glenn Hughes concert last year and the very first song he played was Stormbringer. What an album!

FINALLY SOMEONE THAT EXPLAINS IT, Thank you Josh

I've been a bass player for 30 years and I have one bass, a Fender Jazz Bass, and I love how easy you make things, its very understandable that even a brand new bass player can really get to the next level of bass playing thanks to you! Love what you do and hope you continue being awesome!

I love watching setup videos because everyone does them slightly different. Its more an art than a science.

I want to say thank you so much, i have my bass (first instrument in my life) for 4 days now and i was stressing about my bass buzzing the whole time! One thing about me, if something goes wrong, and i dont know how to fix it, i give up veeerry fast. But i tried the steps you gave me and i think its better now, so thank you for calming me down :) also i prefer your channel over the fender play lessons 🤫

Excellent video, thank you.

I gave my tech sum bud and watched him do all these steps in an hour. It does really make a huge difference.

Wonderful video! I'm outta wreckin my bass right now! And I'm thrilled!

Thank you so much for this video. I have been searching for so many years for a video like this. There are some, but they use so many tools that I don't have or things are too complicated and not well explained😭😭

I really like the way you show how to set up a bass with simple tools, no special string height measurement tools and sorts. I play bass for 40 years now and I always did setups myself so by now I'm able to setup a bass without measuring, just by ear, touch and sight. Even though a standard way of setup is good, it all depends highly on the used strings and your personal playing style. I prefer a lower action because I don't play slap or pluck, fingerstyle only. I also prefer stiffer strings on a fretless because it makes playing easier and you can go with an even lower action. I also do nut work myself as I build basses too. One thing I should mention is that even if you have setup your bass perfectly, it still sounds cr**p... try other strings before anything else. I've had some basses that just didn't sound good at all, until I used different strings that made them sing. Patience is indeed a virtue.

Grabbed a sqire p bass for $150, used (but barely ever touched). Set that baby up and man, this thing feels like an $800 bass! Saved few bucks and it's now my workhorse

Thanks so much for this video. I bought my first bass about 9 months ago, and the music store said they set it up, but I don't think they tried very hard. I also recently switched to thicker 50-120 D'Addario strings and I've been having a lot of buzz for a while. Took me quite a while but it's feeling so much better and I was able to completely eliminate all buzz and get the tuning right for all the frets. You've been so helpful so far as I've been learning. I watched several of your videos to get started, and tried a couple other people's too, but you just make the best bass videos on the platform, no contest.

I just bought my first bass a week ago and i just discovered yesterday it was buzzing only when pressing the first fret. I was too scared to touch the truss rod so only went on the bridge adjustment. It removed the buzz but action became to high, so i finally decided to adjust the truss rod and readjust the bridge subsequently. Now its so much easier to play.

Thank you for this video! I bought a Danelectro Longhorn bass from Sam Ash, like, 14 years ago and never messed with it. Finally took it to a local tech a year ago who made some adjustments to it, but I still have a little trouble staying in tune. It’s got a wood bridge, which can make adjustments difficult. But I see professionals using this bass and it goes for $600-$700 online (not cheap), so maybe I just need to make ALL the adjustments you mention in this video. Recorded with it recently, and it sounds amazing, I just want to make sure it’s all set up properly.

Yay a new vid from Josh!

i had looked at some stewmac videos about how to do this but hadn't gotten around to it. saw this pop up in my feed and you guys make it straight forward and i don't feel i have to invest in some fancy tools from SM (although i wouldn't mind it) my bass sooooo needs this done as it's taking away from the joy of playing with the buzzing and whatnot.

Great video! I would have never attempted adjusting my trussrod otherwise 😅 BUT I did fix the buzzing issue with my strings. Thank you! 👍

dude - amazing vids. I mean - freakin good man. Under rated for sure.

Real awsome Josh! Thank you!!!

Thanks for helping to turn my convexed unintonated buzzy mess of an axe into a sterling stingray bass. I am a 20 year guitarist finally discovering the world of bass, and am having loads of fun learning the bass lines to the songs I already know on guitar. Dark necessities, Another one bites the dust, God of thunder, N.I.B., Carousel, the list goes on, they are finally hitting right after following the steps in your video. Liked and subbed.

Thank You man. Playing for 20 years and still take my bass to shop to get it set up...

Thanks so much Josh! Was finally able to remove the buzz from my B string on my musicman stingray! Saving this video for future reference 😁😁😁