Setting Up Your Bass Guitar: Adjusting The Truss Rod (Step 1 of 4) | ELIXIR Strings 

After 10 years, this continues to be the best series on guitar setup available on RU-vid

As a beginner bass player these vids help a ton. My Ibanez sounded like shit and after following this guide it sounds amazing. I was a little scared to do it myself but its really not hard at all so long as you take your time and are careful.

What a relief

This guy is the only one on RU-vid that does this correctly I see so many other videos of people claiming they know what they're doing and they have no clue Mr Caruthers videos have helped me out tremendously over the last 10 to 15 years this guy's spot on thank you

Your instructions are easy to follow and to-the-point. Now I set up my own instruments, and I know they're done right. Thank you, John.

John and I met in 1983 which is when I bought my Stratocaster from Carruther's Guitars. Since then all works done to all of my guitars have been performed by John and everyone of my guitars, acoustic and electrics are perfect instruments. Thanks you John, Rick and all. Happy and Safe Holidays from me to y'all...

This set of 4 tutorials on bass set-up is fantastic but there are a few additional points that some players who are new to doing their own set-up might not realise. Keep in mind that the bass should be tuned to concert pitch (or a step down if you prefer to play in a lower tuning) from the start, and keep re-checking the tuning (on every string - not just the one you're working on - because tuning affects the tension on the neck) throughout the process, right to the end. And in the step where he shows that the nut might need filing down, if you're measured height is lower than the recommended spec, you might need to replace the nut.

This guy is fantastic and really knows his SH!T... I have been all over uTube watching all sorts of idiots trying to show you bass set up. This is the most straight forward easiest to follow info on proper set up. All you need is basic tools and a feeler gauge set that cost $10 from Home Depot, Harbor Freight, Auto Zone.... And a tuner!

I used to find the idea of adjusting my own bass (particularly truss rod adjustments) quite daunting. This series of videos really helped me. Was also very pleased to find that most of these tools and gauges are quite easily and cheaply available online . Thanks

"Most people don't have three hands" got me.

Thanks John and Elixir for making these recordings. Every few months when I buy a new set of strings I watch them again.

This is a great series - authoritative, clear and straight to the point. Such a refreshing change from the long drawn out and vague waffling that mars so many RU-vid vids. Thank you and well done.

These 8 year old videos helped me out a GREAT deal. Thanks!!

Most people don't have 3 hands..awesome.. the series is informative and you don't stutter, stammer waste my time while giving the info. Thanks, dude!

recently purchased a new bass that had been "set up" by the store. I've never adjusted a bass before, but followed these instructions and it is amazing how much better it plays & sounds. No more rattle, no more buzz. Thank you!

Good stuff. I bought an inexpensive bass with a lousy setup and using these easy to follow videos I got great results

Been my bass guy now for 36 years.

Brilliantly explained John, many thank. As a complete novice with a first bass guitar that has strings about 4 ' from the neck ;-) , I have the confidence to approach setting the guitar up myself after watching your excellent and extremely clear explanation on what to do

I've owned a capo for 30 years, today is the FIRST time I've ever used it. all this time I thought it was for people to lazy to learn how to play chords besides G C and D. now I have a third leg AND a third hand. THANK YOU

The only friggin' decent explanation on the whole internet - thank you :)

this series is the best and easiest i've found on youtube! i feel confident to try it now. thank you Mr. Carruthers

Holy sh*t! if your thinking of trying this...your wasting time by NOT getting it started! these four videos are priceless!!! i just got a bass about six months ago and it never really felt right. i kept getting string vibrations no matter what i tried. turned out to be a really overtightened truss bolt (it took over a full turn to get it right...wtf B&B?). now it sounds like a bass should...and much more fun to play! thx John C., you rock!

"most people dont have three hands"

Spot on. When I started out, nobody would even talk about this until you and others like Dan Erlewine

An easy way to remember the correct sequence for guitar setups is T.R.A.I.N. Tune. Relief (truss rod). Adjust (bridge height). Intonation (string length). Noodle (play every string at every fret). It's also important to remember to tune the guitar before and after each adjustment.

Just set up Fender American Standard Jazz Bass and only took about 40mins! Went to Harbor Freight Tools and got the proper tools for under 7 bucks! Saved me from spending $70-80 to have someone set it up! Great videos! Thanks!!!

For people asking questions: 1. yes, your bass must be tuned before taking measurements. 2. yes, you should loosen the strings before adjusting the truss rod. 3. tune to pitch before checking neck relief. 4. you only need to check the E string for relief, not every string. 5. all tools are available in motor car stores or on the internet

i realized, after playing a friends bass, that i had such a hard time playing mine because my strings were literally half an inch off the frets, this tutorial really helped, thanks! p.s. managed to adjust the truss rod without the capo by using my elbow to fret

Most people don't have three hands! Love it! Good video, very informative.

I didn’t have a feeler gauge so I found that two index cards was about 0.4 mm and that worked fine for me

This is such a badass. I live in his town so I was looking around for solutions to fret buzz, and wondering if I should just take my bass in to him since he did a great job on my guitar... and then the first video I click on, there he is. XFD I'm fucking dying

Thanks for sharing your expertise - just ordered your book!

Yeah. You'll always get more from learning to setup your instruments yourself. For one, you care about the result a whole lot more than Joe Schmoe at Guitar Center. Secondly, you save money. And thirdly, you gain valuable experience and knowledge and an a deeper understanding of how your instrument functions. I changed out the pickups and setup my guitar myself. It was a troublesome experience learning how to wire the pups correctly, but I'm so glad I learned to do it myself!

I just set up my bass for the first time after watching your video, John. :) Thanks for this 4 part series. My bass is playing smooth like butter. Again, Thanks!

i use this video everytime i can't remember the correct gauge thx S2

"your gonna need an Allen Wrench" k got it "your gonna need these other tools" k, guess my bass isnt getting fixed...

I saw a really cool acronym once or set up order of operations. T. R. A. I. N. Tune, relief, action, intonation, noodle.

"Most people don't have three hands", I am only 2:30 in, and I've already learned something useful! :). Seriously though, good stuff!

These four videos helped me turn a cheap bass into a decent one. Thank you! All it takes is a little patience and visual attention to detail, right?

I'm a novice at the bass that this was very helpful. Thanks

Thank you for this video. Just got a Squier CV Jazz Bass with some really bad buzz turned out the truss Rod was very tight. These videos have been very helpful and informative.

Revisiting this again. Now I know more about the feeler gauge!

Sweet! My bass plays awesome, now. Instead of the feeler gauge, I did what the British guy in another video said, imagining just fitting a piece of paper in there. Thanks.

I'm so glad I found these videos. I received a $99 bass yesterday. The bridge height is way off. I've always had better quality guitars. So this was never an issue for me until now ! Thanks John

Hey I'm a Caruthers too... Love playing bass also 😂. Thanks for the tips 👍

I just wanted to say that this evening I followed this guys steps to correctly set up my Fender J and P basses. Wow. What a difference. I'd urge any players out there to buy a capo, 32nds ruler, alen keys and feeler gauges and do this job yourself! No sense paying a guitar tech £45-£80 to set up your bass when you can do it at home just as well. This has transformed my jazz bass from a buzzing mess into something I can honestly say sounds like a different bass. Thank you!

F it, I ask only 2 questions and not One person replied or tried to help me! That was 12 years ago! I've since joined 2 bands and recored on 2 records as a session bass player!

I could've sworn you have to let the bass rest a while after making each truss rod adjustment....Is this guy a magician or something?

An extremely useful instructional series. My only point of concern, as it is a pretty commonly advised step in these guides, is the use of the feeler gauge to measure the distance between the fret and the string. There's simply no way to do this and get a reliable result as the human hand introduces a significant and immeasurable degree of variance. You can even see in this video where he wobbles the angle a little bit. Trying to get it perfectly flat with the fret and not introducing an angle, whether due to the gauge bowing or due to the fact that a human hand can't be brought to mechanical stillness, seems a vain attempt at shooting in the dark and has been so in my own experience. I'd be happy to hear any input on this that some readers might be willing to share.

For those who don't have a feeler gauge, I've seen some use a piece of paper folded up 2 times. Regular printer paper is approx. .003" so 4 plies is .012, not perfect but it works

Just adjusted my 1994 Japanese P-Bass using this video. Flattened the action out quite nicely. Thanks!

Excellent 4 part guide! I bought the proper tools and followed the guide. It made a world of difference with regard to playability. John, many thanks for explaining the dark art of bass setup.

You do a very good job of explaining each step in a very clear, understandable manner. Thank you.

I still going back to these video series whenever I forget how to setup my bass. Thanks Mr. John Carruthers! For those who want to follow this series: STEP 2 of 4: BRIDGE ACTION HEIGHT ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-c2DlwxSIPA0.html STEP 3 of 4: NUT SETUP ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-cI9Y9MsmnEc.html STEP 4 of 4: INTONATION ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-FC30nJgIAJM.html

Thank you so much for uploading these videos. I ran out and bought a feeler gauge and 6" scale (already had the other tools) and followed along. My bass has never sounded better! These vids made it so easy I'm still in awe. John you have my thanks, you rock!

It's just like watching a Bob Ross video. So calming.

I respectfully would add a step and make it #1 before the others - check the frets with a fret level tool - it might save you the from the issues I had after performing all the steps twice - fret buzz in the higher frets. I thought I had done something wrong so I redid everything before I finally realized I had a problem with my Mighty Mite neck frets. Also you might hit an instrument where you have to "bend the rules" a little for playability - I'm working on a "Frankenstein" bass so I had to shim the neck slot to get it right. John gives us great info for most basses and his knowledge is invaluable - thanks for sharing.

Thank you so much!!! My truss rod was soooooo loose. It really made a huge difference!!!

Quick and easy explanation. This rules thanks!

Good ol uncle flexed some real muscle in 12 seconds...guy knows what hes doing

I would absolutely love to let this man loose with my bass collection. If only.

2007 Mexican P Bass. I just checked my 2016 Am P Bass Pro, and it looks like it was set up pretty good.

A wonderful video series. Poetry.

Now... this is what a pro looks like 👍

Nice, thank you!

Thank you for a fantastically clear, concise set of video tutorials on setting up a bass guitar! I have fiddled around before and never really nailed it, but your videos have changed all that. I thought I'd try it out on a cheap Precision copy I have before touching my genuine Fender bass and this copy now plays better than either my Fender or Rickenbacker basses! AAA+++

Very helpful! Thanks John! I had some fret buzz when playing on the first 3 frets, and this totally solved the problem.

I found that re-adjusting the truss rod after you completed the setup makes the action a bit better.

I have over adjusted my truss rod and snapped the truss rod. Had to get a new neck. Brother that sucked....

these videos are absolutely invaluable, and things like this make me continue to buy elixir strings

His specs are a bit higher than Fender specs. I setup my Fender Jazz using his exact same recommendations. The action was quite a bit higher than was comfortable for me but it did ease the tension on the strings though which are Rotosound swingbass 66.

Great vid.

Thanks John,Very Clear........

I LOVE THESE SO Gosh D. MUCH!!!! THANK YOU!!!

Thanks for the Video John.

that lowkey joke sayin "most people don't have three hands" really got me... HAHAHAHAHA nice one sir.

Thank you sir!

Thank you John! I've set up my bass following your video

Very good job! May I suggest that you put a link to where we can get your book?

“You might wanna check with somebody who does it on a regular BASSIST!”

Thank you!

Lol it got me at "most people don't have three hands"

I'm glad I found this channel! I've been playing bass for a few years now and I've started to realize that maybe my bass doesnt sound as good as it could. I was looking at the nut action just a few minutes ago (which led me to looking up something like this video) and noticed that my strings seem to hover just above the first fret... It's really easy to hit a note on that fret but it seems way too low. I think I'm going to look up a luthier. I wonder if Guitar Center will have one among their staff?

Thank you for this video, I own a thunderbird so it's different in some ways. This video really helped me on my set up for it. Brilliant!! I've shared with my Facebook group , this is the go to vid for some us do it yourself guys. Thanks again!

That makes such a huge difference, if you’ve ever played a buzzy junk bass you know what I’m sayin, Terrible action could discourage a new player.

Excellent series and very informative and easy to follow!

Yes, it's looking from the headstock down to the body.

Just a reminded to lefties, you will turn the wrench opposite how he is doing it; in this case you would move it up not down to loosen. Other than this one adjustment everything else is the same for left or right hand instruments.

all you need for this is an alan key and a capo. super easy. i just eyeballed the measurement thing. totally fixed by buzzy string situation

Brilliant. I have been looking for a decent setup tutorial for ages and this one is easily the best. Everything else seems daunting and fails to explain that you need to do things in a certain order. Only daunting thing on this one is filing the nut, but if you don't change string gauges this shouldn't be an issue, right?

its where the neck meets the body, it could be any fret depending on the scale length.

thank you guitar wizard

Thank you. This worked beautifully.

thanks for truss rod refresher

my bass needed this so badly, thank you very much

This has been a great help. Thanks so much!

Where does the spec come from? Why. 015? Is there a fender manual or something that says what it should be? Do all basses have that?

I purchased John Carruthers book to set up your base and it's just as he explained in this video. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🗨️🤓

It helps to have a "spare" bass to practice on, so if you make mistakes (and you will) it won't break your heart. You could even buy an el cheapo pawn shop bass to play with and get good before trying the same thing on "your baby".

Never knew about the "playing position" Nice tip...