The Disease ...
Or, How To Buy The Right Bass

By Jeff Berlin

A young bass player walks into a music store, his hard-earned money clenched tightly in his fist. He's ready to buy a bass and is thinking only of the joy it will give him to make musical sounds on a new instrument. As he walks along the bass display, trying to decide which instrument will suit his needs, the disease hits. His eyes get glassy, his legs turn to rubber, and his palms start to sweat. He has just become another unsuspecting victim of gotta-have-it-osis. Why? Because he just spotted the very same bass guitar his favorite bass player uses.

It's identical in every way: the same nuclear-meltdown paint job, the same stegosaurus-skull-shaped body ... even the same hole next to the pickup where his hero parks his upper dental plate while he shoots strained beets out of his mouth during the ballad. The kid is elated. He grabs the bass, gives the E string a cursory pluck--"feels great to me"--runs to the counter, hands over his money, and dashes out the door.

Two months later, the victim's disease clears up. He's figured out that the cables supporting the Golden Gate Bridge are easier to pluck than the strings on his bass, that the fumes from the paint job give him a headache, and that he's jammed his thumb twice in that damned dental hole. Besides, his fave bass god doesn't play anymore because he's dedicated his life to saving the crabs in Madagascar. What a scenario!

Okay, this is a bit of an exaggeration. But there are still legions of musicians who don't know what separates a good instrument from a bad one. You may be one of them, so let me help you. The bottom line is this: The only good bass is a bass that lets you play what you hear.

Any experienced player knows this. Weird body designs, garish rock & roll colors, and flashy decals have nothing to do with the quality and playability of a new bass. If you choose a bass that plays good first and looks good second, then you're a smart buyer who's way ahead of the pack. Quality is everything. Never forget this unless you don't care about quality--I'm serious--and you're only into playing for show. Some people are, you know.

This should be the end of the article. There isn't anything more to say about this subject, except that every guitar company on earth wants you to think its instruments are superior to those made by other companies. There's nothing unusual about this, and these days there are many great instruments available. You, the purchaser, are in an enviable position; you can pick and choose from dozens of different styles and features: 4-string, 5-string, 6-string, two-octave necks, graphite necks, copies of "vintage" models, passive vs. active electronics, exotic woods, different pickups, high-tech hardware, etc. So, first, you must decide what you need. How do you know?

Welcome to a symposium on bass-buying. Where does this symposium take place? Ideally, it should happen in the music store where you go to purchase your instrument. I'm going to give you some tips concerning your requirements as a purchaser and the store's requirements as a seller. It's really not too complicated, and I hope you will come out of this article as a more aware consumer.

The Retail World

First, some background. The purpose of retail is to make a profit; this is the American way and there's nothing wrong with it. When you enter a music store to check out instruments for a possible purchase, the staff of the store is prepared to sell you something from their inventory. But the salespeople should be willing to aid you in the task of selecting the best bass to fit your needs, not theirs. They should want to extend themselves to make sure you're a satisfied consumer and that the instrument you buy will serve you well for a long time. The salespeople should be knowledgeable, patient, and willing to go that extra mile for you. They should know how to explain things to a buyer who may not know the ropes. Sadly, this is often not the case.

When you enter a store either to window-shop or to make a purchase, you may run into a salesperson who does not help you in the way you need. Look for another salesperson. It's your money, and the last thing you need is a clerk with a star complex. I ask players about this in my clinics, and I can't tell you how many times I've heard about disrespectful salespeople copping that "I sold a guitar to Axl Rose and you're just a local putz" attitude. If you don't find somebody who can speak your language, ask to talk to the manager. If that doesn't work, then walk. There has to be another store within 50 miles of where you live that can accommodate you. Believe me, the trip is worth it if it will help you to find that special bass.

There's another side to this. You, the consumer, shouldn't push salespeople around. Often the store is jammed with people with some time on their hands who want to check out a few guitars. The salespeople may not have time to be with you right away because of the other customers. Patience! They'll get to you. If you're in the window-shopping mood, then go to the store about an hour or so before it closes. That way, you can take all the time you want to look around and see what basses are on display without bumping elbows with a lot of people. This is also a good way to get the "lay of the land" and see what the store has to offer in the price range you can afford.

Now, to the product itself. Here's a short story about how a bass is built, shipped to a store, and put on display. (I know this part really well, because I designed the Palaedium bass for Peavey, and I'm always in contact with their guitar-development people.) After an instrument is manufactured, the company ships the finished product to the dealer via airplane and/or truck. The instrument is bounced around in a packing crate, and certain parts can shift--for example, the truss rod (more on that later). Also, when an instrument is shipped, it's often subjected to different climates; it might go from a hot, humid area to one where the air is cold and dry. This, too, can cause some parts of the instrument to move or shift. When the bass arrives at the store, someone takes it out of its box and puts it on display. Sometimes, the store has a repair shop where the instrument is set up a little before being displayed.

Even after an instrument is set up by a store tech, it's still difficult to pick it off the wall and expect it to play the way you need it to play--even if it's a great bass. Why? Because no dealer can adjust the neck, pickups, and bridge exactly the way you need them to be set. They can't know your specific needs--it's impossible. This is normal in music retail. When a company says it makes the best bass on earth, what it's really saying is: when the bass is set up the way you need it to be set up, the company believes there is no other instrument that will do the job as well.

Your responsibility, as a consumer, is to make sure the bass you're considering is properly adjusted at the store. That way, you can make an intelligent decision about buying it. It's something like buying a house that's "perfect" for you--and then you change the decor, knock out a wall, and redo the whole kitchen. The house is perfect. It's just not set up the way you need it.

The ideal place to have a bass set up to your personal specs is at the store before you buy the instrument. The salesperson should help by adjusting your prospective instrument to the exact settings that will allow you to decide if you wish to buy it or not. This is where the problems start.

Problem 1: You're making more work for the salesperson, who may not want to be bothered with adjusting a bass (or basses) for you.

Problem 2: There is more of a responsibility on your shoulders; you'll probably want to try more than one bass, and each one must be set up for you if you're going to make a meaningful comparison.

Problem 3: You may make the salesperson angry if--after all the adjusting--you decide not to buy a bass.

If you're fortunate, you'll end up with a salesperson who has some compassion for a customer trying to make the best decision he can. They do exist.

Movable Parts

There are many more instruments being built today, and by many more manufacturers, than there were when I was a kid. Even so, the general design of the great majority of these instruments is not very different from the one conceived by the father of the electric bass, Leo Fender--although today's instruments are more sophisticated in their construction. Because of this common ground, an average-playing bass on the store's display floor can become an instrument that feels every bit as good as the $2,000-and-up basses. Even expensive basses must be set up to fit our personal playing needs. Don't let a high price sway you into believing that you're going to automatically play better and with more ease than with a less expensive model.

Why is this so? Simply put, there are three movable parts that can be adjusted to make the bass play exactly the way you want it to play: the neck, the bridge, and the pickups. This may seem obvious to you. Although these adjustable parts are certainly not a secret, I rarely run into bass players who are aware these parts ought to be adjusted in the store, with the help of a salesperson, as you're figuring out whether or not you're going to buy a bass. Most buyers of bass instruments just don't do this.

If it suits your style, a bass can be set up so that plucking a string is almost effortless. I have a low-action feel on "The Blonde," my old throw-together bass, and people who play it often flip out. Jaco wanted to buy it. I designed the Peavey Palaedium from the specs of "The Blonde," and it gets the same reaction. Geddy Lee played my Palaedium and he couldn't put it down. Stanley Clarke went nuts for it when I played with Billy Cobham's band and he sat in. These compliments can be attributed to the way I set up the action on my bass. The neck, the bridge, and the pickups are all adjusted to suit me, and it is with these three components that 90% of the feel of an electric bass lies. There is no one feel that's right for everybody, but there is a feel that's right for you.

Every bass with a wooden neck has a truss rod, a steel shaft inside the neck that helps to stiffen it and prevent the tension of the strings from bowing it. (Graphite necks, being much stronger inherently, do not have truss rods. I personally prefer wooden necks, because I can tweak the action if I want to.) The truss rod is adjustable. A properly adjusted neck, you should know, is not perfectly straight--although it can be awfully close, as mine are. The neck usually has relief, a slight up-bow to prevent the strings from rattling against the frets (see Fig. 1). By turning the truss-rod adjusting nut, you can alter the relief, and this has a profound effect on the way a bass feels. This simple, fast adjustment lets you raise or lower the string height over the fingerboard and the pickups. Buzzes may occur when you do this; this is normal and simply requires additional adjusting of the rod. Buzzes may also occur if the frets are uneven, and one or more may require filing. This isn't a serious problem, and any qualified repairman can level the frets easily.

The pickups usually have screws to hold them in place, and these screws can be adjusted to raise or lower the pickups to the exact height you want (see Fig. 2). You'd be amazed how many people don't know this. In most cases, all you have to do is take a phillips-head screwdriver and turn the screws a bit. Once again, it can produce an amazing change in the feel of the instrument when you're plucking the strings with the pickups at the right height. If they're too low, the output signal is weak and you will tend to overplay in an attempt to beat more sound out of the strings. (This is obviously incompatible with low action.) If they're too high, the magnetic field can interfere with the vibration of the strings and "choke" the sound. Either of these situations will make the instrument seem hard to play. A minor adjustment can quickly cure either problem--and if you've never experienced the feeling of properly adjusted pickups, then you're in for a pleasant surprise. The beauty of this is that if you play over the pickup, as I do, you can have a sort of "tabletop" feel under your plucking hand. If you brush your fingers against the pickup while plucking the strings, you may feel you don't have to use a lot of physical force to make your notes heard. Your hands are thus spared strenuous exertion, which should help you to avoid tendinitis and other problems. You will also have a lot more control over your sound and the note choices you wish to make. (Caution: If you loosen the screws too much, the pickups can fall out. This is easily repairable, though, and shouldn't cause any damage to your instrument.)

The bridge also plays a major part in the feel of an electric bass. Most bridge saddles are designed to be raised and lowered to adjust string height; this is often done with an allen wrench (see Fig. 3). Because the strings vibrate between the nut and the bridge, adjusting the saddles will affect the way a bass feels. (A footnote: You may not be aware that the replacement-parts industry began with the invention of the Leo Quan Badass Bass Bridge by ex-blues guitarist/inventor/guitar tech Glen Quan. In the '70s, Quan led the pack of San Francisco manufacturers like Seymour Duncan and Bill Bartolini who have made the replacement-parts business into the thriving industry it is today.)

Amazing Bass

By now, you should realize how important it is to have a bass adjusted in the store. The decision of what to adjust begins when you first pick up an instrument from the display wall. You may feel that the action is uncomfortable, so you ask the salesperson to adjust the truss rod. If the feel still isn't right, another adjustment is done, perhaps with the bridge pieces. This continues back and forth until the bass has reached the optimum adjustment for you. Only by going through this adjustment process can you discover if the bass you're trying out is the right instrument for you. Making these adjustments shouldn't take more than about 15 minutes; it's not that hard to turn a truss-rod nut or to adjust pickups or bridge saddles. But it will make a world of difference in the way you gauge the quality of an instrument--so if you need it done, have it done.

Remember that you're adjusting a bass to find out if you wish to buy it or not. After all the work you and the salesperson do together by setting up the truss rod, pickups, and bridge, you may decide not to buy the bass, because it doesn't suit your needs. When that happens, you've still accomplished exactly what you set out to do: to discover if the bass was the right one for you after it was set up to your optimum calibrations.

Remember, also, that the bass will be strung with a particular type and gauge of strings, and those strings will be made from an alloy you may or may not prefer. It's not unreasonable, if you're a serious customer, to buy a set of your favorite strings and use them on the basses you're testing. Now, I'm only talking about one set of strings to be installed and removed as you try different basses. This is a worthwhile investment--and if you earn money as a musician, the receipt for the strings can be a tax deduction if you declare the income from your gigs (as I'm sure you do).

Sometimes you get lucky. You pick up a bass and it feels amazing. It's set up exactly the way you want it to be. If it plays that great and you love the feel and the sound, then take it home and be thankful--you've lucked out. But if the bass needs some adjusting and the salesperson is unwilling to help you, as I mentioned earlier, then you should go to a store that will treat you like a valued customer instead of a troublemaking pain-in-the-neck wiseacre asking a lot of damn fool questions about pickups and truss rods and there's nothing wrong with this bass and screw Jeff Berlin and his stupid article anyway.

That's about it. I hope this helped.