Trevor's first Build - FVB4

[Simon Barden]

Looks good to me!

[Trevor Davies]

Thanks Simon.

Got to set the string height at the nut now. They all seem way to high.
I cannot find much online about this.
One site says to capo at the 3rd fret, and get a string clearance at the first fret of:
0.10 mm for G
0.15 mm for D
0.20 for A
& 0.25 for E.

Another site says a clearance of 0.550 mm above first fret for all strings with no capo!

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Regards Trevor

[Simon Barden]

They are all trying to achieve the same thing, i.e. the string as low as possible over the 1st fret without it buzzing on it. The 3rd fret capo method will result in the strings being closer to the 1st fret anyway, which is why the clearance values are smaller. You will need slightly more clearance as the string diameter increases if you aim to get the string clearance as low as possible for the lowest overall action and the most 'in-tune' you can be at the lower fret positions, so take 0.55mm for all strings with a pinch of salt.

Don't get too fixed on the actual numbers as they are generally values that will always work, but can often be improved upon (that's if you want to).

The third fret capo method is the method to use if you haven't set anything else up yet, and the string heights at the nut are very high. If they are just a little bit high, then I'd wait until you've finished the rest of the set-up, and then tackle the slot depth, as the final adjustment of the nut slot depth is the last thing you want to do before final intonation.

I'd put a capo on the first fret to do your normal set up - truss rod adjustment for a very slight concave neck bow and then adjust the saddle height to get the overall action you want. You need to do this before final nut slot depth adjustment because if you set the saddles down lower after lowering the nuts slots to their minimum depth before buzzing on the 1st fret, then that height above the 1st fret will be reduced and you may then get fret buzz. The same thing happens if you adjust the truss rod for a flatter neck after doing the nut slots.

You can of course leave a bigger gap over the first fret to allow you to do all that later, but the bigger the gap, the harder the strings are to press down, the higher the overall action and the more out-of-tune the lower fret positions will be, even if the 12th fret intonation is spot-on. So any real fine tuning to lower the slot depth should be done just before you do the final intonation checks.

I adjust slot depth on a bass using a round needle file. Angle the slots back towards the headstock, so the highest point of the slot is where the string leaves the nut to run across the fretboard. You can get bass nut files, but they are expensive (and quite rare) and aren't as necessary as nut files are for a guitar.

[Trevor Davies]

Thank you Simon.
My job for tomorrow.

[Trevor Davies]

Nut slot heights finished. The slots had to be filed down a lot so I decided to remove the nut and file base down a bit.
I was a bit worried about removing the nut - but one gentle wack of persuasion with a large screwdriver and hammer and it was done.
Cleaned up the old join, filed about 2 mm of the base of nut. Couple of drops of superglue to hold it back in place.

Retuned and double checked the intonation and all seems well.

Now I have a working bass. Now I will have to learn to play a bass!

Next I need to get some water decal paper.

[Trevor Davies]

Photos of the back.

[Trevor Davies]

Hi, with regards to the Neck mounting plate there is a plastic plate and the metal plate. Is the plastic plate also meant to be used - or is it optional?

[Sonic Mountain]

Optional, but you'll probably find using just the metal plate will bruise the wood/finish a bit, that's the main reason for the black plastic.

[Simon Barden]

I'd say optional. I never use them. Fender don't. I'm not sure why they exist TBH.

And the bass is looking good. Nice.

[ChrizK]

Looks nice - I hope my TB-4 turns out as well!