New SB-2 Bass, awesome bass, but saddle issues...

[drk421]

Greetings,
I just got my first G&L Bass, a USA SB-2.
It's awesome, the quality is amazing.

I like the action as low as possible without fret buzz (about 4/64ths on the 1st string if possible).
What concerns me is that the 1st string saddle is already bottomed out and is measuring about 5/64ths at the 12th fret.

I made sure the truss rod and nut were fine, and they were (I measured the neck relief at 0.015, and the nut is perfect at .003).

I understand that it meets "factory spec", but it's still hard for me to believe that G&L would ship this with so little adjustment left in the bridge saddles.

Here's a picture,
[image]http://i.imgur.com/6wyj5ms.jpg[/image]

Any comments/feedback about this would be appreciated.

[Fumble fingers]

I don't have or play Bass , but us guitar guy's install a neck shims to get the strings lower with out lowering the saddle much if any at all , I would think it would be the same for you guys , I'm sure Darwin or some of the other Bass guys will have the correct answer for you when they see this

[KenC]

Congrats on the SB-2. Before trying anything else, I would check the set screw on the G-string side of the bridge. Back it out slightly, and then see if you can get the E-string saddle down a bit more. Make all of your saddle adjustments at that point, and then tighten the set screw. If that doesn't get you where you want to be, shimming the neck will be the next step.

Ken

[darwinohm]

Kens advice is right on. Also , if you have .015 relief at the 12 th fret you may get close to what you want but simply tightening the truss rod for less relief if that will get you there. If the saddles are down all the way I would simply shim the neck. Your desired action is very low for a bass but you can get there if you are a soft picker. If you are in fact that soft getting the neck relief to less than .004 will probably get you on the mark with no other adjustments. I also like lower action and usually just adjust the truss to a buzz and back off the truss rod to eliminate any buzzing at my picking style. That is the Ernie Ball MM method for adjusting the action -- Darwin

[bassman]

I know they look low but the setup will be right. You should've seen the old style saddles, they were really low.
You can shim the neck but you really don't need to. They setup will be fine.

Do Have fun with that SB-2!