How to Setup a Fender Bass

The screws at the bottom of the bridge are used to adjust the intonation and saddle position.

Setting up your Fender bass guitar is the only thing you have to do before you can start rocking out. Learning to string the bass and how to check the intonation is sufficient to get started with playing the bass. Fender produces many varieties of bass guitar, such as the Jazz Bass, the Precision Bass, the Mustang and the Jaguar. All of these are setup in the same way, and the techniques you learn to setup your Fender bass generally can be applied to other makes of guitars.

Things You'll Need

• Screwdriver
• Wire cutters

Instructions

Stringing the Bass

1. Organize the strings from thickest to thinnest. The thickest string likely is to be labeled 105, and the thinnest 45. Remove each string as you put new ones on if you currently have strings on your bass. Remove strings by turning the large tuning head at the top of the bass to slacken the string until it can be removed by hand.

2. Insert the E string, which is the thickest, into the relevant hole in the bass guitar's bridge. The bridge, where the strings finish, is the metallic rectangular piece on the body of the bass. Insert guitar strings through four holes in the outer side of the bridge. The E string goes in the highest of the four holes. Remove strings from the tuning post at the top of the bass, and then pull the string right out through this hole.

3. Run the string right up the length of the bass until you reach the tuning posts on the headstock. The E string's tuning post is the closest to the neck on the topside of the headstock. Snip off excess string that goes beyond the tuning post with wire cutters. Leave two to three inches of excess string when you cut. It is better to have too much string than too little.

4. Wrap the string around the tuning post once, and then insert the string through the hole in the center of the post. Tighten the tuning head so that the string is taut. Tune the strings as you go, if desired, with the a tuner or a piano. Standard bass tuning is E, A, D and G, which is thickest to thinnest.

5. Repeat the process with the remaining strings. Each string is strung and tuned in the same way.

Intonation

1. Tune the bass. The bass never may sound right if the intonation of the bass is off and not corrected.

2. Play a harmonic at the 12th fret of the E string. Pluck the string, and lightly touching the string above the fret marker that separates the 12th and 13th frets. This should produce a high-pitched sound.

3. Play the E string at the 12th fret. Play the note normally by pressing the string so that it doesn't connect with the underneath fretboard. The intonation is off if the two pitches are different.

4. Adjust the saddles to correct the intonation. The strings rest on the saddles at the bridge, and they can be adjusted by turning the screws on the outer side of the bridge, where you inserted the strings. Turn the screw clockwise if the note at the 12th fret is higher than the harmonic. Turn the screw counterclockwise if it is lower. Each string has its own saddle screw.

References

• Fender: Bass Guitar Setup Guide
• Tune My Bass: How to String a Bass Guitar - Step 6

Resources

• You Tube: How to Setup a Fender Bass : How to Adjust Intonation on a Bass Guitar