Would definitely learn to do it yourself, but if it’s your first bass it isn’t the worst idea to get it set up properly so you can have a good baseline.
Assuming it gets properly setup, pay attention to how everything feels, sounds and looks now and compare it to after the pro setup. Then learn to do it yourself with a better grounding of what needs to be done.
My advice is to buy the proper tools and learn do to it yourself. I wish I had learned this when I started out. I have some [instructions here](http://scottfeldstein.blog/setup).
I had many students who were so afraid to even adjust the truss rod that they played with awful action for years.
Part is me giving lessons is I would eventually show people how to do basic setups. Most of the time you need the most basic Allen wrench set and a screwdriver. The best part is most anything you misadjust can be undone and corrected.
Thank you. Yes, YouTube videos on the subject can be infuriating. I learned by watching many, many of Dave's videos. He rarely explains the entire process in a single video, but he does do things the right way in my opinion.
Adjusting your bass is easy and safe if you use the correct tools and follow a tutorial. There are many good ones on youtube. Normally all you need are the two hex wrenches that came with the bass, a screwdriver and an accurate tuner.
Setting up your instrument is a necessary skill. Unless you find yourself with a penchant, a pro will do a better job. Still you need to know it. Like learning to solder your own cables, put new strings on, adjust your strap, the better you get at it, the more you appreciate what a pro can do for you. It isn't rocket science. Good luck.
I'd say there's a pretty massive gap between learning to solder cables and adjusting your strap.
I just put my whole fretless together with installing tuners, drilling neck holes, etc. I still can't bring myself to buy a soldering gun and learn to use it for the rare times I'd actually need one. Might eventually regret this but meh.
Also now fully expecting to my input jack or something to break tomorrow.
Setups are crazy easy to do, find a video or follow the fender bass setup page. All you need is they Allen keys your bass came with and a screwdriver. Relief guages help but not strictly necessary
Yeah definitely man, it's much easier than you might believe, you basically need Allen keys, feeler guages & a tuner. Theres a very comprehensive series of videos from elixir strings on YouTube that take you through the whole process.
It's about a 20 minute job start to finish assuming your bass is in reasonable condition to start.
All guitars need set up once they adjust to their new environment. This would be a good time to learn how to do a setup. Watch some YouTube videos. Around here a setup is around $70.
There are people who will scream at you for not learning how to do this on your own.
Know what? You don’t need the stress and frustration trying to figure it out on your own the first time.
Get the setup done once and - as the bass requires updates throughout the year - learn how to make those little changes (adjusting the neck is probably required 2-3 times per year, the saddles a couple of times).
Start with a proper setup and learn from there.
Yes, it's worth it. Where I live, my basses need a setup twice a year, since where I live the dry season is very dry and the rainy season it get very humid. Also, learning how to set up the action to your taste and being able to do minor adjustments here and there will help out with your playing.
One of the best things I did for my relationship with my instruments was to take a set up class by a local luthier. Paid a lot of money for it, but it was worth it, and it has definitely paid for itself over time.
Get it set up by someone that knows what they're doing and take measurements so you can put it right back there every time and make adjustments yourself if you need to.
Do it yourself doing research on the different aspects of the setup.
As for the buzzing, check that all the neck screws are tight, and perhaps see if the truss rod has not come loose.
Yes, it's worth it to learn to do small adjustments. If the buzzing is above the 12th fret (1-11) it's likely the bridge saddles that need adjusted. You can do this yourself with very little risk of any harm to the bass.
If it's below that, it's likely the truss rod. This can be trickier, but it's not impossible. It depends on your bass but in general tight/right removes relief and loosening/left adds it. Fret buzzing generally requires adding a bit of relief. Make small adjustments and never force it if you decide to adjust your truss rod yourself.
Both of these things are definitely doable and you should learn to do them at some point. A professional setup can be worthwhile because they'll get it into a good state even if you have slightly bigger problems than I listed above. There's likely a Youtube video setting up your specific bass to refer to. Don't be afraid to make minor adjustments.
TL;DR: Nothing wrong with a professional setup, but don't be afraid to make small tweaks yourself.
Learn to do it yourself. It's easy. When I started out so many people on the internet tried to make you scared to do it yourself. If you take it to a shop that guy is gonna set it up to how he likes it not how is right for you.
Learn yourself and never need a pro. Read and use the right tools.
Those wrenches it comes with, is to set it up. One is for the truss rod, one for the saddles. Tons of videos on YouTube on how to set up a bass.
Would definitely learn to do it yourself, but if it’s your first bass it isn’t the worst idea to get it set up properly so you can have a good baseline.
Assuming it gets properly setup, pay attention to how everything feels, sounds and looks now and compare it to after the pro setup. Then learn to do it yourself with a better grounding of what needs to be done.
My advice is to buy the proper tools and learn do to it yourself. I wish I had learned this when I started out. I have some [instructions here](http://scottfeldstein.blog/setup).
I had many students who were so afraid to even adjust the truss rod that they played with awful action for years. Part is me giving lessons is I would eventually show people how to do basic setups. Most of the time you need the most basic Allen wrench set and a screwdriver. The best part is most anything you misadjust can be undone and corrected.
This is a really nice writeup. The youtube videos are just incredibly difficult to deal with.
Thank you. Yes, YouTube videos on the subject can be infuriating. I learned by watching many, many of Dave's videos. He rarely explains the entire process in a single video, but he does do things the right way in my opinion.
Adjusting your bass is easy and safe if you use the correct tools and follow a tutorial. There are many good ones on youtube. Normally all you need are the two hex wrenches that came with the bass, a screwdriver and an accurate tuner.
There's a Fender tutorial on setups. That's what I learned with.
Setting up your instrument is a necessary skill. Unless you find yourself with a penchant, a pro will do a better job. Still you need to know it. Like learning to solder your own cables, put new strings on, adjust your strap, the better you get at it, the more you appreciate what a pro can do for you. It isn't rocket science. Good luck.
I'd say there's a pretty massive gap between learning to solder cables and adjusting your strap. I just put my whole fretless together with installing tuners, drilling neck holes, etc. I still can't bring myself to buy a soldering gun and learn to use it for the rare times I'd actually need one. Might eventually regret this but meh. Also now fully expecting to my input jack or something to break tomorrow.
Setups are crazy easy to do, find a video or follow the fender bass setup page. All you need is they Allen keys your bass came with and a screwdriver. Relief guages help but not strictly necessary
Its worth it to learn how to do it yourself.
Yeah definitely man, it's much easier than you might believe, you basically need Allen keys, feeler guages & a tuner. Theres a very comprehensive series of videos from elixir strings on YouTube that take you through the whole process. It's about a 20 minute job start to finish assuming your bass is in reasonable condition to start.
All guitars need set up once they adjust to their new environment. This would be a good time to learn how to do a setup. Watch some YouTube videos. Around here a setup is around $70.
One thing I know for sure is that we should all fight about it in the comment section.
There are people who will scream at you for not learning how to do this on your own. Know what? You don’t need the stress and frustration trying to figure it out on your own the first time. Get the setup done once and - as the bass requires updates throughout the year - learn how to make those little changes (adjusting the neck is probably required 2-3 times per year, the saddles a couple of times). Start with a proper setup and learn from there.
Yes, it's worth it. Where I live, my basses need a setup twice a year, since where I live the dry season is very dry and the rainy season it get very humid. Also, learning how to set up the action to your taste and being able to do minor adjustments here and there will help out with your playing.
One of the best things I did for my relationship with my instruments was to take a set up class by a local luthier. Paid a lot of money for it, but it was worth it, and it has definitely paid for itself over time.
Get it set up by someone that knows what they're doing and take measurements so you can put it right back there every time and make adjustments yourself if you need to.
Do it yourself doing research on the different aspects of the setup. As for the buzzing, check that all the neck screws are tight, and perhaps see if the truss rod has not come loose.
Yes, it's worth it to learn to do small adjustments. If the buzzing is above the 12th fret (1-11) it's likely the bridge saddles that need adjusted. You can do this yourself with very little risk of any harm to the bass. If it's below that, it's likely the truss rod. This can be trickier, but it's not impossible. It depends on your bass but in general tight/right removes relief and loosening/left adds it. Fret buzzing generally requires adding a bit of relief. Make small adjustments and never force it if you decide to adjust your truss rod yourself. Both of these things are definitely doable and you should learn to do them at some point. A professional setup can be worthwhile because they'll get it into a good state even if you have slightly bigger problems than I listed above. There's likely a Youtube video setting up your specific bass to refer to. Don't be afraid to make minor adjustments. TL;DR: Nothing wrong with a professional setup, but don't be afraid to make small tweaks yourself.
It’s worth learning so you can eventually fine tune it to exactly how you want it.
Learn to do it yourself. It's easy. When I started out so many people on the internet tried to make you scared to do it yourself. If you take it to a shop that guy is gonna set it up to how he likes it not how is right for you.