hayman 4040 bass setup

musicalstash

Anyone got experience with the Hayman 4040 basses ? Picked one up recently and struggling to set it up with a low(ish )  action  not too sure if the issue is with the original very thin flat frets or the lack of the radius on the neck  . Can setup most guitars / basses ok but struggling with this one -  the neck is straight but buzzes anywhere past the 12th fret . 

 

Funkfingers

Assuming that yours has the stock bridge and tailpiece, adjustment is like a Rickenbacker. End to end only.

It is possible that the bridge saddles need replacing. There is no telling what previous owners have done to them.

My first call for upper end fret buzz would be the truss rod adjustment.

For a bass of the Hayman's age, fret wear (or poor levelling) could be an issue. Use a fretrocker tool to check for uneven heights or popping.

One of my college contemporaries had a Shergold Marathon Bass. Its fingerboard felt very odd compared to a Fender.

ICBM

Sounds like it might have a hump in the neck at the top end. Normally, the easiest solution is to straighten the neck and raise the bridge, but if you've done that already, the next option is a fret dress... if there's enough height left. If not, you may be looking at a refret to give enough height, if you want to preserve the original fingerboard surface, or have it planed flat if not (which will obviously still entail refretting).

Funkfingers

Many of those Hayman and Shergold instruments have fingerboard binding. If the fret ends are formed from nibs of binding material, this will add to the cost of doing a proper job.

musicalstash

Thanks for the comments , the neck  has only slight relief but resighting the neck I think ICBM is correct as  it looks as though the neck kicks up slightly after the 17th fret but as the frets are so low from the factory not much to level off .

I have got it down to 4mm at the 12th on the Low E and 3mm at the G - past 18th fret on the two lower strings there is quite a bit of buzz - would this be acceptable when looking to sell it on . 


I can raise then action .5mm which gets rid of the issue - the action looks higher than it feels but as the neck feels like the same width all the way down does feel a bit strange .

By END To END does that the bridge height is adjusted by shimming the neck as I cannot see any way to adjust the overall height of the bridge just the saddles which do not have much movement.

ICBM

musicalstash said:

I have got it down to 4mm at the 12th on the Low E and 3mm at the G - past 18th fret on the two lower strings there is quite a bit of buzz - would this be acceptable when looking to sell it on . 

I can raise then action .5mm which gets rid of the issue - the action looks higher than it feels but as the neck feels like the same width all the way down does feel a bit strange .

I’d be inclined to do that, and straighten the neck completely if that doesn’t cause rattles in the lower positions - that will lower the apparent ‘visual’ action slightly.

It’s a long time since I worked on one, but I think I remember that these are like Rickenbackers in that they set up best with the neck dead straight, or with Rizla-paper relief.

If you’re looking to sell it I would certainly not invest a couple of hundred pounds doing something (refretting) which in the eyes of some buyers will ‘devalue’ it.

impmann

The Hayman bridge only has minor adjustment built in, as you say, because the tolerances of the neck joint/neck were so good/tight. You can take the bridge plate off and shim under it with a spacer or washer, but its not really designed as such (I've done it on a guitar and it does work fine).

I'm surprised its got a fault - normally Norman's necks are pretty bulletproof and the maple used was very old growth stuff, so generally very stable. Refretting may be the way forwards - but a word of caution on the Shergold/Hayman neck. A lot of refrets I've seen  on Shergolds have been terrible because the techs involved don't understand what they are doing - then blame "unusual construction" for the mess and then charge the earth for refinishing the board (ruining the value in the process). The frets can be removed without damage to the finish if approached carefully - there's only one Luthier I trust with Shergold/Hayman necks and thats Jon at Noiseworks in Coventry. Genuinely, as a collector/enthusiast of this brand for donkeys years... I wouldn't go anywhere else.

Final thing on the neck - some of these basses have two way truss rods (a Shergold invention) and they do react slightly differently to a Fender one. Shergolds were designed to have dead straight necks (no relief) with low, flat frets. Often a touch of relief makes them play 'odd'  and you get rattles - try getting it super straight. 

Hope that helps.

musicalstash

impmann said:

The Hayman bridge only has minor adjustment built in, as you say, because the tolerances of the neck joint/neck were so good/tight. You can take the bridge plate off and shim under it with a spacer or washer, but its not really designed as such (I've done it on a guitar and it does work fine).

I'm surprised its got a fault - normally Norman's necks are pretty bulletproof and the maple used was very old growth stuff, so generally very stable. Refretting may be the way forwards - but a word of caution on the Shergold/Hayman neck. A lot of refrets I've seen  on Shergolds have been terrible because the techs involved don't understand what they are doing - then blame "unusual construction" for the mess and then charge the earth for refinishing the board (ruining the value in the process). The frets can be removed without damage to the finish if approached carefully - there's only one Luthier I trust with Shergold/Hayman necks and thats Jon at Noiseworks in Coventry. Genuinely, as a collector/enthusiast of this brand for donkeys years... I wouldn't go anywhere else.

Final thing on the neck - some of these basses have two way truss rods (a Shergold invention) and they do react slightly differently to a Fender one. Shergolds were designed to have dead straight necks (no relief) with low, flat frets. Often a touch of relief makes them play 'odd'  and you get rattles - try getting it super straight. 

Hope that helps.

Thanks  , it has around 1mm of  relief when fretted at the 1st  and where it meets the body .

Would an action of 4mm on the E string at 12th fret and 3mm on the G string be classed as normal on these basses .

Will remove the neck try adjust the rod so it is perfectly flat as  cannot find anything long / strong enough to run through the body and reach the rod - is it standard right tight - left loose to adjust  ?

thanks again 

impmann

Yup right tight - left loose.
 I can't remember for sure what my old 4040s were set to but they weren't far off what my Fenders were set to, tbh. I did run mine with flatwounds which can make a difference.