You can never learn without trying... The only thing is... trust your hands and trust yourself. If you're adjusting a truss rod it is possible to break the rod... or crack the neck... so you have to be somewhat careful. But what you said about setting up a bass is probably somewhat accurate. Just fiddle around with it until you get the action you want without the buzz... When I started working on guitars I didn't know the "right" way to set up action... so I simply straightened the neck until it was flat and tuned the strings... played... then added some relief and tuned it up and played... and repeated that until I got the action I wanted without the buzz... bass' are a different animal when it comes to action though.... so good luck!