I'm thoroughly mixed up. It seems like everybody I talk to says that everybody else has their bridge on upside down. :eek: So, which way is it supposed to go, and why. Lets settle this once and for all. Or maybe it doesn't really matter...:confused:

The two flat parts go on the belly of the bass, and the arched part goes up.

Without specific details, it's hard to know what you mean.

Generally speaking, a bridge's top is usually lower on the G side. Also, you may find that many luthiers will do the thinning and tapering on the side that faces the fingerboard, leaving the side facing the tailpiece at something closer to a 90 degree angle -- this enhances the bridge's ability to resist warping towards the fingerboard, due to continued retuning that may drag the bridge top towards the fingerboard. However, observing the attitude of the bridge and correcting it to a perfectly perpendicular position can avoid the tendency to warp.

Does that answer your question??

Sorry for the lack of detail! I meant which side of the bridge, relative to the fingerboard or the tailpiece, should be at a 90 degree angle to the top. It seems like *most* basses have the tailpiece side that way, and that makes sense to me because of the bridge being pulled up from tuning like you said. But I have seen some guys set them up the other way around on purpose, I'm just not sure why. Would there be any advantage to doing it this way?

No.

Originally posted by Bob Branstetter
No.

Agreed

Welcome back Arnold. Can't wait to hear some of your stories from ISB.

Any chance you have a crummy bridge? It may be easier to tell on a finely made one.

nah, no problem with my bridge. :) I was just wondering in general, since I had noticed a bunch of basses lately with bridges that seemed to be upside down. Oh well...