Adustable bridges ?

[Mark Corben]

I have had mine on my Englehardt ES9 for around two years.
In this time it has never popped,although I have had the misfortune of knocking it off whist navigating many obsticles in getting to the stage.
And I have always wondered how the overall sound is effected by cutting the bridge in two and screwing alumnium adusters into the wood ?
However last wednesday in the recording studio it flew off not once but five times !
I took it to my Luthier Yesterday,and the adjusters had become loose in the wood hence the problem, I have now had a solid bridge fitted at 8 mm across the board.
I was never set on an adjustable bridge anyhow, I think I will stay with solid from now on.
Just my two penneth or cents whatever.


www.thememphisrockers.co.uk

[GirlBass]

Some people say you a can lose a lot of sound with adjusters in your bridge, but if you're traveling or in a climate that fluctuates from hot and dry to cold and humid or something in between, your bass can change a lot, and it's nice being able to lower or raise your stings if the weather affects them too much.
They also make wood adjusters that may help with the sound loss.

[Charles Shores]

I didn't notice any change at all in my bass's sound when I got an adjustable bridge.

YMMV

Chad

[nicklloyd]

Mark it sounds like the bridge adjusters didn't work properly to begin with, and the maybe the bridge didn't fit the instrument either. There are thousands of great sounding basses with bridge adjusters. The fingerboard projection on your Engelhardt probably won't move that much throughout the year, so a solid bridge makes sense.

[Chasarms]

Originally Posted by nicklloyd

. . . There are thousands of great sounding basses with bridge adjusters . . .

One of which you set up for me!!!

I like the adjusters used on my bass. They have a thicker shaft and the threads are a little more coarse than others I have seen. The wheel is also a little bigger. They are very easy to use.

The bridge seems very stable and the coarse, deep threads seem to make more sense for wood than does finer machine thread.

I don't know what they are made of, but it is not metal. Maybe some sort of phenolic material. I have had more than one person comment on liking them. If I knew, I'd tell them the maker.

[nicklloyd]

Those are phenolic. They are made by a number of different machinists around the country. Easy to use, and the larger threads are more appropriate for wood, ime.