Crooked Bridge and Sound Quality

aoeuidhtns · #1 08-05-2009, 07:56 PM

Hey there...
I'm a relative newbie at the db, having played for about five to six months. I currently have an Eastman VB-80 rental bass that I'm using. When I got the bass from the shop, I noticed that the bridge wasn't perpendicular to the body- it stood high on the G string side and low on the E string side. I've played it like this since I got it, and I was wondering if this is normal for a db and, if it's not, does it affect tone quality? The music school's bass that I play during lessons sounds so much better than what I have, though it's an equivalent model in price and quality.
Also, does anyone know anything about Eastman bass quality? I've searched the forums and can't find anything relating to that company.

Nagrom · #2 08-05-2009, 08:22 PM

Think "Crooked bridge & intonation problems"

Hammertime3 · #3 08-06-2009, 08:02 AM

Sounds like the bridge needs to be turned completely around. It should then be perpindicular to the body with the slant to the front, high side for the E and low side for the G. IMHO.

clink · #4 08-06-2009, 08:15 AM

Proper bridge:
-Perpendicular to the body on the tailpiece side. That's bottom side. Any curve in the bridge surface is on the top side. If neither side is perfectly flat, it's warped.
-The top of the bridge should approximate the curvature of the fingerboard, with height increasing gradually to the E string. String height example measured from fingerboard to bottom of string: G 5mm, D 6mm, A 7mm, E 8mm.
-The bridge is placed with the feet centered between the ff notches, left to right position is set for even spacing for G and E from fingerboard edge. Normally, that will be equadistant from the ff holes.

Hope this helps you.

aoeuidhtns · #5 08-06-2009, 03:40 PM

Ok...

"-Perpendicular to the body on the tailpiece side. That's bottom side. Any curve in the bridge surface is on the top side. If neither side is perfectly flat, it's warped." Check.

"-The top of the bridge should approximate the curvature of the fingerboard, with height increasing gradually to the E string. String height example measured from fingerboard to bottom of string: G 5mm, D 6mm, A 7mm, E 8mm." Check.

"-The bridge is placed with the feet centered between the ff notches, left to right position is set for even spacing for G and E from fingerboard edge. Normally, that will be equadistant from the ff holes." No. My bridge is centered correctly on the G side, but on the E side the bridge droops so that the top of the foot is parallel with the ff notch.

Any recommendations as to what to do? (Fix it myself, find a luthier in the N. Del/Philly area...?)

clink · #6 08-06-2009, 04:10 PM

That's an easy fix. Loosen the strings, E and A the most and D somewhat. Move the E foot into the correct position and tune to pitch. Be careful that the bridge doesn't pull forward as you do this. Grab the top of the bridge and just push it toward the tailpiece. Be sure the feet make full contact with the top and the back of the bridge is perp to the top.

This is something every bassist should be comfortable doing. As long as you keep some tension on the G side, there will be no danger of the soundpost falling. You really can't mess this up so just go for it!

aoeuidhtns · #7 08-06-2009, 04:28 PM

Wow! I did it just now and not only did the soundpost stay in place, my bass now sounds much better. Thanks!

Jake deVilliers · #8 08-06-2009, 10:28 PM

Nice work boys!