Installing Bridge Rollers-Which Material is Best?

[beobass]

Hello Everyone,

I just got a beautiful 5/8 German bass from the WWII era! Its a laminated bass that I will be using mostly for Jazz and theater work. Beautiful tone... anyway, I am having the luthier install rollers in the bridge and was curious if there are better materials than others that I should request?

Thanks!

[davpal]

I've never heard of bridge rollers - could you explain?


Oh, you mean threaded adjusters to change bridge height.

[Matthew Tucker]

on a laminated bass I doubt if you will be able to hear the difference between different adjusters. Just make sure your luthier fits them so that your lowest setting is as low as you will want to go, because sooner or later you'll want to try it out! Personally I'd use aluminium, threads down.

[John Sprague]

Which material is better for adjusters? Out here in the country we call them "fightin' words". By the time everyone rings in on their faves, there will be blood in the streets and people refusing to talk to each other anymore.

You just have to try some, if you like 'em, they're the best. I seem to recall someone doing a study on this complete with charts and graphs, and then others panning the guy's study. Bass luthieri is apparently not for the thin-skinned.

Your bass, however, sounds like an interesting piece, got photos?

[robobass]

Aluminum. Anyone who says anything else is an idiot who should be killed.

[robobass]

BTW... I've never tried anything else.

[Paul Warburton]

Originally Posted by robobass

Aluminum. Anyone who says anything else is an idiot who should be killed.

I agree wholeheartedly.
I dug the look of brass.....don't do that. IMO.

[MR PC]

Aluminum, yep, I like those. But all aluminum is not created equally. A luthier once demonstrated this to me by rolling around a couple of different sets of adjusters in his hand and comparing the "tap tones" between the sets. He said he preferred using the ones with the higher pitch. FWIW.

[Matthew Tucker]

Originally Posted by MR PC

Aluminum, yep, I like those. But all aluminum is not created equally. A luthier once demonstrated this to me by rolling around a couple of different sets of adjusters in his hand and comparing the "tap tones" between the sets. He said he preferred using the ones with the higher pitch. FWIW.

[MR PC]

Lighter, harder, and brighter alloy is no good then? Please explain.

[JtheJazzMan]

It maybe a good experiment to try the aluminium ones, then take them off and have at them with a drill.

Ive been waiting for a chance to try a set of adjusters which I removed 3g of aluminium from the wheel by drilling 16 holes (10g down to 7g)

[robobass]

Originally Posted by JtheJazzMan

It maybe a good experiment to try the aluminium ones, then take them off and have at them with a drill.

Ive been waiting for a chance to try a set of adjusters which I removed 3g of aluminium from the wheel by drilling 16 holes (10g down to 7g)

+1. Minimizing weight seems to be desirable. Don't know about hardness.

[salcott]

I think it's been pretty well established that aluminum adjusters have minimal if any effect on the sound of one's bass. Whatever teenytiny change that may occur is easily compensated for by the convenience of quick string height adjustment.

[Ed Fuqua]

But it goes to 0.0000000000000000000000000000011.

[fdeck]

Originally Posted by JtheJazzMan

It maybe a good experiment to try the aluminium ones, then take them off and have at them with a drill.

Ive been waiting for a chance to try a set of adjusters which I removed 3g of aluminium from the wheel by drilling 16 holes (10g down to 7g)

[salcott]

Originally Posted by Ed Fuqua

But it goes to 0.0000000000000000000000000000011.

I know of a guitar player who claims he can hear a difference between Duracell and Eveready batteries in his stomp boxes.

[MR PC]

FWIW, from Lemur Music's catalog description of the adjusters they stock.

"Aluminum bridge adjusters (pair). This precision part is machined from solid aluminum bar stock using numerical control technology to assure exact squareness of the wheel and shaft. The diameter is kept to 1 1/8" in order to minimize weight."

[drurb]

Originally Posted by salcott

I know of a guitar player who claims he can hear a difference between Duracell and Eveready batteries in his stomp boxes.

Then surely, he needs one of these.

[robobass]

Originally Posted by salcott

I know of a guitar player who claims he can hear a difference between Duracell and Eveready batteries in his stomp boxes.

Yeah. Well it's well known that those Energizer Bunnies are actually alien scouts, so it makes sense that the emf instructions they are receiving would add distortion to the signal. That's why I never leave the house without my copper mesh cap.

[Jake deVilliers]

Originally Posted by drurb

Then surely, he needs one of these.

Or perhaps one of these babies.

More available at this fine website: http://www.angelfire.com/yt3/redtele/