Rockabilly Bridge Height?

[brent.hazard]

I just purchased a CCB but loved it right out of the box. Im trying to set it up for rockabilly style and was thinking about sanding the bridge myself and have been reading up on it immensely but am still cautious to do this since I have no on hands experience. I know they say if at first you dont succeed....but my wallet cant exceed far enough to afford new bridges if I screw it up.

Im thinking about just setting is up as is with the steel strings just to start learning it before my nylons show up next week.

Do you think I should try and sand the bridge to lower the action or just leave it as is, any height suggestions? If so im still unclear whether you sand the bottom of the bridge or the top and then adjust the string grooves?

Thanks!

[Bass]

Leave it alone for now!

You don't want to touch the bottom (feet), they should already be set to match the curve of the top of the bass. This is very important. When you get your new strings you can lower the string height (if necessary) by filing the grooves where the strings sit. You'll probably want to do this anyhow because the nylon strings are likely larger diameter than steels.

I like a string height of about 7 or 8 mm, you might like 9 or 10. Whatever. Measure the distance from the bottom of the string to the fingerboard at the end of the fingerboard. I like each string to have the same string height.

[brent.hazard]

Good advice, I noticed you were saying string height of 9mm, 7mm etc but how would I translate that into knowing how far to sand the bridge down to?

[zeytoun]

You do it one string at a time.

Reduce string tension a bit. Move a string out of the groove, file down the groove a tiny bit, put the string back and measure. Do this for all 4 strings, then you get rid of the extra bridge material, so that the grooves are no deeper than half the diameter of the strings. Then you can use a soft pencil, or a tiny bit of that graphite lubricant in the plastic bottle, to lubricate the grooves.

You only sand the bottom if the feet aren't fitting flush.

[brent.hazard]

Awesome that is great information and clears up a lot of headache. Thanks for all the info!!

[salcott]

Did you check the soundpost?

[brent.hazard]

Originally Posted by salcott

Did you check the soundpost?

Check the sound post for what?

[salcott]

Is the soundpost present and in the right place? If it's not, you're in over your head and should have a professional set your bass up for you. If the soundpost is not properly positioned and fitted to the top and back, your bass could be damaged in the worst case and won't sound as good as it might in the best case.

[brent.hazard]

yeah i made sure that was in there good before the driver left and its right where it should be. From what Im understanding the bridge should be placed just south of the sound post between the middle portions of the F holes.

[salcott]

Nope. The soundpost should be APPROXIMATELY one post's width BELOW the center of the G foot of the bridge (below meaning towards the bottom of the bass). It should fit just tight enough not to fall over, and be perfectly fitted to the contours of the top and back of the bass. A starting point for bridge placement is to have the top of the feet on a line shot between the top set of notches in the f holes.

[Bass]

Originally Posted by salcott

...A starting point for bridge placement is to have the top of the feet on a line shot between the top set of notches in the f holes.

Like this:

[salcott]

Thanks for the illustration, Bass. The center of the soundpost would be approximately where the curved parts of the top of the "n" and "e' intersect in "lined".

[Gary Lynch]

I like adjustable bridges. That way, depending on strings, etc, I can have my cake and slap it too. The bridge and sound post are key factors. Spend the time and money to have a pro bass luthier check out your unit.