2003 P-Bass Bridge adjustment

Fastaris · #1 09-21-2011, 09:16 AM

Having an issue on a 2003 P bass,
Have Badass bridge , and IT IS intonated.
however the G position looks weird.
Any suggestions, or stuff like this is normal?

walterw · #2 09-21-2011, 11:06 PM

that is not even close to intonated.

Slowgypsy · #3 09-22-2011, 04:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by walterw

that is not even close to intonated.

I'll second that. Visually, the saddle positions don't look correct.

Fastaris · #4 09-22-2011, 05:57 AM

I understand what you are saying, however that position is the one that produces the correct note open, and fretted at the 12th. If i put it near where it looks right the fretted note is very sharp.

bassgod0dmw · #5 09-22-2011, 06:46 AM

If the intonation is correct I'm not sure what you're looking for. You said it yourself, it's not how it looks, it's what is correct.

Is that a copy of Steve Harris' bass, or is that a picture of his bass?

Low Sound Love · #6 09-22-2011, 06:55 AM

if intonation is good on that string, then looks don't matter much. although is does look pretty awkward ...

Fastaris · #7 09-22-2011, 06:55 AM

That is a replica that im building. Ill post more pics soon.

Fastaris · #8 09-22-2011, 07:02 AM

Slowgypsy · #9 09-22-2011, 07:25 AM

Okay... so if that's the correct intonation position on the G string based on fretted and harmonics... have you also checked the other 3 strings?

Fastaris · #10 09-22-2011, 07:45 AM

Yes all 4 are in prefect intonation. Ive checked the nut too. just visually weird.

warnergt · #11 09-22-2011, 07:53 AM

If it's intonated, that's all you need.
But something is odd there. Maybe there is something wrong
with the string (e.g. kinked, malformed, etc.)
Try another string.

JTE · #12 09-22-2011, 09:44 AM

Check the nut to be sure the string is sitting in the slot cioectly.

Push down firmly on all four strings just in front of the saddles (the neck side of the saddles) to make sure all of them are seated on the saddle with a good "witness point". Then recheck intonation.

Inspect the string to ensure it's got consistent wrap and no dings or kinks anywhere along its length.

Of course, all this assumes the strings are fresh and good. All bets are off with old or worn strings.

John

walterw · #13 09-22-2011, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fastaris

I understand what you are saying, however that position is the one that produces the correct note open, and fretted at the 12th. If i put it near where it looks right the fretted note is very sharp.

then you have other problems, maybe bad strings.

good strings, properly seated on an instrument with the frets in the right place, will produce close to the same intonation pattern on the bridge every time.

if they didn't, acoustic guitars (with their permanent non-movable bridges) couldn't exist as a workable instrument.

Electrophonic · #14 09-24-2011, 12:42 AM

Do your bass and your playing pleasure a favour and follow these steps: Setting Up Your Bass Guitar: Adjusting The Truss Rod (Step 1 of 4) - YouTube

Carruthers shows you how to setup your bass properly.
1: Truss rod
2: Bridge action height
3: Nut action height
4: Intonation

I am pretty sure the saddles on your bass will have very different positions after following these steps.

Good luck on the bass! Don't forget to post pics! Looks sweet so far. (In my opinion: Remember to copper shield it as well.)

mcnach · #15 09-24-2011, 03:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fastaris

Having an issue on a 2003 P bass,
Have Badass bridge , and IT IS intonated.
however the G position looks weird.
Any suggestions, or stuff like this is normal?

For that bridge to be correctly adjusted the way it looks now, you would have to use strings where the G is not a match to the others and also different action...

In other words:
That bass is not intonated properly. No way.
There are many books and a few online guides and videos that will teach you the basics of setting up a guitar. I suggest you start there.

Fastaris · #16 09-25-2011, 07:30 PM

Guys you were right it was a bum string.
Strange never had that happen before. It was a new set of Steve Harris Flatwounds.
Thanks for your help.

mcnach · #17 09-26-2011, 07:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fastaris

Guys you were right it was a bum string.
Strange never had that happen before. It was a new set of Steve Harris Flatwounds.
Thanks for your help.

Glad you found the solution. It's rare, but it does happen that sometimes you get a bad string...

bassgod0dmw · #18 09-26-2011, 09:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fastaris

It was a new set of Steve Harris Flatwounds.

I've had more bad strings from brand new Rotos than I care to think about. With that said, I don't use Rotos at all anymore.

walterw · #19 09-26-2011, 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fastaris

Guys you were right it was a bum string.

aha!

that said, the rest of those saddles aren't really right either.

the E should be the furthest back of all of them, stepping forward to the G, which is sometimes a little behind the D (it's the transition between the single-layer G and the multi-layer D).

something like this

or maybe this

if your pattern is way different after intonating, it usually means something else is wrong.

(the exception is for taper-core strings, which will intonate well forward of their full-thickness counterparts, as our pal zooberwerx once pointed out to me.)

tstone · #20 09-27-2011, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by walterw

...that said, the rest of those saddles aren't really right either.

One needs to be cautious making a blanket statement like that. For wound strings, what determines how much compensation will be needed is the diameter of the core wire, not the overall string diameter. While it's generally true that the core wire goes up in diameter as the overall diameter increases, there's no guarantee that that is the case, especially if you mix and match strings.