Drilling out bridge for BEAD tuning

[Lexicon]

I have an Ibanez SR500 I have tuned to DGCF. I bought a spare nut and a 5er string set and was planning to mod the nut and restring BEAD. I bought the extra nut so I can easily go back to DGCF and E standard. I did a quick check and the 135 B string will not fit properly through the bridge hole. It goes in no problem but will not pull all of the way through because of the extra winding by the ball end. This would seem to require drilling out the existing hole a slight amount to accommodate the larger string. Will this enlarged hole cause any issues when I try to put the bass back to standard strings with the other nut?

I have no problem modding stuff but I need to know that I can go back without a problem.

[JLS]

Originally Posted by Lexicon

I have an Ibanez SR500 I have tuned to DGCF. I bought a spare nut and a 5er string set and was planning to mod the nut and restring BEAD. I bought the extra nut so I can easily go back to DGCF and E standard. I did a quick check and the 135 B string will not fit properly through the bridge hole. It goes in no problem but will not pull all of the way through because of the extra winding by the ball end. This would seem to require drilling out the existing hole a slight amount to accommodate the larger string. Will this enlarged hole cause any issues when I try to put the bass back to standard strings with the other nut?

I have no problem modding stuff but I need to know that I can go back without a problem.

A tapered reamer is the best tool for this. As long as the hole is smaller than the ballend of the string, you're fine.

[Lexicon]

Excellent! Thanks. I just like to know that I can reverse everything if necessary.

[mech]

Use a 5/32" diameter bit. That hole size should accept the oversize area on the ball end of a B string.

Lay the bit on top of the bridge and mark the length needed to barely make it through the base. Wrap many layers of masking tape around the bit at this point to create a stop that will help keep the bit from going too far in and scarring up the inside of the bridge. Don't use too much pressure while drilling for the same reason.

mech

[Lexicon]

Thanks for the comments today. I went ahead and did these BEAD mods this afternoon and it worked out great. I ended up using pieces of strings to file out the nut as has been mentioned on TB before and it worked out great. Opening up the hole for the 135 B string went off without a hitch as well. The intonation on the B is a little tricky but I was able to get it done. I can see why some people move the bridge back a few millimeters to get the extra adjustment.

[mech]

Originally Posted by Lexicon

I can see why some people move the bridge back a few millimeters to get the extra adjustment.

You can remove the spring from the intonation screw to get more saddle travel or clip a couple of coils to keep it from stacking up. It's only purpose is to keep the saddle in place when changing strings.

[Lexicon]

Originally Posted by mech

You can remove the spring from the intonation screw to get more saddle travel or clip a couple of coils to keep it from stacking up. It's only purpose is to keep the saddle in place when changing strings.

Ah! Good call. That would definitely give me a little more flexibility. Thanks!

[Lexicon]

So I am now a fan of setting up a bass BEAD. I've been loving having the B string to fool around with. I was a little nervous about using what, to me, was a huge 135 string for the B. The thing I've always hated about the 5ers I've played is the floppy B strings which are probably 125s. The 135 is very close in tension to the 105 I have ijn the E slot and feels very comfortable despite being big enough to use in a suspension bridge. Now I just need to do some practice to get used to playing songs this way.

[JoeVictim]

Originally Posted by JLS

A tapered reamer is the best tool for this. As long as the hole is smaller than the ballend of the string, you're fine.

+1. Best tool I ever bought. It was like $8 at Sears.