Help adjusting Epi 3-point bridge

[Pilgrim]

I recently bought an Epiphone EB-0 and I'm not familiar with adjustment of the 3-point bridge. unlike Fender's website, Gibson's is no help at all with information about how to adjust it. I'm trying to adjust intonation and action, and I'm not sure how this bridge should be set up.

I have the intonation set OK, but the action is more of a challenge. The bass came with all three mounting points screwed up as high as they'd go, leading to very high action. The neck is quite straight, so I haven't touched the truss rod yet. But just lowering the bridge to bring the action down is resulting in some buzzing.

Questions:

- Should the single point adjustment toward the neck be used to set the 'top" (neck end) of the bridge higher, lower, or level with the 'back" end? My instinct is to keep the bridge level front-to-back, but it seems like bringing the front upward might give more of a break angle where the strings cross the saddles.

- Are there any tricks of adjustment for this bridge - especially to discourage it from coming loose eventually?

- If I get the action low but have some buzzing, should I try loosening the truss rod just a bit to let some bow in the neck?

Help from those familiar with this style of bridge would be appreciated. Thanks!

Here's a stock photo of the bass and bridge:

[bassman10096]

- Are there any tricks of adjustment for this bridge - especially to discourage it from coming loose eventually?

As a veteran of sprung 3 point bridges, I can tell you - the most important thing to remember is that each screw can only be adjusted a certain distance before it causes the bridge to start pulling on the other screws. And to make matters worse, the bridge has to be kept relatively level to avoid insighting the screws to push and pull each other. The really tricky part is that this is not immediately easy to see, so it's very quick and easy to pull one or more of the anchors out. Not that that's huge problem - they glue back in very easily.

- Should the single point adjustment toward the neck be used to set the 'top" (neck end) of the bridge higher, lower, or level with the 'back" end? My instinct is to keep the bridge level front-to-back, but it seems like bringing the front upward might give more of a break angle where the strings cross the saddles.

By and large, I've always tried to increase the break angle a little, but keeping the bridge closer to level will help you prevent the anchors from popping out on you.
Good luck. I've given up and replaced 3 point bridges (with BA's, Hipshots - anything) on a lot of Gibby's and Epi's over the years. Hipshot has just introduced a reengineered version of the 3 point design that seems to fix all the problems and looks pretty cool. But it's pricey...
http://www.hipshotproducts.com/cart....t_detail&p=264

[aquateen]

start off by loosening the strings and lowering the posts a little at a time...don't crank one all the way down before adjusting the next. as bassman10096 said, keep the bridge relatively level during this process. it's okay to leave the front post a bit higher, but not to the extreme. once you have the bridge level and at a height that you like, check to see if the strings buzz when you play. if so, try raising the posts by about 1/8th of a turn and check again. if you have problems with just the E string for example, then you may have to adjust the trussrod a bit. also, the E and G string saddles are a bit lower than the A and D string saddles. this allows the bridge to match the radius of the fingerboard but some guys put the higher saddles on the E and A strings. it's okay to have one side of the bridge a little higher or lower than the other side, if necessary. it's not really that hard to adjust the 3-point once you know how. you can get more help from these guys:
http://thedudepit.com/simplemachines...php?board=20.0
good luck!