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12-05-2008, 02:59 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Austin, Texas | | | 'New' old Jazz Bass won't retain strings
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I just rescued a Jazz Bass from a local pawn shop. The string retainer ball, at the bridge end of the E string, was small enough to allow the string to slip through so easily that someone had padded it so it would stay in place. The bridge is original and the holes don't appear worn. Is this common, or are these strings too small? |
12-05-2008, 03:06 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: France, Paris region | | | Pics? |
12-05-2008, 08:47 AM
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I setup & repair guitars & basses | | Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Kensington, Ca | | | Little bitty washers... |
12-05-2008, 09:12 AM
|  | keepin' the beat since the 60's | | Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Studio City, SoCal, USA | | | Someone probably put some really fat strings on there at one time and opened up the holes. I have never seen one worn that much.
New bridge time I think!
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12-05-2008, 09:46 AM
|  | Registered User | | Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Metro Detroit | | Quote:
Originally Posted by JLS  Little bitty washers... | Yes. Or a new "old" bridge. But that would surely stand out too much. |
12-05-2008, 10:00 AM
| | | | It is not typical but not unusual on some sets of strings the silk wrap at the ball end is so thick that it must be stripped away before the string can be inserted. That is frustrating. If the former owner liked that set, he might have reamed the hole. It doesn't take much and might not be seen with the naked eye. In addition, the tailpiece might get reamed if the holes were too small and someone was using heavy gauged strings for a BEAD tuning. In this case, the remedy is to use a spacer or washer of greater diameter than the ball end or to swap out the bridge for a suitable one.
If the bridge is original and tailpiece holes are not worn then the trouble lies with the strings. The remedy is to change the strings.
Last edited by 202dy : 12-05-2008 at 10:02 AM.
Reason: Syntax and grammar
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12-06-2008, 01:24 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Austin, Texas | | | Thanks to all for the responses.
sorry for the wait, but here are the pics of ye olde (~1998) J- Bass. This is after some cleaning; unfortunately, the frets were so crudified that I had to remove the strings.
Electronics work, and will work even better after I replace the lamp cord ground on the bridge pickup! And yes, the bridge's string holes look dilated from wear or user mod. I ordered a bridge - a Goto look-alike from Guitar Parts Depot.
Oh yeah, it had a nice bone nut . . . too bad it was 6mm to wide!
Crud awaits. |
12-06-2008, 02:39 PM
|  | Registered Bass Offender | | Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Cambria, CA (Central Coast) | | | This happened some years ago with my stock '65 Precision.
I have small washers on the strings to keep the eyelets from pulling through the tailpiece. I just move 'em to the next set of strings, regardless of the eyelet size on the string. Once was enough.
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My usual stock answers: No, Tuesday, 12
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12-06-2008, 09:32 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Austin, Texas | | | The bridge is so corroded that I figured I'd try a new one as part of the cleanup. Are the pickups always glued to foam rubber? |
12-06-2008, 09:45 PM
|  | Registered User | | Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: CO | | | TI Flats are smaller than many ball ends. I clipped a set of ball ends off an old set of strings and used them with the TI Flats on my Sadowsky bridge. |
12-06-2008, 10:19 PM
| | Registered Bass Offender | | Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Cambria, CA (Central Coast) | | Quote:
Originally Posted by doctorrockit Are the pickups always glued to foam rubber? | They were probably not glued to begin with, but over the years they've become stuck. It depends on the type of foam and the air quality.
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My usual stock answers: No, Tuesday, 12
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12-08-2008, 09:10 AM
|  | Registered User | | Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Fort Collins, Colorado | | | If that's a 1998 bass, I can't see ANY harm in just replacing the bridge with another stock Fender bridge. That's no collector piece and it's not likely to become one.
I agree with others - someone probably got overzealous and careless with a drill at some time in the past.
Agreed about the pickups - they're not glued, but they can get stuck. No biggie...foam is cheap.
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