Warwick Bridge?!?!?!

[gilla]

Finally went ahead and did a setup on my 5string thumb. Had it for about 2 years and never did a single thing other than oil it, never really had to. Lately the neck started to bow, not too badly, and the bridge saddles started to look like a nasty row of hillbilly teeth. The neck's all better and the nut's been adjusted, I've straightened out the saddles but i really don't know how to adjust them correctly. Tips??

[BadB]

Adjust saddles for string width or intonation?

[Peg_legs]

Adjusting your saddles adjusts your intonation. Here's how I do it with a tuner. tune it up like normal, then play the octaves (12th fret) on the same string. Adjust the position of the saddles until you are no longer sharp or flat at the octave. Retune after each adjustment and verify that both the open and the octave are dead nutz on the note you desire.

Forgot about string width adjustments

[gilla]

I set the width up evenly. I'm looking more at string height. every thing else is very even and the manual says to set the strings to the radius of the neck but my neck is pretty level

[gilla]

Originally Posted by Peg_legs

Adjusting your saddles adjusts your intonation. Here's how I do it with a tuner. tune it up like normal, then play the octaves (12th fret) on the same string. Adjust the position of the saddles until you are no longer sharp or flat at the octave. Retune after each adjustment and verify that both the open and the octave are dead nutz on the note you desire.

Forgot about string width adjustments

that all seems good everything is in tune

[BadB]

Originally Posted by Peg_legs

Adjusting your saddles adjusts your intonation. Here's how I do it with a tuner. tune it up like normal, then play the octaves (12th fret) on the same string. Adjust the position of the saddles until you are no longer sharp or flat at the octave. Retune after each adjustment and verify that both the open and the octave are dead nutz on the note you desire.

...if your octave note (careful not to bend it) is sharp, move the saddle back to lengthen the string. If the octave note is flat, move the saddle forward to shorten the string. If you are adjusting string width, there is a set screw on the saddle. Loosen it and move the saddle to your desired location. Don't forget to tighten the set screw when you're done.

[Peg_legs]

Originally Posted by gilla

I set the width up evenly. I'm looking more at string height. every thing else is very even and the manual says to set the strings to the radius of the neck but my neck is pretty level

You could measure the distance between each string and the fretboard and adjust to match. Running downstairs to see how my Wick adjusts...

[~ignited~wings~]

If you really care about the radius, you can buy radius gauges from stewmac, or lmii or something. and read up on how to use them.

[BadB]

Originally Posted by gilla

I set the width up evenly. I'm looking more at string height. every thing else is very even and the manual says to set the strings to the radius of the neck but my neck is pretty level

It's been a long time since I owned a Warwick, but IIRC, the outside of the bridge has set screws, (you know the drill), and you can lower or raise the whole bridge from there.

[gilla]

Rippin thanks much guys!

[Peg_legs]

Mine has two allen bolts to adjust the height of each saddle

[BadB]

Originally Posted by gilla

Rippin thanks much guys!

Again, been a long time, but I don't remember the bridge a having independent saddle adjustments. Must be Alzheimer's. I do seem to remember using a B string with a tapered core, though.

[gilla]

mine too, used them to atleast straighten them out, they were a mess. now not sure how to properly set them

[BadB]

Originally Posted by Peg_legs

Mine has two allen bolts to adjust the height of each saddle

There you go!

[~ignited~wings~]

I've personally found it best to match the radius (if possible) and have the bass end string set somewhat (slightly) lower than the highest string. When I say slightly I'm talking like 1/32 of an inch.

[Steveaux]

Originally Posted by gilla

mine too, used them to atleast straighten them out, they were a mess. now not sure how to properly set them

Google, "Bass Intonation".

[plankspanker13]

Originally Posted by Peg_legs

Adjusting your saddles adjusts your intonation. Here's how I do it with a tuner. tune it up like normal, then play the octaves (12th fret) on the same string. Adjust the position of the saddles until you are no longer sharp or flat at the octave. Retune after each adjustment and verify that both the open and the octave are dead nutz on the note you desire.

Forgot about string width adjustments

Double-check at the 5th & 7th frets too; the "money note" area, and that really helps you dial it in precisely.

[bassmanjla]

On my Corvette Standard my intonation screws are philips heads, which believe me, is a pain in the a$$.

it's incredibly easy to accidentally strip those screwheads. before you put your driver in there and start turning, take all the tension off the string. (yes i know, your gonna have to tune-detune-tune-detune over and over again until it's right. like i said, pain in the A$$)
then i recommend using a good set of needle nose pliers and turning the screws with them instead of the screwdriver. If you have hexhead screwheads, your lucky and i hate you. But even then, you should still take the tension off your strings.

also, i suggest checking your intonation by using the harmonic at the 12th and comparing it to the note you get when you fret at the 12th.
when properly intonated, both the harmonic and the fretted note will be EXACTLY the same. much easier than judging the octave, which by definition is sharper and makes it hard to discern for the inexperienced ear.
while i'm talking about harmonics; for those of you still tuning by fretting your E string at the 5th fret and matching it to your open A string ( and on down the line). Learn to play harmonics accurately, and tune by playing the 7th fret harmonic on the G string and then the 5th fret harmonic on the D string. they should sound the same.
do the same for each strings moving down in towards your E string (or B)

while this might seem similar enough to not make a difference, if it accomplishes nothing more than providing you more harmonic practice, it will do you good. ( my harmonic techniques, and my tuning speed and accuracy, have much improved since i started tuning this way.)

have a great one!

[blastjv]

You may find that you end up with the brisge saddles looking like 'hillbilly teeth' again once you get it adjusted properly. As long as the action is as high or low as you like it, the string spacing is even and centered over the pole pieces, and the intonation is correct, that's all that matters, sometimes those settings 'look' weird, but if everything is adjusted properly, the way it looks is irrelevant.

I'm not picking on you, what you did is EXACTLY how I learned all these lessons...


-John

[levis76]

Ok, I just did all this a few weeks ago and it's still fresh in my head.

To accurately set the bridge, I first setup the Just A Nut. I put a capo on the strings at the first position and measured the gap between the strings and the 3rd fret. I then adjust the nut so I have that same gap between the strings and the first fret.

Then I checked the relief and made sure that my truss rod didn't need to be adjusted. Mine didn't, but if you do adjust it, make the adjustment then put the bass away for at least a day and let the neck settle into the tension.

Then I loosen everything up on the bridge. I run the intonation screws to the end of their travel and bottom out the saddles and raise each of them one full turn so they aren't completely bottomed out. Make sure the strings still have tension before proceeding, you want the bridge setup properly and sloppy loose strings will result in a poorly adjusted bridge. I then back the bridge locking screws all the way out and lowered the entire bridge until it bottomed out and raised each corner evenly until one of the strings just lifts from the fret board. You want that string really close but not touching and make sure the strings have decent tension. Obviously you can't get them exactly tuned at this point, but approx tension is desirable. The idea here is to match your saddles to the radius of the fretboard. Now you slowly raise the saddles, NOT the bridge, until the all of the strings are just lifted off the fret board. Once each string is off the frets, lock the saddles into place, keeping in mind if you like a little more action on the low string(s), now is a good time to lift the saddle on that string just a touch more before you lock them. They shouldn't need to be adjusted anymore unless you change string gauges. Next we lift the bridge, evenly, to the desired string height. Once your action is set, don't lock the bridge yet. You're going to want to recheck the action after you set your intonation. Moving the saddles back tends to lift up on the string a bit, this can usually be remedied by simply pressing down on the strings both in front and behind the saddles help seat the strings and improve the break angle which you should also do at the nut.

All that's left is intonation, and there are many ways to accomplish that, I personally use the 12th harmonic and compare it to the fretted 12th. I also replaced the intonation screws with allen screws and can easily make the adjustments with a ball head allen. Cost $7 for the screws and a wrench at an Ace Hardware store. I also left out the intonation springs, they don't really serve a purpose other than to buzz once everything is locked down and it looks cleaner.

Hope this wasn't too wordy and is what you were looking for.