Aluminum bridge adjusters - worked for me

[George700DL]

I stayed up till 5 AM the other night installing aluminum adjusters on a new bridge. I thought it was going to be a 3-4 hour job, but turned out to be more like 5-6. Probably because of OCD.

I installed them for the specific reason of getting more volume and darkness, after reading about them in C. Traeger's book as well as some posts here. There was definitely a noticeable increase on both accounts and I'm glad I took the time to do it. I don't care about changing string height. Basically I cut the bridge so that my desired height is at 1 turn from rock bottom, and I keep it there.

BTW, the bridge type I bought was identical to the one I replaced, so this is truly an "all other things being equal" comparison.

Question for luthiers: Do you end up re-fitting the feet AFTER the legs are cut and adjusters installed, or is the fit still 100% perfect after the installation? I ended up doing a bit more final scraping after the reassembly.

George

[Cody Sisk]

I always fit the bridge feet first before cutting them for wheels. In fact, customers who bring me a bridge blank with preinstalled wheels will pay more for the fitting. It's a real pain to properly fit bridge feet that way..

[Jake deVilliers]

Originally Posted by George700DL

I stayed up till 5 AM the other night installing aluminum adjusters on a new bridge. I thought it was going to be a 3-4 hour job, but turned out to be more like 5-6. Probably because of OCD.

I installed them for the specific reason of getting more volume and darkness, after reading about them in C. Traeger's book as well as some posts here. There was definitely a noticeable increase on both accounts and I'm glad I took the time to do it. I don't care about changing string height. Basically I cut the bridge so that my desired height is at 1 turn from rock bottom, and I keep it there.

BTW, the bridge type I bought was identical to the one I replaced, so this is truly an "all other things being equal" comparison.

Question for luthiers: Do you end up re-fitting the feet AFTER the legs are cut and adjusters installed, or is the fit still 100% perfect after the installation? I ended up doing a bit more final scraping after the reassembly.

George

The feet usually fit fine for me after installing adjusters in a solid bridge.

If someone brought me a bridge with pre-installed adjusters I would politely say "I don't do that kind of work."

[George700DL]

Originally Posted by Jake deVilliers

The feet usually fit fine for me after installing adjusters in a solid bridge.

If someone brought me a bridge with pre-installed adjusters I would politely say "I don't do that kind of work."

Well I have a confession - I used the sandpaper method first, before cutting the legs .

After I fitted the adjusters, the feet seemed to fit, but I tried the lipstick thing for verification - and realized just how much more work is needed. I clamped the legs between 2 scraps of wood for stability, and only used a sharp scraper for further fitting.

Now the feet fit 100%.

So most likely, the problem was using a less than ideal method of fitting the feet in the first place, rather then the adjusters altering anything.

George

[kurt ratering]

i install the adjusters before the fitting and spot glue a tongue depressor to the ankles. ive never had an issue with the feet spinning...
as long as the feet fit, i dont think it matters when the adjusters go in.

[George700DL]

Originally Posted by kurt ratering

i install the adjusters before the fitting and spot glue a tongue depressor to the ankles. ive never had an issue with the feet spinning...
as long as the feet fit, i dont think it matters when the adjusters go in.

Yeah, after I sandwiched the ankles with wood and clamps, with the adjusters inserted (threads down), the whole unit was solid enough for fitting.

Next time though, I'll shoot for a perfect fit before cutting the legs.

George

[Greg Clinkingbeard]

Originally Posted by Jake deVilliers

If someone brought me a bridge with pre-installed adjusters I would politely say "I don't do that kind of work."

Sadly, I know what you mean. The bridge on my main axe was cut too low, causing the adjusters to be cranked about half way out of the feet. Don't know if that affects sound quality, but I suspect the fact that there isn't much wood above the heart isn't a plus in the sound department. The bridge is a lower quality Aubert.

In cleaning out some old parts, I found a 3/4 Mirecourt bridge with more than enough height that was drilled and tapped for the same adjusters so I spent several hours re-fitting the feet. It took me about three hours just to do the feet.

Then, removing 5mm from each side above the adjusters! No band saw, but I got them on the first try on a compound miter saw. The adjusters fit perfectly flush with no scraping or sanding. Nice!

Adjusting the thickness and curve was done with an orbital sander. Filing the notches was easy.

All-in-all, it was about a five hour job but the bass sounds better and I'm glad I did it, but you guys doing this for a living earn every penny.

[George700DL]

Originally Posted by clink

Sadly, I know what you mean. The bridge on my main axe was cut too low, causing the adjusters to be cranked about half way out of the feet. Don't know if that affects sound quality,

Dunno, I set mine up so that they're only up by 1 complete turn. I think that alone adds nice flexibility. I also wonder if they were set a few mm higher still, if the sound would open up even more.

All-in-all, it was about a five hour job but the bass sounds better and I'm glad I did it, but you guys doing this for a living earn every penny.

Exactly. I'd gladly take a bass to a luthier for this type of work, but considering the fact that I'm working on a bass that I built, I might as well learn to do these things myself properly. I enjoy the process.

[Greg Clinkingbeard]

Originally Posted by George700DL

Exactly. I'd gladly take a bass to a luthier for this type of work, but considering the fact that I'm working on a bass that I built, I might as well learn to do these things myself properly. I enjoy the process.

I hear you. As I have owned this bass for less than a year, and the bridge was never quite right I suppose I could have pressed the issue and had the shop cut a new bridge.

However, I too value the learning experience and the opportunity to do this at no cost was not to be passed up.