Bridge/adjusters

Meddle771 · #1 12-08-2010, 08:56 PM

is it bad for my bridge adjusters to be uneven? because of the arc of the bridge i need to have the E string adjuster higher than the G string. is this bad for the top?

keiranohara · #2 12-08-2010, 10:05 PM

It is not bad for the top, but it is bad for your bridge. The holes and threads the adjusters live in are parallel, and by having them out of sync you are going to notice they'll binding under the string tension. Also by raising one side, youll be tilting the top of the bridge. This tilt, relative to the arch of the FB will be counter to the effect you are aiming for (in addition to your strings no longer being centered on the FB).

Andrew McGregor · #3 12-08-2010, 10:29 PM

Put them back to level and move the bridge sideways a little bit. That should get the same effect without damaging the bridge.

tstone · #4 12-09-2010, 09:32 AM

I agree with keiranohara's comments about the coaxiality of the posts with the bridge holes.

Also, if the bridge was fitted to the top before the legs were cut in half for the adjusters, then any difference between the height of the adjusters is theoretically going to cause a misalignment of the bridge foot surfaces to the top surface. The clearance between the adjuster posts and the bridge holes will accommodate some of that, but there's a limit. If one adjuster has to be a lot higher than the other, I think the top arc of the bridge should be recut.

robobass · #5 12-09-2010, 02:16 PM

I agree with the other replies, but a mismatch of a few millimeters probably won't cause any harm. Tops move with the weather, so sometimes a slight unevenness is just par for the course. Check to see that your bridge hasn't been bumped and landed the feet in the wrong place, and consider that mismatching the adjuster heights can only do so much. If the bridge top simply doesn't match the fingerboard camber, then you need to get it recut!

drurb · #6 12-09-2010, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by robobass

If the bridge top simply doesn't match the fingerboard camber, then you need to get it recut!

I suspect you mean "match" in the sense of being appropriate. If the arc of the bridge-top really matched the fingerboard curve, then all the strings would be the same height off the fingerboard. FWIW, I always thought that uneven adjusters were not only bad for the bridge but for the top as well because of the way the tension is changed.

robobass · #7 12-10-2010, 05:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drurb

I suspect you mean "match" in the sense of being appropriate. If the arc of the bridge-top really matched the fingerboard curve, then all the strings would be the same height off the fingerboard. FWIW, I always thought that uneven adjusters were not only bad for the bridge but for the top as well because of the way the tension is changed.

Perhaps "match" isn't the best term. I only mean that the bridge curve produces proper string heights for the player, whose personal tastes can vary widely.

As far as unevenness, it is of course undesirable. As everyone else has said, it can make the adjusters hard to turn, damage the threads at the extreme, and make the foot push unevenly on the top. But, there is some tolerance here, and the risks are perhaps overblown. The bridge/adjuster system is flexible. I wouldn't place a few mm uneveness in the emergency category of a loose bass bar or top crack.

I lived for years with quite uneven adjusters on one of my basses. When I finally got around to correcting the problem, I found that I hadn't damaged anything, and the sound of the bass was unchanged. It was nice to be able to turn the adjusters more easily, but in the meantime I had paid lots of rent and bought lots of gas and food!

drurb · #8 12-10-2010, 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by robobass

Perhaps "match" isn't the best term. I only mean that the bridge curve produces proper string heights for the player, whose personal tastes can vary widely.

As far as unevenness, it is of course undesirable. As everyone else has said, it can make the adjusters hard to turn, damage the threads at the extreme, and make the foot push unevenly on the top. But, there is some tolerance here, and the risks are perhaps overblown. The bridge/adjuster system is flexible. I wouldn't place a few mm uneveness in the emergency category of a loose bass bar or top crack.

I lived for years with quite uneven adjusters on one of my basses. When I finally got around to correcting the problem, I found that I hadn't damaged anything, and the sound of the bass was unchanged. It was nice to be able to turn the adjusters more easily, but in the meantime I had paid lots of rent and bought lots of gas and food!

Agree completely! Okay, I admit to exhibiting OCD symptoms when it comes to my own adjusters.

They are within a fraction of a turn of each other.

Meddle771 · #9 12-12-2010, 08:05 PM

Long story short i had the arc of the bridge cut wrong, so with the adjusters uneven/bridge and feet in the right position, the string height is exactly how i want it. My bridge feet don't match the top as well as they could, so im just going to save up for a top notch bridge and kill two birds with one stone in the long run, by having a bridge with the correct arc and one that matches the top well.

With some basic woodworking skills and a very good eye for detail and precision, how hard would it be to cut/sand the arc down myself to how i want it? Seems simple enough, only cutting the slots is the part i don't have tools for.... thoughts?