Bridge - Heart-shoulder distance
 

Hey,

I own a Upton bass hydrid, that i wish to upgrade a bit. It has been very well set up recently by a french luthier i have a lot of respect for.

He was telling me the best upgrade on my bass was to change the bridge. His main argument was the distance of the heart and shoulder (top) was too long. But a lot of bridges seem to be mande like that.

Any thought on how it would affect the sound to have a custom made bridge with shorter heart-shoulder distance?

Some people will cut a french bridge more like a Belgian bridge by leaving the legs as long possible. This will effectively reduce the the distance between the heart and top of the bridge. I've played around with taking this to the extreme and now tend to do something more in the middle. I wouldn't say it's always the best thing to do, but maybe for a darker bass, it could help.

Aubert sells bridges with the heart higher and lower in the blank to address this issue.

So reducing the distance between the heart and the top might make my bass sound a bit more brighter. I'm looking for more growl so it be be a good option if i understand correctly.

Thanks

'More growl' would come from a fingerboard profile with less camber, not a different bridge. Thinning the bridge will definitely alter the sound but it won't make the strings 'growlier'.

What strings are you using and what are the string heights at the end of the board?

When you hold the D string down at both ends of the fingerboard, how deep is the arc of the fingerboard camber?

I have a Upton Hybrid Hawkes with very old spiros.

I dont have the proper tools to measure, but the height at the end of the board on the D string is a little more than 3mm and i'd say roughly the same for the camber.

When i showed it to my luthier, he did mention the camber was high, but told me the best for my bass was to cut a new bridge because adjusting the camber wouldn't really alter the sound! :eyebrow: Might also be because i needed a little more heigh on my bridge since the FC adjuster are high (he also offered adding would blocks too)

So i was planning to get spiros and an new bridget cut, i think the work on the camber was the double of the cost of a new bridge. I'm a bit confused now!

The heart should be centered between the arch and the top.

Unlike the rest of us, your luthier has actually looked at your bass so I would be inclined to trust their judgement if its someone you believe is experienced.

yep, that ^