chipping under feet

[Vince_P9]

I just bought my first upright, an Engelhardt Supreme through my local music store. After owning it for about a month and not having the time to tweek it due to time on the road with my electric band, I decided to set it up the other day on my own to the best of my ability. First I loosened the strings, but not too much, so the sound post wouldnt fall out, and lowered the bridge by about a half an inch or so. When I did this, I saw that in place of where the feet originally were there were now two large, deep chips in my bass! I dont understand why this happened? I loosened the strings quite a bit and the bridge was pretty easy to move. Maybe from being stagnant for so long the feet were stuck to the finish on the body? Point being, I dont know if Im at fault for this or what I should do now. Would Engelhardt repair or replace the bass? If not, would it be difficult or expensive for a luthier to fix? Even if it wouldnt be, I imagine some kind of putty smeared across the body wouldnt look too great. Any advice on this matter would be much appreciated. Thanks!

[Gearhead43]

What exactly do you mean by "I lowered the bridge" and "I set it up" ?

Was the bridge tilted towards the fingerboard when you started? If the bass sat for a long time with the sharp edge of the feet pushing on the bass it could have caused the chips. This is why the bridge must be pushed back into correct position when tuning. It needs to sit with the feet flat on the top, with the bridge at a 90 degree angle from the top.

[jtlownds]

Pictures of the damaged area would help us diagnos the problem, and maybe determine if it is indeed a problem.

[Vince_P9]

By "lowered the bridge" I mean just that-I lowered the bridge a half inch down from its original position (further from the fingerboard and closer to the tailpiece). By "set up" I mean lowered the string height. The feet of the bridge are and always have been flat to the body.

[Vince_P9]

So I took off the bridge to examine the bottom of the feet....
The screws from the height adjustors are sticking out from the bottom of the feet into the body of the bass. GRRRR

[Joe Ergle]

Originally Posted by Vince_P9

By "lowered the bridge" I mean just that-I lowered the bridge a half inch down from its original position (further from the fingerboard and closer to the tailpiece).

Why would you do that?

And it sounds like you have it set up too low if the screws are digging into your bass.

[Uncletoad]

How did you lower the bridge?, Take it off the top or the legs?

[.matthew e wengerd.]

It sounds like neither, Phil - He moved it towards the tailpiece. The question is "why."

[Uncletoad]

Originally Posted by .matthew e wengerd.

It sounds like neither, Phil - He moved it towards the tailpiece. The question is "why."

Oh. I get it.


I'd suggest doing nothing more to your bass and take it to a luthier Vince. You are so unfamiliar with what you are doing that you will cost yourself a whole bunch more money if you continue to mess with it yourself.

What you have may have started as a warranty issue but at this point it's moved into driver error.

[bribass]

I'm no luthier, but it seems that even if the bridge adjusters were lowered all the way down, the threads of the adjusters should not have dug into the top like that. Sounds like the feet were cut too shallow to begin with, not giving the adjuster shafts enough wood to go into to keep them off the top of the bass.

Bri

[jtlownds]

Sounds like whoever installed the adjusters on that bridge, didn't have a clue as to what they were doing.

[Uncletoad]

Originally Posted by jtlownds

Sounds like whoever installed the adjusters on that bridge, didn't have a clue as to what they were doing.

The bridge could have been modified after the adjusters were installed. Either way, they are not right now and the feet need some wood added or the bridge replaced entirely.

[Gearhead43]

Engelhardt basses do not come standard from the factory with adjustable bridges, which is why I asked about "lowering" the bridge and "setup". You were not being clear or using correct terminology, and I needed more info in order or answer your question.

Good luck.

[forester]

Originally Posted by Vince_P9

So I took off the bridge to examine the bottom of the feet....
The screws from the height adjustors are sticking out from the bottom of the feet into the body of the bass. GRRRR

if you see "screws" (threads) through the bottom of the feet the adjusters have been installed upside down...should be post in feet..threads in legs.

[Uncletoad]

Originally Posted by forester

if you see "screws" (threads) through the bottom of the feet the adjusters have been installed upside down...should be post in feet..threads in legs.

That's more of a preference than a rule. They function equally well in either place. I prefer them in the feet when used with a Full Circle pickup. The cut should be sufficiently high enough on the feet to have significant distance before they poke out of the bottom even when screwed in all the way. Making that distance to short is either an installation error or a later modification error.

[Sahm]

Originally Posted by Vince_P9

Would Engelhardt repair or replace the bass? If not, would it be difficult or expensive for a luthier to fix? Even if it wouldnt be, I imagine some kind of putty smeared across the body wouldnt look too great. Any advice on this matter would be much appreciated. Thanks!

I don't think Engelhardt will repair or replace your bass. As was mentioned, they don't come with adjustable bridges, and the bridges they do come with are not installed at the factory. So, they would have nothing to do with with how that bridge was installed.

As far as cost, that depends on the luthiers in your area. But I would expect to pay a coupla hundred, including the proper setup that the bass needs.

[Jake deVilliers]

"should be post in feet..threads in legs."

Uh, not in my shop forester - I much prefer the threads to be down. They don't cause any trouble if you install them correctly.

[forester]

Originally Posted by Jake deVilliers

"should be post in feet..threads in legs."

Uh, not in my shop forester - I much prefer the threads to be down. They don't cause any trouble if you install them correctly.

10-4 just pointing out if he has threaded end protruding..his feet are shorter than the reach of the thread...correctly installed there should be no issue... no rules implied. the thread up preference is to take advantage of the leg gaining size and hopefully strength..i just prefer the post floating in the foot.

[lhoward]

Originally Posted by Jake deVilliers

"should be post in feet..threads in legs."

Uh, not in my shop forester - I much prefer the threads to be down. They don't cause any trouble if you install them correctly.

An interesting point. I guess I've never seen anyone state what the advantages/disadvantages are to installing them either way (except for forester's post which I didn't see before I posted mine) . Can you elaborate why you prefer threads down? Thanks.

Lloyd Howard

[forester]

Originally Posted by forester

10-4 just pointing out if he has threaded end protruding..his feet are shorter than the reach of the thread...correctly installed there should be no issue... no rules implied. the thread up preference is to take advantage of the leg gaining size and hopefully strength..i just prefer the post floating in the foot.

the above post was my safe reply..."the reference to the preference" the following is closer to the truth..i slightly oversize the top half of the bore in the foot,the purpose is to give it a little wiggle room in order to keep a tight seat when the legs spread under tension, when height adj.are made to one side its less apt to bind or raise an edge,also i feel the lower the position of movement,the better..(timber cutter thing)
i work primarily on the daily drivers (school instruments)..they are tuned,detuned,retuned,bridge beat back to vert. etc,etc.
alright group.. go easy on the