Help with sound post

Bassman12593 · #1 02-26-2009, 05:12 PM

Hi, all. I play mainly electric so I guess I'm what you may call and upright bass n00b. I was changing strings and the sound post fell out of position. Can I fix this myself and if so how do I do it? I have access to all necessary tools (A friend of mine owns a music store. The reason I'm not asking him to fix it for me is because I feel I should be able to do repairs/set-ups by myself). Thanks in advance.

gbaker · #2 02-26-2009, 07:39 PM

You ever built a ship in a bottle? That's easy - you can see the parts. Actually a bass soundpost is not that bad. There is a commercial bass soundpost setter if you can find one quick enough. I have set them up using a grilling fork and a framing square. A "Mechanical Pick-up $10 from Home Depot helps too.

You may want to cover the ff hole edges with painter's tape to avoid marring. Loose strings. Grab the post with the pick-up tool and get it standing, there is probably a gouge mark on the top 1/4 end where it was set before. Use the fork on the top and the square on the bottom (back) side to move it around. Placement is generally under the treble bridge foot but down toward the floor end a bit. Not leaning. There may be marks you can see where the thing was before it fell. Hope so.

There is more detailed info herein on the finer points if you do a search.

Good luck

Greg Clinkingbeard · #3 02-27-2009, 07:44 AM

If you do it yourself, you will also need a mechanic's mirror to be sure you get the fit exactly right at the top. It's the only way to see that. I would recommend you have a luthier do it and watch the process so you can try it next time.
BTW, it fell because it was too short for the position it was in. If you use the same post it will probably be positioned slightly closer to the f hole for proper tension.
Whether or not it fits correctly there is another matter.

Bass · #4 02-27-2009, 08:07 AM

I did the same as you, knocked the sound post over a few months ago. Stood it up myself, and it was a tremendous pain in the neck. The luthier did a set-up on my bass not too long ago and told me that I had it in upside down. Whoops!

Greg Clinkingbeard · #5 02-27-2009, 08:30 AM

Toad's gonna want some money for that pic.

drurb · #6 02-27-2009, 09:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bassman12593

Hi, all. I play mainly electric so I guess I'm what you may call and upright bass n00b. I was changing strings and the sound post fell out of position. Can I fix this myself and if so how do I do it? I have access to all necessary tools (A friend of mine owns a music store. The reason I'm not asking him to fix it for me is because I feel I should be able to do repairs/set-ups by myself). Thanks in advance.

I've always thought of sound-post setting like automatic transmission repair. That is, it's no job for an amateur and really isn't on the list of do-it-yourself maintenance items. It's a job for a luthier. You may actually need a different-sized post.

zeytoun · #7 02-27-2009, 10:06 AM

I think it's cool that you're wanting to learn how to do it yourself (not just trying to do it to save money). How about having your friend teach you?

Bass · #8 02-27-2009, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clink

Toad's gonna want some money for that pic.

Hey, I've never looked better.

Bassman12593 · #9 03-01-2009, 09:03 AM

Thanks guys, after about 45 minutes, I got it in place. I showed it to my friend who I mentioned earlier and he said it's in correctly.