My Shen Rogeri, which I've owned for close to three years now, has adjusted a bit more this winter than in winters past, and I'm not sure why. It's also adjusted a little differently than I expected this season.
One thing in particular I've noticed is that as the top has lowered, the bass side bridge foot has come down a couple of millimeters lower than the treble side foot. I am guessing that this has something to do with the soundpost preventing that side of the top from sinking any further but worry that it could be a symptom of a more serious issue.
This uneven sinking of the top, however, has caused the unfortunate effect of shifting the bridge toward the bass side, throwing off my action. I strive to keep it at 8-7-6-5 mm from E to G. The shift has caused the G to sit about a mm lower than I'd like, resulting in either a fretless-bass mwah sound if the G is too low or, as I raise the bridge saddles, low strings that feel too tight. Needless to say the string-to-string balance is a little off.
So tonight I tried an experiment: breaking the cardinal rule of bridge adjusters (always adjust them evenly), I decided to lower just the treble side to recenter the bridge. It took about 1 1/2 turns to do it. It seems to have worked. The action is right about where it should be and the bass feels and sounds like I expect it to.
So, in conclusion, I wonder:
Is it normal for the top to sink a little unevenly like this on some basses in the winter?
Is it acceptable to compensate for it with the adjusters in the way described above?
or, is this a "Get thee to a luthier" type of concern?
One thing in particular I've noticed is that as the top has lowered, the bass side bridge foot has come down a couple of millimeters lower than the treble side foot. I am guessing that this has something to do with the soundpost preventing that side of the top from sinking any further but worry that it could be a symptom of a more serious issue.
This uneven sinking of the top, however, has caused the unfortunate effect of shifting the bridge toward the bass side, throwing off my action. I strive to keep it at 8-7-6-5 mm from E to G. The shift has caused the G to sit about a mm lower than I'd like, resulting in either a fretless-bass mwah sound if the G is too low or, as I raise the bridge saddles, low strings that feel too tight. Needless to say the string-to-string balance is a little off.
So tonight I tried an experiment: breaking the cardinal rule of bridge adjusters (always adjust them evenly), I decided to lower just the treble side to recenter the bridge. It took about 1 1/2 turns to do it. It seems to have worked. The action is right about where it should be and the bass feels and sounds like I expect it to.
So, in conclusion, I wonder:
Is it normal for the top to sink a little unevenly like this on some basses in the winter?
Is it acceptable to compensate for it with the adjusters in the way described above?
or, is this a "Get thee to a luthier" type of concern?
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