Double Bass action high when fixed the scale length

[Sam Dingle]

Ok just tell me the obvious, bring to a luthier.

My bass is a large juzek, when my luthier set it up he said the string length is 43.5 and thats what david gauge said on the appraisal the bass came with.

I checked it today and it had creeped down to 44 and change. Texted my luthier and he instructed me how to move it back. Now its the right string length...

but now with the adjusters all the way down action is a little high. Probably due to the weather as well. Anything i can do to it other than get my luthiur to take some wood away from the bridge? Ideas? Prayers?

 

[james condino]

Florida in the springtime; have you been getting as much rain as the rest of the south has?

 

[Sam Dingle]

Florida in the springtime; have you been getting as much rain as the rest of the south has?

maybe...

 

[Hans Gruber]

Ok just tell me the obvious, bring to a luthier.

My bass is a large juzek, when my luthier set it up he said the string length is 43.5 and thats what david gauge said on the appraisal the bass came with.

I checked it today and it had creeped down to 44 and change. Texted my luthier and he instructed me how to move it back. Now its the right string length...

but now with the adjusters all the way down action is a little high. Probably due to the weather as well. Anything i can do to it other than get my luthiur to take some wood away from the bridge? Ideas? Prayers?

My Shen was still too high at the lowest point and Lisa Gass removed some wood from the foot and it was perfect. Plenty of clearance now and I raised the adjuster since I could make it TOO low now.

 

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

You changed the geometry. I’ve seen many dopes slide the bridge toward the fingerboard to “lower the action.” That and humidity could be the whole problem. I’d recrown the bridge.

 

[Sam Dingle]

You changed the geometry. I’ve seen many dopes slide the bridge toward the fingerboard to “lower the action.” That and humidity could be the whole problem. I’d recrown the bridge.

yeah but moving it closer to the fingerboard raised it. I'm assuming i just gotta bring it to a luthiur and get some wood taken away

 

[james condino]

Sam: by this point, we all know you are a serious bass nerd. When all the end of the world chaos slows down, it is time to come for a shop visit as a student for a couple of days and learn how to work out all of these basic life skills like this yourself!

 

[misterbadger]

What a great offer!

 

[Mgaisbacher]

To the OP, yeah if you want it to be the correct string length (at least according to the appraisal) then yes the only real option is having a luither remove wood from the bridge.

I think @KUNGfuSHERIFF was referring to folks thinking that moving the bridge toward the FB would lower it but if you think about it you'll see that the only thing that is going to do it raise the string heights.

For the time being, since most shops are shut down at the moment (at least a lot that I am aware of) You could just put the bridge back where it was, or somewhere in the middle, until you can get to a shop. Really that shouldn't* hurt anything and if its been at that placement for a while you're probably used to it any way.

*not making and promises, but most basses should be fine to move the bridge a little bit north or south even east to west, especially if its temporary, without any issues.

 

[spaghettiwestern]

Sam,

If your luthier gave you detailed instructions, this may have already been covered by then. Humidity and soundpost can play a role here, but there are some other checks you can do. If the bridge was made right the first time and it used to play well, cutting away wood may not be necessary. Here's my checklist for when a customer comes in with bridge adjusters bottomed out:

• Is the bridge leaning toward the nut? If you have a small square or even a CD case, you can place it behind the bridge to check. Luthier opinions vary as to whether the back or central axis of the bridge should be at a full 90 degrees to the top, but I tend to try to sight along central axis of the bridge (from the side) and have that line up with vertical. There are several videos online about this as well that you've probably already seen that will tell you how to carefully get things vertical again
• Is the bridge centered between the FF's? Measure the distance between the feet and the inside edge of each FF hole. If the bridge is over toward the left or right, the strings won't be centered on the fingerboard and some strings may seem really high / low.
• Is the bridge warped? If the bridge warped toward the nut, this also has the effect of raising the action. Again, a straight edge on the back of the bridge can give you some indication, depending on how the luthier made the bridge. Here, there's not as much you can DIY without some tools.

Less likely things to check:

• Is the neck heel pulling out of the pocket? Check the 'button' at the back of the neck heel. If there's a gap there, you'll probably notice it as a slight ridge between the back of the bass and the neck. This could indicate the neck pulling/leaning forward, which again raises string height. Nothing to do here but see a professional.
  
• Is the neck warped? You'd probably notice this even with lower string height, but if the nut is pulled forward due to neck warping, that will raise the string height at the other end of the FB. This is hard to check yourself without a good straightedge, and the only thing to do is see a professional anyway. To check, lay a decent straightedge along the long seam between the FB and neck and see how straight it is.

Hope these are helpful as non-invasive checks you can do. Happy to field any questions on DM!

 

[210superair]

My Shen was still too high at the lowest point and Lisa Gass removed some wood from the foot and it was perfect. Plenty of clearance now and I raised the adjuster since I could make it TOO low now.

I also did this to my Kay when I got it. Worked great.