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Double Bass Adjuster question

J

Jeffon

Dec 28, 2024
66
50
#1
My first bridge with adjusters and I can not seem to get enough of a turn on them to raise height at all. With bass lying on its back : Do you detune strings quite a bit to lessen the tension? How much? I went below a full step but obviously worried about soundpost falling...

Maybe a dumb question : which way do u turn the tuner to raise the height of bridge? (Looking down from atop bridge) . I have tried both directions but not getting much of a turn, no discernable effect yet... thought I should ask before wasting more of my time and debunking strings a bunch. Thanks
 

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#4
Where is everybody? Dude needs some help.
OK. My $0.03
I always detune at least 2 whole steps before trying to turn the adjusters. Your soundpost should be OK with this reduced tension.
I see your adjusters are installed "threads UP", so, you'll need to turn each adjuster CLOCKWISE (as you're looking down at each adjuster imagine the face of a clock...) to RAISE the string height.
I would suggest turning each adjuster no more than 1/2 of one revolution (make a mark with pencil on the flat part of the adjuster to keep track), and alternate E side - G side until you're at the desired height. Yes - you don't want one side to be higher or lower than the other side. They currently look fairly "even", so keep track of the revolutions.
Also - make sure that the Feet of each side don't rotate during adjusting - keep a ruler handy to lay across the top to ensure that the feet (front edge) stay parallel to the ruler's edge and that the feet don't travel from their designated placement on the top plate. ( I use a piece of painter's tape to mark each foot's placement - up and down, and sideways.) Hold the foot while turning the adjuster.
Others will advocate for NOT detuning at ALL - I don't condone that sort of behavior. IMFO, of course.
Hope this helps.
Good Luck.
Thx.
 
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#6
That’s some very solid advice from Don above. The only thing I’d add is to double check that your bridge isn’t tilting towards the fingerboard once you’re happy with the height of your bridge. All that tuning and re tuning might pull your bridge up. Some people use a hard cover book to check. I have a small framing square which I find a little easier to get into position.
 
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#10
Don Kasper said:
Where is everybody? Dude needs some help.
OK. My $0.03
I always detune at least 2 whole steps before trying to turn the adjusters. Your soundpost should be OK with this reduced tension.
I see your adjusters are installed "threads UP", so, you'll need to turn each adjuster CLOCKWISE (as you're looking down at each adjuster imagine the face of a clock...) to RAISE the string height.
I would suggest turning each adjuster no more than 1/2 of one revolution (make a mark with pencil on the flat part of the adjuster to keep track), and alternate E side - G side until you're at the desired height. Yes - you don't want one side to be higher or lower than the other side. They currently look fairly "even", so keep track of the revolutions.
Also - make sure that the Feet of each side don't rotate during adjusting - keep a ruler handy to lay across the top to ensure that the feet (front edge) stay parallel to the ruler's edge and that the feet don't travel from their designated placement on the top plate. ( I use a piece of painter's tape to mark each foot's placement - up and down, and sideways.) Hold the foot while turning the adjuster.
Others will advocate for NOT detuning at ALL - I don't condone that sort of behavior. IMFO, of course.
Hope this helps.
Good Luck.
Thx.
Click to expand...

I just got a new adjustable bridge with the threads up. My luthier pointed out it's easier to use a caliper to measure the amount of thread exposed and therefore keep them equal. I also mark them with a silver sharpie or a pencil so I can track the distance turned.

It never occurred to me to detune to adjust, but I can never remember which way to turn so I just listen to the pitch of the nearest string as I adjust. I'll try to remember clockwise up for mine. I usually go 1/4 turns at a time, but usually end up going more than 1 set of turns so 1/2 is just fine.
 
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