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Double Bass Adjusting an adjustable bridge

Slaphound

Slaphound

Jun 16, 2003
2,988
1,235
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Staten Island, NY
#1
Folks,
I did a search on this but I couldn't find an answer. I wanted to know if its safe to use an adjustable bridge with one side higher then the other. I find that when I slap to songs like 'Thats all right Mamma', slapping on the G is harder . It seems that I have a difficult time grabbing and pulling up compared to the other strings. Actually, E is the easiest and then A and D aren't so bad either.

thanks
 
#3
A little bit of tilt won't really hurt anything, but raising or lowering only one foot will throw all of the strings off center, actually counteracting the desired result of changing the height on only one side. Go ahead and try it, but your best bet is to have the bridge top re-arched to make the G lower.
 
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#4
Usually you should have both sides on the same height. But on my bass which I bought new and where the bass side did sink down a bit (which was normal for this instrument as told by the luthier who made it) I still use the same adjustable bridge but need to have a larger distance on the bass side, simply to reach the original height of the strings. But this is the only case where I would recommend this. (Others may recommend a new bridge for my instrument...)
 
#5
Are you saying the G is too low or too high? To get my E A and D where I wanted them my G would be too low. If I put the G where I wanted it, everything else would be too high.
After a little bit of fact checking, I just ended up sanding down the E, A, and D string slots. It's one of the few do at home bass fixes that isn't too hard to take care of on your own. I can tell you how I did it if you want.

BTW: If you don't want to do that, just slide up a few positions and play That's Allright on the D and A. IMO, it has a meatier thump that you cant get on the G
 
#6
Slaphound said:
Folks,
I did a search on this but I couldn't find an answer. I wanted to know if its safe to use an adjustable bridge with one side higher then the other. I find that when I slap to songs like 'Thats all right Mamma', slapping on the G is harder . It seems that I have a difficult time grabbing and pulling up compared to the other strings. Actually, E is the easiest and then A and D aren't so bad either.

thanks
Click to expand...
As others have said, in general, it's a bad idea. It places stress on the threads and actually ends up with the undesired side-effects that robobass mentioned. The correct solution is to modify the relative string heights by modifying the bridge.
 
#7
Well, I adjusted the bridge equally on both sides. So its a bit high now compared to the last set up I had. I have to practice a bit with it to see if it helps. I think the ideal setting would be that if the fingerboard were a little broader from side to side, down where my right hand pulls and slaps. Without some wood, what is happening is that my fingertips are coming down on the outside of the fingerboard and as I go to grab at the 'G' string, I'm slipping off the side of the fingerboard instead of the string.
 
#8
You're bridge is even from side to side? It still happens to me sometimes, just keep cracking and it'll go away for the most part. Keeping my hand really loose helped me get past it.

Try That's Allright on the D and A in 5th position using your middle finger for the A xxE xx. I think you'll like the sound better.

X= slap
 
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#9
Here is a pic
 

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#10
Hard to tell but just measure from the tip of the inner notch on the F hole to the bridge foot on the left and right side. They should be really close to the same or the same. (mine's about a half mm off)

What kind of Bass is that? Mine's black but a blonde is in the future. It's a musicians friend CCB but I'm very happy with it for a starter bass
 
#12
i was told by my luthier that they should be even, to a naked eye. being off slightly is no big deal. but if it's obvious upon basic inspection, its best to level them out. i always try and measure them as closely as i can, but i think i'm just neurotic.
 
#14
I'm trying the mark the adjusters concept now.. It's a good way but my feet are slightly curved so my adjusters don't look level to the naked eyes but I'm sure it's because of the slight angle of one of the bridge feet..

And I have that same problem with my d and g strings.. I have a 5 -string bass and my low B , E and A strings are loose but the D and G strings are too tight..

This is because a luthier filed down the lower 3 strings but didn't the top 2..

Now I want the top two filed down also but couldn't get a luthier I to do it.. The response was "just lower the adjuster"

What a joke aye.. Ha.

I'm traveling so I can't just go back to the original luthier etc..
 

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