Double Bass Adjusting String Height

[ljtravis95]

Okay TBers. Here's the deal. I've been playing bass for about 2 years. So I consider myself a rookie. I've never had any call to adjust string height. However, recently my G string has been giving me a bad buzz on occasion when I played above the octave. (Thumb position) Being the novice I am, I took it to my local Amro dealer guy, who's a family friend, thinking he could help. He agreed the G string was too low and said he would raise it. I played it again today and my action is much, much too high. On my bridge, there are metal (I'm assuming aluminum) cylindrical looking things on each side. Do I turn them? Are these bridge adjusters? If so. do I turn left for higher action, or vice versa? Please forgive such a novice question. Thank you, in advance.

 

[moles]

Which way you need to turn the adjusters depends on whether they were installed threads up our threads down. Just have a look, and whichever way it is, you should be able to see which way to turn the adjuster - to lower the strings, the threads need to 'screw in' to the bridge. (or bridge foot)
You'll probably need to detune the strings to get tension reduced so they're easy enough to turn. Try it first - one of my basses the adjusters turn easy enough on their own that l can just drop the height no problem without detuning - my other bass I wouldn't be able to do that. I you're bringing the string height up, then you'd definitely need to detune.
Make sure the bass is laying flat on it's back, so the soundpost doesn't drop when you take tension off the strings, and pay attention to what the bridge is doing as you tune the strings back up to pitch. You want to make sure it (the flat side of the bridge ) stays perpendicular to the top.

 

[Greg Clinkingbeard]

Your bridge might be closer to the E side F hole than the G side. That will cause your symptom.

 

[bejoyous]

Remember to only turn them a little bit (like 1/8th turn) at a time then try the the string. Usually you only need a mm of adjustment to get rid of a buzz.

 

[longfinger]

In addition, to what was already written, normally bridge adjusters should be equal in height. Raise and lower both at the same time. This assumes the bridge is in the proper location and is shaped properly. (On my basses, I don't have to detune the strings to raise the bridge adjusters. The better adjusters are installed, the easier they will be to turn, both to raise and to lower.)