Double Bass American Standard Bridge Width

[dylanjohnson]

Hi all,
I just checked in my mid 50's American Standard to my luthier for a new bridge and setup, and we noticed that the bridge, which was from Studio City Music (was that Toenniges' shop?) seemed to be regular sized, but doesn't really sit over the bass bar. It was too wide for the bass. Is this common to need a smaller bridge for these?

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Hi all,
I just checked in my mid 50's American Standard to my luthier for a new bridge and setup, and we noticed that the bridge, which was from Studio City Music (was that Toenniges' shop?) seemed to be regular sized, but doesn't really sit over the bass bar. It was too wide for the bass. Is this common to need a smaller bridge for these?

I don't know about that WRT American Standards, but I can state from experience that a properly sized bridge that sits over the bass bar responds and sounds far better than one that doesn't. I recently finally had a correct-sized bridge fitted to a bass than came with one that was too wide, and the difference was night and day. It's not a cheap exchange, but well worth it IMO.

 

[dylanjohnson]

Thanks for chiming in, @Chris Fitzgerald. This bass needed a new bridge badly, so I'll get it done right.

 

[Jake deVilliers]

Yes, American Standards want a bridge that is narrower than the commom 150MM bridge blank. Metmusic.com has a ton of sizes: Lemur should, too.

 

[dylanjohnson]

Thank you, Jake! Looks like my luthier found a smaller one.

 

[Jake deVilliers]

Thank you, Jake! Looks like my luthier found a smaller one.

Its always good to measure the inset of the bass bar with those factory basses: there's not a lot of consistency when it comes to the placement!