Double Bass Brass vs. Aluminium bridge adjuster?

[bass player 53]

I assume the OP has his adjusters by now, but back in the day, ebony seemed to be the desired choice.
Maybe Mark Gollihur can chime in- has this changed? Was this never true?
Just curious.

 

[Mark Gollihur]

I assume the OP has his adjusters by now, but back in the day, ebony seemed to be the desired choice.
Maybe Mark Gollihur can chime in- has this changed? Was this never true?
Just curious.

Does the material in the adjuster really matter?

Possibly, everything does, but by how much?? The effect of adjusters on tone is very often overstated, usually by people who have a "purist" view of what an instrument should be. And it's fine for everyone to have an opinion, but it's better if the opinion you form is based upon reality or experience. There was once a link to a site (sadly, no longer active) on my Double Bass Links Page with a scientific study of the effects of adjusters of various materials, using specialized audio equipment. The sophisticated gear could differentiate between fixed and adjustables, as well as different adjuster materials (like aluminum, brass, Delrin, etc.) but I think you'll find that these differences are quite subtle - if not undetectable - to the "naked ear." Quality of wood, and how well the bridge is contoured and fitted to the particular instrument are two far more important variables in quality of sound, for sure. A true "on-bass" test is near impossible, as you'd need to equalize those variables and be able to A-B fairly once the SAME bridge was properly fitted on the SAME instrument, with the SAME strings, in a "blind" comparison. All of that is virtually impossible to do, as those variables become inconsistent with the removal/refit/etc.

In my personal opinion and experience, I don't "hear" a difference between an adjustable bridge and a fixed one, or between adjusters of different materials, as long as they're properly and well-installed. Someone who can either has golden ears, or is probably basing that opinion on flawed experience -- perhaps they're "hearing with their eyes."

Just my 1/50th of a dollar.

 

[bass player 53]

Wow, Mark. Thank-you for that
very comprehensive response.
There’s so much voodoo (doodoo?)
out there.

 

[eh_train]

I assume the OP has his adjusters by now, but back in the day, ebony seemed to be the desired choice.
Maybe Mark Gollihur can chime in- has this changed? Was this never true?
Just curious.

One thing that has changed with adjusters: almost everyone nowadays prefers an adjuster where the shaft and the wheel are carved out of one piece of material. Those two piece adjusters were apt to separate, so that you could 'adjust' the shaft into the top of your bass. Nope!

 

[DoubleMIDI]

When I replaced the heavy brass adjusters with the aluminium ones of a Full Circle that was easily audible to me. (OK, the Full Circle itself is a two-piece adjuster.)
And I cared for same bridge position and bridge angle as good as possible.

It doesn‘t answer the material question (where different materials have a similar weight) but mass matters.
Some players and luthiers even care for mass on non-adjustable bridges preferring lighter ones. (But sanding them thinner for course changes the bending resistance too.)

 

[Greg Clinkingbeard]

Does the material in the adjuster really matter?

Possibly, everything does, but by how much?? The effect of adjusters on tone is very often overstated, usually by people who have a "purist" view of what an instrument should be. And it's fine for everyone to have an opinion, but it's better if the opinion you form is based upon reality or experience. There was once a link to a site (sadly, no longer active) on my Double Bass Links Page with a scientific study of the effects of adjusters of various materials, using specialized audio equipment. The sophisticated gear could differentiate between fixed and adjustables, as well as different adjuster materials (like aluminum, brass, Delrin, etc.) but I think you'll find that these differences are quite subtle - if not undetectable - to the "naked ear." Quality of wood, and how well the bridge is contoured and fitted to the particular instrument are two far more important variables in quality of sound, for sure. A true "on-bass" test is near impossible, as you'd need to equalize those variables and be able to A-B fairly once the SAME bridge was properly fitted on the SAME instrument, with the SAME strings, in a "blind" comparison. All of that is virtually impossible to do, as those variables become inconsistent with the removal/refit/etc.

In my personal opinion and experience, I don't "hear" a difference between an adjustable bridge and a fixed one, or between adjusters of different materials, as long as they're properly and well-installed. Someone who can either has golden ears, or is probably basing that opinion on flawed experience -- perhaps they're "hearing with their eyes."

Just my 1/50th of a dollar.

Theoretically everything matters, but the reality is that many of the things musicians obsess over don’t make matter much. I worked for a large production shop for several years and set up thousands of basses with one piece brass adjusters. I would occasionally use those in a bridge for myself or aluminum in one for the shop. I swapped them in the same bridge. In my experience, brass yields a bit more low end and a muted top end. The effect was slight, a bit like switching a marine rope tailgut for braided cable; a different mass tailpiece, or soundpost. Everything matters, and collectively all of those changes can change the tone of an instrument; but not as much as people think. Now, regraduate a top and replace a bassbar? THAT matters. Go practice.

 

[james condino]

Swaping out to a fresh set of strings or a big soundpost adjustment will make more of a difference, but I still like to obsess over the smaller details like bridge adjusters.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Theoretically everything matters, but the reality is that many of the things musicians obsess over don’t matter much….

Go practice.

^^^^Agree