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Double Bass Bridge colour

billio

billio

Bass Head
Sep 7, 2003
231
4
59
Gympie
#1
Guys, is there any reason why I can't stain my bridge a different colour? Practically all the DB's I've seen, from cheapies like mine to $10,000 King custom jobs, all seem to have the plain old light coloured bridge.

Probably another dumb question....
 
#4
I Dunno what mine is made of, but the lighter coloured wood makes it look to me as if the bass (or at least the bridge) is unfinished.

I reckon I'll pick up some dark stain this weekend...
 
#5
There's no reason you can't put a little color on your bridge....I wouldn't be putting a dark stain on though. I guess a matter of taste. Old bridges get colored just from dirt, rosin, and time. To get a little more mellow, on a new bridge, i'll put some Olde English Scratch cover on. Common at super markets in the household area. It comes in different shades for different woods....I'd go with the light still. Great for scratches and touch ups too.
Some luthiers put on a base coat that they normally use for the base coat when putting color on the body.
Some people like to sand off the sharp edges of the bridge so it looks more rounded. Always be carful of the way the grain goes when sanding and coloring.
(I hope I haven't helped in opening a can of worms here)

And, billio, please fill out your profile.
 
#6
Paul Warburton said:
...i'll put some Olde English Scratch cover on. Common at super markets in the household area...
Click to expand...
Thanks for the tip, but I'm in Saudi Arabia, in other words, there's life Jim but not as we know it! What we take for granted in our various domociles is quite often just another frustrating trip into town here...

Paul Warburton said:
And, billio, please fill out your profile.
Click to expand...
Done mate, thanks for the reminder

I might give the bridge a bit of a stain, but I was thinking of painting the whole bass some time down the track - some wild colour like you can see on Norton Customs. If (hehehe, read WHEN) I do, I'll probably do the bridge the same colour.

At the moment though, I reckon black to match the finger board and the tailpiece... :cool:
 
#14
Paul Warburton said:
From me? Just yankin' yer chain....you'll find out soon, i'm one of the crotchity old guys here at TBDB. Hang in...
Why are you in Saudi? What's it like for a bass player over there?
Click to expand...

I'm in Saudi to train the aircraft technicians in the Royal Saudi Air Farce, as I spent 15 years the Royal Australian Air Force doing the aircraft technical thing.

There's very little available for a bass player here - that's why I'm using a Marshal Combo?!?! You can get cheap Yamaha bass's and Fender Squire bass's but that's it really. Strings are ok, so long as you use medium gauge Fender bass strings and you only have a 4 string! I have yet to see anything for a Double Bass. I think the combo is the only thing I've actually bought here. There's some decent PA stuff to be had but not so much of the instrument side.

Apart from that, it's hot or hotter. Except for winter when it's not quite so hot!
 

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