Double Bass Bridge position?

[DoghouseKyle]

Hey bottom-feeders who might be in the know... on my Engelhardt, one inner f-hole notch is higher up the f-hole (treble side) than the other side, implying my bridge should not sit perfectly horizontal. Is this normal? Pic attached showing (slightly exaggerated) bridge position according to my notches (note: not my actual bass, just a sample pic for diagram purposes). Any knowledgeable help appreciated..

 

[wathaet]

Inner notch should line up with center of the bridge feet. And the the treble and bass notches should line up... if not, make an excecutive decision and stick with that.

 

[DoghouseKyle]

Understood re: feet. Wondering if anyone knows if, at the factory, notches are sometimes not aligned horizontally for intonation purposes

 

[wathaet]

Understood re: feet. Wondering if anyone knows if, at the factory, notches are sometimes not aligned horizontally for intonation purposes

If not aligned it is shoddy craftsmanship

 

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

It has nothing to do with intonation, just bad work.

 

[DoghouseKyle]

So you guys are saying regardless of notch holes, bridge should absolutely be horizontal? It’s an ‘82 Engelhardt.. i recall hearing of quality issues at some point after takeover of Kay line..

 

[Steven Ayres]

So you guys are saying regardless of notch holes, bridge should absolutely be horizontal?

The bridge should be at a right angle to the center of the fingerboard, yes. Using the notches to set the position is just an approximation in any case. Set the bridge position at 41.5 inches from the nut. Draw a pencil line on the body to mark the position of the feet if that helps.

 

[james condino]

I an ideal world, the entire bass would be completely built and string up in the white. The full setup would be dialed in to perfection. When all is just right, the builder would then take a small chisel and delicately carve two small notches in the f hole to determine the precise location of the front and rear of the bridge feet in a time honored centuries old manner all while tapping and sniffing spruce, hide glue and secret varnish formulas. Then everything gets broke down to the bare wood and it is whisked off to the finishing elves who do their magic in secrecy while speaking in extraterrestrial tongues.....

Englehardt makes a minor modification to the process, something like this:

Before it ever becomes part of the finished corpus, grab the laminated top plate off the stack of 2000 others, mash an f hole on each side as fast as possible with a router, swing a couple of random hammer dents somewhere on the f hole, call it good and send to customer, repeat another 137 times before lunch break......

 

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

...after setting the neck with a rubber mallet.

 

[David Potts]

I agree with the bridge being at right angles with the center line if the fingerboard. I understand that the inner notches of the F holes should line up with the deepest point of the bass bar underneath. In the photo it looks as though your bridge is also twisted?

 

[John Le Guyader]

I an ideal world, the entire bass would be completely built and string up in the white. The full setup would be dialed in to perfection. When all is just right, the builder would then take a small chisel and delicately carve two small notches in the f hole to determine the precise location of the front and rear of the bridge feet in a time honored centuries old manner all while tapping and sniffing spruce, hide glue and secret varnish formulas. Then everything gets broke down to the bare wood and it is whisked off to the finishing elves who do their magic in secrecy while speaking in extraterrestrial tongues.....

Englehardt makes a minor modification to the process, something like this:

Before it ever becomes part of the finished corpus, grab the laminated top plate off the stack of 2000 others, mash an f hole on each side as fast as possible with a router, swing a couple of random hammer dents somewhere on the f hole, call it good and send to customer, repeat another 137 times before lunch break......

But how do you really feel about it! LOL That may very well be the case...I have a '90s vintage Engelhardt strung with guts, and for me it gives a good thump for acoustic based music like bluegrass and acoustic blues...arco is very nasal though, but maybe that's the guts speaking...my M1 is nevertheless playable, built like a tank and never any worries about climate and temperature swings impacting the bass...it has its place in my arsenal.