Bridge

[TylerDurden111]

I recently lost my D strings screw and spring and i got a new one today only to realize my bridge is a mess, I seem to have gotten the lengths right E ascending to the G by looking at pictures but the heights are a mess.
Do they all have to be the same height or are they supposed to get smaller or taller a certain way?

 

[J.D.B.]

The saddles should follow the radius of the neck, at least to begin with. Sounds like a thorough set up might be just the ticket. Copying pictures isn't going to get you intoned, which is also part of the saddles' function. There is a ton of info here(search) and elsewhere,(like Dan Erlewine's book). If you're not up for it take it to a pro.
Josh

 

[XylemBassGuitar]

Hi TylerDurden111,

As far as the saddle heights are concerned, you do want them to follow the radius of the fretboard (just like J.D.B said). If you don't have any radius gauges to use as a guide for this operation, you can just sight down the neck and eyeball-match the radius of the saddles to the radius of the fretboard.

You don't want to use a picture as a reference to set the length of the saddles. The length of the saddles should be set with a fairly accurate tuner (I'll explain how in a minute), as they control the intonation (again, as J.D.B states). If your intonation is set incorrectly then your open string notes will not be in tune with your fretted string notes. That is, if you play the A open and then fret the A string at the twelfth fret, the two notes will not be in tune with each other, and your playing will sound funny no matter how good you are.

There are several different ways in which to properly set intonation, each varies slightly, but the one I'll explain here was the method used by one of the more reputable luthiers I have known.

First, you'll need a high-quality chromatic tuner. Anything that costs less than $20 will probably not do a very good job. Ideally, you'll want to spend at least $80, but a $20 Korg CA-30 can suffice.

Turn on the tuner and plug it into the bass. Now, on the low E, play the harmonic at the twelfth fret and tune the string to pitch. Next, fret the low E at the twelfth fret and play the note. Compare the two readings of the tuner. The harmonic should be tuned to pitch and the fretted note will probably be sharp or flat. If the fretted E is flat you want to move the saddle forward (toward the neck, in effect shortening the string). If the fretted E is sharp, you want to move the saddle away from the neck (effectively lengthening the string). Basically, you want move the saddle so that the tuner reads a perfect E for both the harmonic at the twelfth fret and the fretted note at the twelfth. Repeat for each string. Once you are done, your bass will be properly intonated.

As J.D.B said, if you aren't up to the tasks, your bass would certainly benefit from a setup done by a professional. A good setup will set the intonation, saddle height and neck relief properly, making the instrument sound and play better.

Let me know how it turns out.

 

[cgworkman]

Question: Do you retune the 12th fret harmonic after each adjustment? Because if you move the saddles because of the fretted note then the harmonic will change too. Correct? Do you ignore that or retune and attempt again?

 

[J.D.B.]

Yes, when you adjust the saddle fore and aft, the note changes. In order: tune the open note, check the twelfth, adjust the saddle if necessary, retune the open note, check the twelfth, etc., until satisfied.
Josh

 

[XylemBassGuitar]

cgworkman,

Yes, you're exactly right: you want to re-tune the harmonic after each adjustment.

 

[cgworkman]

Thanks!


One more question: Is there any point in intonation beyond the 12th fret? I've heard some say that if you play allot of chords and solo type stuff higher up on the neck then you should consider intonating at a higher fret also. Your thoughts?

 

[XylemBassGuitar]

I'm not sure, I have never heard of anyone using a point beyond the 12th fret.

It defnitely seems to make sense that someone who plays a lot in the higher registers might want to use a higher point than the 12th to intonate their instrument, and it wouldn't surprise me at all of some people did.

I'm not sure how you would go about doing it correctly though. I would assume that if you were using the 2nd octave (24th fret) that you would do it in the same way as if you were using the 12th. I would also assume that using frets between the 12th and 24th might require you to use a different technique.

But you know what they say about when you assume!

I wouldn't intonate using any of the higher frets until you talk to someone who has experience doing so.

 

[cgworkman]

I'm not sure, I have never heard of anyone using a point beyond the 12th fret.

It defnitely seems to make sense that someone who plays a lot in the higher registers might want to use a higher point than the 12th to intonate their instrument, and it wouldn't surprise me at all of some people did.

I'm not sure how you would go about doing it correctly though. I would assume that if you were using the 2nd octave (24th fret) that you would do it in the same way as if you were using the 12th. I would also assume that using frets between the 12th and 24th might require you to use a different technique.

But you know what they say about when you assume!

I wouldn't intonate using any of the higher frets until you talk to someone who has experience doing so.

It was once explained to me that you could compare the D at the 19th fret of the G string to the harmonic of the same fret. Thoughts?

The reason I ask is I always have a hell of a time getting this to work.