I have an extra adjustable bridge to replace an old bridge on my plywood bass. The adjustable bridge is WAY to high, I can fit my hand in the height between the fingerboard and strings. I was wondering if there was a good way to carve the adjustable bridge so that it fits my bass without having to bring it in. The feet fit perfectly but the part of the bridge above the heart is to high. Thanks!
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Double Bass Carving Bridge
- Thread starter MilesC
- Start date
This is a post that I found when I needed:
Your bass bridge does not need to be spread. The middle of the foot rests on the line. Mark where your feet will stand with a white grease pencil. Lay down some red lipstick on those areas. Pres the feet down and the color will transfer. Put your bridge upside down in a vise and use a sharp scrapper to carve away the red spots. you should have it in an hour or so.
You can use a little windex in a paper towel to clean the lipstick off the bass top.
String heights for mum should be 5mm on the G and 8mm on the E. Make sure you thin the top of the bridge to 5mm thick. Bridge toes should be reduced to 4mm thick.
Good luck.
Your bass bridge does not need to be spread. The middle of the foot rests on the line. Mark where your feet will stand with a white grease pencil. Lay down some red lipstick on those areas. Pres the feet down and the color will transfer. Put your bridge upside down in a vise and use a sharp scrapper to carve away the red spots. you should have it in an hour or so.
You can use a little windex in a paper towel to clean the lipstick off the bass top.
String heights for mum should be 5mm on the G and 8mm on the E. Make sure you thin the top of the bridge to 5mm thick. Bridge toes should be reduced to 4mm thick.
Good luck.
- Sanding down the feet is not the solution. If the new bridge is that high, you don't have enough wood in the feet to compensate. The arc of the bridge is probably wrong anyway. Also, if the feet a,ready fit on the top of the bass properly, don't mess with that.
- First, measure the string height at about the point of the neck joint and at the end of the fingerboard for each string. Next, if you are satisfied with the curve of the existing bridge, use it to make a template. Transfer the curve and the notches for the strings on to a piece of cardboard. Put the new bridge into place and measure each string height in the same two places. The difference between tbe old string height and the new string height ia what needs to be sanded off. Measure off the distance on the new bridge perpendicular the the arc of the bridge. Now use the template you created to connect the dots. Before you start sanding, make sure the your perpendicular lines extend past the new arc that you have traced, otherwise you won't know where the string notches go. Now, using a disc or belt sander on a bench, sand the arc down to the arc you have traced. fit the bridge, to make sure you got it right. As noted above, sand the flat side of the top of the bridge to make the top edge about 5mm. File your new string notches with a round mini file to the correct depth and width. Voila!
