Okay. So I want to add a Kahler tremolo bridge. But I also want to move the bridge closer to the neck as opposed to near the end of the bass. However, I started wondering if this would cause problems or affect the guitar in a negative way. Either way I'm changing the bridge but I need to know if I can change the positioning without damaging the bass permanently. Hope someone can help me with this.
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Changing the bridge position.
- Thread starter Phantom Fingers
- Start date
bongomania
Commercial User
It's not a question of damging the bass. For one thing, you are going to be routing a big hole in the body for the tremolo, so you best be prepared to understand woodworking enough to not be worried about a few extra screw holes. For another, the position of the bridge is set by the scale length of the bass, particularly the frets. You can move the bridge only as far as it will still allow some range of saddle movement for intonation at the original scale length.
Not to be a d**k, but why do you want to do this? Bongmania has it- moving your bridge more than 1/16" - 1/8" will likely throw the intonation off to the point the bass will no longer be capable of playing in tune.
Frankly, installing that bridge will, "damage your bass permanently".
You should think long and hard about this.
edit: No matter how/where you install this bridge, you're going down a road that you can't get back from.
Bongo is correct, if you move the bridge... it will throw the scale off causing it to be very hard to intonate if at all..........
The Kahler bridge is really good for adjusting intonation and spacing strings. I want to move it closer so the strings will be more responsive and so I don't have to slap and pluck near the end of the bass to prevent accidentally muting the string. Whenever I slap too close to the neck I really have to go out of my way to not mute the string. Aside from that, I want the firm feeling of the end of the string. Basically I want to have everything compact, resonant, and responsive. When I say permanent damage, I already know I need to do routing, I was just asking about things such as intonation and how I would be able to move it closer. I've been thinking about this for many years already.
Again, bridge placement is a direct correlation of the scale length. If your bass is a 34" scale, the bridge is placed so the saddles are as close to (if not exactly) 34" away from the nut. It's not really something that you'd want to screw around with.
You can move the bridge forward if you also move the neck the same amount in the same direction..........
Correct, put the bridge anywhere you like it and then mount the neck in the necessary place. Be sure to Take pictures
Rocky
Rocky
Simply put, where your current bridge saddles are is where the Kahler saddles must be. You cannot change this, period.
You could move the Kahler bridge 4" closer to the neck by installing a 30" scale neck. Or, move it 2" closer and install a 32" scale neck.
Rocky
Rocky
Succinctly put...certain laws of physics will tend to make themselves known.
So, as to your original post: Yes, this will, "cause problems or affect the guitar in a negative way."
You will have to get a bass whose current bridge is further from the bodys rear end then your current bass has. Theres no other way around it. I understand your not wanting bridge right up to the end of the body loike some basses have. I dont like that either. But the only cure is dont buy those kind of basses.
He wants to move the new bridge closer to the neck, not the bottom of the guitar.
His best option would be to buy a 30" scale bass and put a tremolo on it.
Rocky
Just so you understand.... In theory the 12th fret is situated in the exact middle of the string length because when you 1/2 the string length, you double the frequency, all oither things being equal. By moving the bridge, you would end up with the 12th fret not being in the middle anymore. This same thing also applies to all the other frets as they are at a predetermined point to generate a specific frequency related to the open string frequency.
