Double Bass Coat hanger wire on Elkhart basses

[Bilko]

Is it better to replace the original coat hanger wire with a braided steel wire on Elkhart basses?

 

[DoubleMIDI]

It is better on any bass.

 

[Steven Ayres]

Is it better to replace the original coat hanger wire with a braided steel wire on Elkhart basses?

(Inferring that you mean Englehardt rather than Elkhart Replacing the tailwire with a tailgut (wire rope, Kevlar, whatever material) allows the tailpiece and afterlength more freedom to resonate, as well as adjustment of the afterlength. It's a common modification, but be aware that whether it makes a significant positive difference on your bass depends on integrating it with other setup factors.

 

[Bilko]

Good advice on the tail wire. I'll hold off on it. The problem the teacher had was that the nut was too low and the OPEN strings buzz! Otherwise, the bass is in good shape.

But I am going to replace the original bridge with a decent used bridge I have. Pictured is the original bridge. It has the grain running in the wrong direction. The second picture shows the grain running vertically when it should be horizontal. Those bridges are strong, but act like mutes!

 

[unbrokenchain]

the nut was too low and the OPEN strings buzz! Otherwise, the bass is in good shape.

Can build the slots back up with CA glue. The grain of the bridge wouldn't bother me, but that bend would

 

[Bilko]

I ended up building the nut slots back up with CA. I'll see how it holds up over the longterm. I put a good quality used bridge in. It improves the sound quite a bit better and less muted. The bridges that come with those basses are terrible. And I put my old Spiracore strings on and that also helped. The bass is marked as 1993, so I assume the strings are 30 years old. I left the coathanger wire on the tailpiece. The bridge wasn't necessary and could be avoided if they want to minimize costs. I also cleaned off the rosin buildup on the top plate and cleaned the grime from the fingerboard. I think it's discussing to even touch the old basses that haven't been cleaned in decades.

Thanks for the input!

 

[Povl Carstensen]

I ended up building the nut slots back up with CA. I'll see how it holds up over the longterm. I put a good quality used bridge in. It improves the sound quite a bit better and less muted. The bridges that come with those basses are terrible. And I put my old Spiracore strings on and that also helped. The bass is marked as 1993, so I assume the strings are 30 years old. I left the coathanger wire on the tailpiece. The bridge wasn't necessary and could be avoided if they want to minimize costs. I also cleaned off the rosin buildup on the top plate and cleaned the grime from the fingerboard. I think it's discussing to even touch the old basses that haven't been cleaned in decades.

Thanks for the input!

But has the new, old bridge been fittede to the bass? Chances are it does not match the curvature of the top of the bass.

 

[Bilko]

I fit the feet to the top plate. It just leaves thinner edges on the "toes".

 

[Roger Davis]

Over admittedly a longish period I’ve had three instances of coathanger tail wires letting go. Once in the middle of a number and twice thankfully before the gig started. I think we underestimate the tensile force exerted by four strings, particularly if they are eg Spiro Mitts. The single core of a coathanger, or in one case something looking like a welding rod is just not man enough to resist the force, particularly over time when fatigue has set in.