Double Bass correct placement of bridge?

[Eric Jackson]

By all accounts, greene's basses come with a very basic setup that needs to be fine tuned by a luthier. I believe the most likely explanation for the misalignment of T's first bass is a poorly fitted bridge, which has apparently since been corrected by a luthier.

My Czech bass does have a slightly misaligned neck. Yet the strings are centred over the fingerboard and the bridge is centred on the top and over the bass bar because the bridge has been cut with one leg slightly longer than the other, the strings are slightly offset on the bridge top and the tailwire is offset slightly on the saddle. It follows that a bridge carved with one leg longer or the strings offset, then installed on a bass with a properly aligned neck, would result in the sort of misalignment we see in T's pictures.

Kudos to greene for his handling of the deal and the negative waves.

 

[greene]

I finally received the pics of the Roma after it was taken to Acoutic Bass Shop. I hope I can figure out how to put them up here ...

 

[greene]

Here's more

 

[greene]

Last twosince I imagine everyone's bored now ...

 

[Aaron Saunders]

Geez, I think I need sunglasses for that one.

 

[Paul Warburton]

Last twosince I imagine everyone's bored now ...

Is that the new Rabbath jazz stance?

 

[greene]

Point is thats the same bass that was shipped from Colorado last week, which after a few days with a luthier is shown here. There were no allignment problems. Nothing major was needed to put this bass into perfect shape. Eric is absolutely right that this is a fullly carved Romanian bass that was originally sold for $1695 with a very basic set up. I suggest to everyone that they have the basses they get from me taken to a luthier for adjustment as well as additional set up that they want done. The end result is a fully carved bass for less then 2k which from all that I've been able to absorb is a pretty decent deal considering that we're not talking about the unplayable Asian made instruments but decent European factory made instruments.

This seems to have worked out and Super T was able to get her kids a fully carved bass for a few hundred more than this Romanian bass and I was able to deliver her bass to another customer closer to Colorado rather then have it shipped all the way back to NYC.

I put the end users pic up because I thought he looked pretty happy with his new baby.

 

[KSB - Ken Smith]

Is that the new Rabbath jazz stance?

I'm not so sure what's harder to look at, Steve/Greene making believe he can play the Bass or that blinding mirror finish.

Gee, you think Strad was able to get a shine like that other than at the seat of his pants in his 93 years?

Steve, take a few lessons then re-post your modelling pics.. lol
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As far as the Bride alignment goes, it is still off center and over time can hurt the top. If the Neck wasn't straightened, they should have at least 'centered' the Bridge and re-cut the top of it. This way the Bridge will not harm the Bass and the strings can be centered over the Fingerboard. Still, it's a cheap fix but the 'after' pics do not show much improvement on the alignment.

Most people are clueless about proper set-up for Basses including some that claim they are qualified Luthiers.

 

[drurb]

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As far as the Bride alignment goes, it is still off center and over time can hurt the top. If the Neck wasn't straightened, they should have at least 'centered' the Bridge and re-cut the top of it. This way the Bridge will not harm the Bass and the strings can be centered over the Fingerboard. Still, it's a cheap fix but the 'after' pics do not show much improvement on the alignment.

Most people are clueless about proper set-up for Basses including some that claim they are qualified Luthiers.

???

 

[Paul Warburton]

Well Greene....that's about as tough as it gets around here (at least on this subject)
I was wondering when everybody (almost) got a word in.

Oh, I figured out that picture. This guy is a Red Mitchell wanna-be....tuning in fifths. That's why his left hand looks so weird.

 

[KSB - Ken Smith]

Well Greene....that's about as tough as it gets around here (at least on this subject)
I was wondering when everybody (almost) got a word in.

Oh, I figured out that picture. This guy is a Red Mitchell wanna-be....tuning in fifths. That's why his left hand looks so weird.

Oops, Sorry, I thought that was Steve at his shop.. My Bad...

I am not trying to be tough but rather clear about new Basses. Many old Basses are adjusted and a few mm off center. I move my Bridge a mm or two from time to time. When I use 24mm spacing instead of 25 or 26, I have to make it feel good on the fingerboard. As long as it is over the Bass Bar and the G-foot of the Bridge does not press the top down it will be ok. Not all my Basses are in perfect square but if I sent it to a Shop for a new bridge and set-up, it should be now more than 1-2mm off if the Neck angle is off and close to perfect if the Neck/Body/FB has been Lazer Squared.

The Bass is hard enough to play when you have a Great Bass in perfect condition. How do you expect new and young players to learn if we give them less than good-perfect set-up Bass to start out on?

You would not buy your Son or Daughter their first Car with bad Breakes, Bald tires and a Cracked windshield to drive to School so why get them a Bass that needs King Kong hands and Cyclopse Vision to play. Let's be fair and understanding here. If you have a 200 year old Bass that works great and slightly off after centuries of playing, repairs and adjustment but works well, then fix and correct it as necessary. If you are buying a brand new Bass no matter it be a 500 p.o.s. (piece of s__t) or a 25k Schnitzer, demand that the Bass is aligned correctly and set-up to the best possible. The only difference in price ranges should be sound and materials but not playability. The better Basses will respond better tonally and naturally be easier to play but at least give the lower prices Basses the same set-up and the player a chance to learn on something that is playable.

 

[Ed Fuqua]

I am still curious as to why a luthier who had this bass in their hands said that there was "no misalignment" but folks who've only seen photographs keep talking about a misaligned neck.

I have not, as of yet, gotten a response to my e-mail to the luthier in question.

 

[drurb]

I am still curious as to why a luthier who had this bass in their hands said that there was "no misalignment" but folks who've only seen photographs keep talking about a misaligned neck.

I have not, as of yet, gotten a response to my e-mail to the luthier in question.

I agree. This is most curious.

The original pictures revealed that there was an asymmetry. I, for one, had no idea what was the cause. In fact, I was quite willing to accept that the work done on the bridge had corrected the problem.

 

[KSB - Ken Smith]

I agree. This is most curious.

The original pictures revealed that there was an asymmetry. I, for one, had no idea what was the cause. In fact, I was quite willing to accept that the work done on the bridge had corrected the problem.

I can see some improvement but the new pics still show the feet closer to one side. The name of the luthier is not important. What's done is done.. I too feel done with this topic.. Bye..

 

[Huy Nguyen]

I have not, as of yet, gotten a response to my e-mail to the luthier in question.

Ed, you sent an e-mail to Acoustic Bass Shop? It's run by Alex Friedman, a reputable luthier who serves alot of players here in San Francisco. Apparently he does much repair work for SF and San Jose symphony players too. I bought my bass from him and he did all my setups. My teach goes to him as many of the jazz players around here too.

He might be slow to respond to your e-mails.

 

[Ed Fuqua]

yeah, I figured that the best way to STOP all this speculation was to go directly to someone who had this bass in their hands. If they say there was NO MISALIGNMENT, then there was no misalignment of the neck and everybody here who says there was because they saw it in a picture is just typing to see their name on the screen.

 

[Huy Nguyen]

Oh yeah, so if Alex Friedman says there's "no misalignment" then I'd believe it. The guy knows what he's doing. I'm 99% sure that he did the work though he does have an apprentice or two. Especially if he sold that bass for more money. And I'm pretty sure we're talking about the same guy because I spoke with Alex last week and he said he's in the middle of opening up a new storefront. Which explains why all the display cases in the photos were empty.

In my book, it's a done deal. When you have a user who has hardly no experience with what they're dealing with and a camera playing tricks on peoples eyes, who are you more likely to believe?

And Ed, if you get no return e-mails from Alex, it probably means that he didn't bother to reply because the bass was fine. I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't reply since there'd be nothing to talk about.

 

[Paul Warburton]

And Ed, if you get no return e-mails from Alex, it probably means that he didn't bother to reply because the bass was fine. I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't reply since there'd be nothing to talk about.

If BIG ED says there's something to talk about...then there's something to talk about.