detunable bridge

[tplyons]

Well, Angus, I'd certainly be interested in checking it out when and if you send out the design for machining.

Is it a 2 way adjustable tuning? What's it capable of?

 

[Steve'r]

The problem with Xtenders is if you want to have them on more than one string.
I've been doing some work on a bass for someone recently, who had decided that he wants an Xtender on each of the (4) strings. Only thing is that they're absolutely huge. Take a look at the headstock on the Hyperbass. It's massive!
It's because the Xtender mechanism is far, far larger than an average tuning key, and the control lever has to have some room to swing unimpeded.
I'm going to have to dowel the original tuner holes, cut off the sides and top of the headstock, build it up into a large paddle, re-face it and totally reshape it if I want to get more than one of these tuners on there.Or just chop of the existing headstock and make another one from scratch. Haven't decided yet.

 

[Bryan R. Tyler]

My Elrick had to have the headstock made especially large to hold them. There's no doubt in my mind that a good machinist could come up with a much smaller or more usable design that would allow for multiple Xtenders- maybe having the switches stick out from the back of the headstock rather down into the other tuners or something.

 

[Jazz Ad]

Sperzel detuners are much smaller and lighter than Hipshot.

 

[Bryan R. Tyler]

Sperzel detuners are much smaller and lighter than Hipshot.

If only you could get a set I tried getting info on them, but the website has pretty much nothing as far as technical info goes, and neither do the few places that sell them (which are always out-of-stock). I'd love to try them. I haven't even heard of a TBer who has gotten to try them yet.

 

[Steve'r]

Standard Sperzel bass tuners are really great, but from what I've heard, their customer service and availability are crap.

 

[Jazz Ad]

I never was able to get in touch with Sperzel.
They must share their customer service with Bartolini.
I tried the D-Thing on guitar and it worked fine. Dunno for bass.
Your best chance is to order through [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]. The guy is good at getting whatever you want from Sperzel.

 

[FatCity]

I've seen a number of these posts since I've been on here, and here's a radical suggestion:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

It takes what, thirty seconds maximum to tune a bass with a cheap tuner, maybe ten with a good tuner? I've never seen the point of the hipshots, myself, since it takes less than two seconds to tune the E string down to D.

This isn't about detuning one string- it's about detuning them all...at the same time. We play a good portion of our set tuned down 1/2 step and I would like to be able to play one bass through an entire set rather than having to switch when we switch tuning.

 

[Jazz Ad]

As said in my first post, your issue can be fixed with a capo.
Cheap, no mods, no retuning.

 

[PaleMelanesian]

Or just detune it and play 1st fret instead of open. We bassists have a lot more flexibility in this regard than guitarists do.