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DIY bridge base plate?

BaileyMan

BaileyMan

Supporting Member
Jan 8, 2012
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#1
I've got a project bass that started life as a 60's Japanese bass. To make a long story short, I recently changed out the bridge, but to get string height adjusted properly, and clearance over the pickups, I need to add about 1/8" base plate under the bridge.

I have enough tools to rough something out.

What's recommended for a base plate? Brass, stainless, something else?

What should I be aware of as I take this on?
 
#2
For a spacer plate like that, I usually use aluminum. Some 1/8" 6061 plate or bar stock will be fine. You can use brass or stainless if you want to, but they will be heavier, more expensive, and a little tougher to work with. 6061 aluminum is very easy to cut, drill, and finish. And with aluminum, you can give it a light sanded finish. It will stay a dull silver color, without any real tarnish or corrosion. You don't need to have it anodized or plated, unless you want to.
 
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#5
BaileyMan said:
I've got a project bass that started life as a 60's Japanese bass. To make a long story short, I recently changed out the bridge, but to get string height adjusted properly, and clearance over the pickups, I need to add about 1/8" base plate under the bridge.

I have enough tools to rough something out.

What's recommended for a base plate? Brass, stainless, something else?

What should I be aware of as I take this on?
Click to expand...
Usually, one would add a shim to the neck pocket to change the angle of the neck to accomplish this task. Is your '60s MIJ bass a set-neck, or neck-through, perchance, eliminating the normal way of dealing with this?
 
#6
Jeff Scott said:
Usually, one would add a shim to the neck pocket to change the angle of the neck to accomplish this task. Is your '60s MIJ bass a set-neck, or neck-through, perchance, eliminating the normal way of dealing with this?
Click to expand...
The thing is, I need to go the other direction. I need the bridge to come up because of the pickup height as well as relative to the neck.

The neck in there is an aftermarket neck. The original was buggered pretty bad. I had a little help routing the neck to fit the pocket.

Here are a few pics with the old (also not stock) bridge.

20180922_180618.jpg


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20180922_094753.jpg
 
#8
From the pictures, it looks like you should trim maybe 1/8" off of the bottom heel surface of the neck. Flat, not angled. And, you also need to add a spacer plate under the bridge to raise it up. That bass was originally made to be flat, and the original neck's heel was thinner than the one you have fitted on there now. And its original bridge was taller. You need to get it back to the right geometry.

Those funky pickups are what you have to work to. The pickup housings are screwed solidly to the body, and they have a limited range of vertical adjustment of the individual pole piece screws. You need to adjust the height of the neck and bridge so that the strings end up about 1/8" above the housings of both pickups. That's what will make the pickups sound best.

That's a cool old bass, worth getting back together! As a Junior High student in the late 1960's, I used to droll over those in the local department stores!
 
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#9
Bruce Johnson said:
From the pictures, it looks like you should trim maybe 1/8" off of the bottom heel surface of the neck. Flat, not angled. And, you also need to add a spacer plate under the bridge to raise it up. That bass was originally made to be flat, and the original neck's heel was thinner than the one you have fitted on there now. And its original bridge was taller. You need to get it back to the right geometry.

Those funky pickups are what you have to work to. The pickup housings are screwed solidly to the body, and they have a limited range of vertical adjustment of the individual pole piece screws. You need to adjust the height of the neck and bridge so that the strings end up about 1/8" above the housings of both pickups. That's what will make the pickups sound best.

That's a cool old bass, worth getting back together! As a Junior High student in the late 1960's, I used to droll over those in the local department stores!
Click to expand...
Yeah. It is a cool little bass. Been a fun project and it gets a decent amount of play time too. For my first project, exploring some newb build skills, it's been great!

I actually have already routed off about 1/8" from the heel since these pics were taken. Great minds...

Glad to hear that my thinking is in line with other's. Just gotta get that bridge raised...

@Jeff Scott, I did think for a minute about routing the pickup cavities a little to bring the pickups down, but decided I didn't want to do that to the body. I'd like to keep the body as original as possible.
 
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#11
BaileyMan said:
@Bruce Johnson any leads on a place to get a 3"x4" (or slightly larger) piece of 1/8" 6061 aluminum?

Everything I'm seeing out there online is 12"-24" long. Even 6"x6" would work out.
Click to expand...
Go to a dealer in fine metals. I have used BMG. I can get metal cut to length, but have to pay for the minimum size (usually one foot.) Still, when buying there the minimum is very reasonable.
 
#12
BaileyMan said:
@Bruce Johnson any leads on a place to get a 3"x4" (or slightly larger) piece of 1/8" 6061 aluminum?

Everything I'm seeing out there online is 12"-24" long. Even 6"x6" would work out.
Click to expand...

McMaster-Carr has 1/8" x 3" x 6" long 6061 for $2.23 + shipping

Speedy Metals has 1/8" x 3" for $0.68 per inch + shipping

There are other online metal suppliers, such as Online Metals. But they have larger minimum orders.

Speedy Metals is unusual in that they cater to small builders. They sell bar stock by the inch, and they will (for a fee) even custom cut odd size pieces for you.

If you aren't familiar with them, McMaster-Carr is the Amazon of the industrial supply world. They carry everything industry needs. They have a suprisingly good selection metal stock in pre-cut sizes and lengths.
 
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#15
Got my base plate made. It came out good enough for my needs. Not 100% perfect but about 90% there.

In an ideal world I'd take off about 1/32" from the base plate. The action is about 1/64" higher than I prefer it with the saddles at their lowest point.

It'll work for the time being. I've got a Hipshot Kickass bridge on there. I may be able to file the removable saddles down a bit to get me where I want to be.

15854280025852620516316343757274.jpg
 

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