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Double Bass Do I need to cut a new bridge for this Kay?

J

JBarz

On indefinite internet sabbatical
Supporting Member
Mar 6, 2015
1,970
3,274
#1
Hey gang - I’m revisiting an old bass that I setup myself about 7 years ago before I really knew what I was doing... the Despiau blank I used is not bent and still thick (too thick), but I think I compensated for the low over stand of the Kay poorly. I’m wondering if it can be saved or if I should fit another one with more material directly under the strings?
The bass sounds great, but I’m switching back to Spiros and taking the time to repair the edges anyway so I’m wondering if I should just make a new bridge.

Mixed feelings from players on this one over the years (it was the premium gut option in old shops’s rental fleet, why the edges are so shot) -most loved the way it plays, but several have insisted it’s “all wrong” because it’s all stubby.
C8C55B5C-CF04-46BC-B537-E4750EDBAAAB.jpeg


you’re not going to hurt my feelings, please give me your honest opinion.

Thanks ya’ll!
 
#3
Yeah I hear you - there's this thing with saxophone mouthpiece refacing work where when you hit the "sweet spot" that you just stop working, even if it's all f'd up and ugly. No shame in cutting another bridge and just switching back when/if I take'er back to guts, though. Thanks for your insight.
 
#4
JBarz said:
Hey gang - I’m revisiting an old bass that I setup myself about 7 years ago before I really knew what I was doing... the Despiau blank I used is not bent and still thick (too thick), but I think I compensated for the low over stand of the Kay poorly. I’m wondering if it can be saved or if I should fit another one with more material directly under the strings?
The bass sounds great, but I’m switching back to Spiros and taking the time to repair the edges anyway so I’m wondering if I should just make a new bridge.

Mixed feelings from players on this one over the years (it was the premium gut option in old shops’s rental fleet, why the edges are so shot) -most loved the way it plays, but several have insisted it’s “all wrong” because it’s all stubby. View attachment 4181526

you’re not going to hurt my feelings, please give me your honest opinion.

Thanks ya’ll!
Click to expand...

That's a bit more extreme than usual, but I would be surprised if it's at any risk of failing--it's lasted for seven years.

IMHO, if anyone complains tell them they are free to use their own bass :bored:.
 
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#5
Aha! Re-researching cutting bridges led me to the line that I must have misinterpreted outta the Traeger book.

From Pg 81 " Make the legs as long as possible, proportioned somewhat like a cello bridge. Short stubby legs do not vibrate as easily as long ones and cause a loss of sound. The distance from the top of the heart to the top of the bridge should be quite short, but no less that 7/8"

This bridge is at 3/8", lol, but it really smokes. Curious to see/hear the differences after the new one.
 
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#6
I've seen and played way worse than that! The short crown is probably mostly an aesthetic thing, I doubt if a differently proportioned one would make much difference to a Kay. But if you're going through the trouble of improving other aesthetics then it might be worth it to you. If it were my bass, I'd leave it alone until I put a tapered shim under the length of the FB to kick out the overstand, then put a taller bridge on with the same profile. But maybe that's just me :D
 
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#7
Yeah, I had a similar S9 a couple years ago that had the neck joint all busted up and since I had to rebuild it anyway, I put about 1/2" piece of maple on the back of the heel to add some overstand, but probably overshot it quite a bit - that thing was a cannon! I didn't know about the shim method - I'll have to look into that! Thanks for the tip! (edit: woah - that tapered shim business is way outside my skill set! I'll probably just keep this one as stock as possible for that classic Kay vibe.)
 
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#8
I have a rather stubby bridge on my very odd, carved body Kay neck bass.
(Innovation RBs with Spiro weich E)
As per all the rest of the variables on this most likable fella, it seems to be the “right amount of wrong...”
It sounds like a bassoon!

If what you have is working as far as the bridge is now, I’d stick with it until you make any changes to the fingerboard.

004A8E9E-17A1-4C4E-A987-997F075A1B98.jpeg
 
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#9
I can’t imagine this bass sounding any better so I’ve resigned myself to not futzing with the setup. I was going to switch it to full spiros, but the gut D & G with the spirio light A and medium E make this bass sing - no room for improvement. I was looking at the kids’ paper snowflakes on our windows and it got me to thinking about carving some sort of symmetrical relief design lightly into the bridge (purely for aesthetics), though. Is this something that folks mess around with? I know there are some pretty slick carved dragon headstocks and stuff, doesn’t seem too far fetched...
 
#10
Here’s what I’m thinking about carving into this bridge. I love the way it sounds and it’s solid as on a rock, but it needs to be a little thinner anyway and this’ll be more fun than using the belt sander. Hopefully it’ll make the thin part above the heart appear more intentional (it wasn’t). Talk about guilding the lily, though, lol. At first I was going abstract, then I saw swans- but dragons are way cooler... the “dragon heart” bridge.
A6AABD29-441B-41E3-BDFD-EE699EA46696.jpeg
 
#11
An update; I decided to scrap this idea of an ornate carving in the bridge and instead just sanded this one down to spec (6mm rounded at tip for pizz only guts). The problem was every time I went to practice I would end up futzing with the design of the bridge instead, and the last thing this guy needs is more distractions. Might revisit at some point...
 
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#14
Would I use maple like the neck or ebony like the fingerboard? Also, doesn't it look funky AF when you reprofile the back of the neck towards the heel to make it uniform thickness? The neck is already crazy thin... Has anyone that has done this operation before have any pictures to help inspire/motivate a guy? I am super curious...
 
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#15
JBarz said:
Would I use maple like the neck or ebony like the fingerboard? Also, doesn't it look funky AF when you reprofile the back of the neck towards the heel? Has anyone that has done this operation before have any pictures to help inspire/motivate a guy? I am super curious...
Click to expand...

I would prefer maple for the wedge, but I'd ebonize it so it looks like part of the fingerboard.
 
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#16
JBarz said:
.. Has anyone that has done this operation before have any pictures to help inspire/motivate a guy? I am super curious...
Click to expand...
I didn’t do this myself, but this is a quick pic of my Kay’s neck. In addition to the shim, cf bars were added, a new ebony fb, a block rebuild/replacement and one-bolt removable conversion. Sounds like thunder, plays like a REAL bass (I hate the thin profile of stock Kay’s).
EE7A8B94-5164-46C7-BA3D-8322687E789C.jpeg
 
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#17
klyph said:
I didn’t do this myself, but this is a quick pic of my Kay’s neck. In addition to the shim, cf bars were added, a new ebony fb, a block rebuild/replacement and one-bolt removable conversion. Sounds like thunder, plays like a REAL bass (I hate the thin profile of stock Kay’s). View attachment 4192323
Click to expand...

As a middle-school student learning to play bass I loved the thin profile of a Kay. As a seasoned pro, not so much--too thin!
 
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#19
JBarz said:
Here’s what I’m thinking about carving into this bridge. I love the way it sounds and it’s solid as on a rock, but it needs to be a little thinner anyway and this’ll be more fun than using the belt sander. Hopefully it’ll make the thin part above the heart appear more intentional (it wasn’t). Talk about guilding the lily, though, lol. At first I was going abstract, then I saw swans- but dragons are way cooler... the “dragon heart” bridge. View attachment 4188113
Click to expand...

Here's a crazy bridge on an S-9 that I recently came across.
IMG_20210225_093707656_HDR.jpg
 
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