Double Bass Height of strings - height of bridge.

[JerryWotz]

For background, Ive been an electric bass player for many years. Along the way I picked up a Kay upright bass that had nice low action, and I enjoyed playing it at local jams. My son is also a bass player and I bought him a Kay M1 upright that needed work. This was at a school auction, and the neck was completely detached from the body. Since he living in a big city he brought it to a "violin shop" to have them put it together. They did, he never said much about it, and I now have it back.
But it's unplayable as is, and I need your advice on how to proceed with it so I can use it for plucking and slapping the blues, roots, and country rock music. The strings are really high. I wonder if the neck was reset wrong, or if they set it up for bowing, or what the hell they did? Measuring from the bottom of the strings to the top of fretboard at the end of the fretboard I get these measurements: G - 15mm, D - 15mm, A - 15mm, E - 10mm. The adjustable bridge is as low as it goes and measures 6" tall. I think the strings the shop put on are probably for orchestra use. There's barely a string groove at all on the bridge top. The neck appears to be straight with a shallow relief starting just below the nut, maxing out about halfway to the body, then gradually disappearing over the body. Everything else seems to line up.
So, your thoughts, opinions, recommendations, etc are appreciated. How much height do you think I can take off the bridge legs, and will it be enough? If I absolutely need to I'd consider having the neck reset, but I'd have to travel a ways to find a luthier, and I do like to take on my own challenges when it's a logical to do so.

 

[Turnaround]

I wouldn't cut the bridge legs. I would take some off the top of the bridge. On my bass I like to have 1/4" from the end of the fingerboard to the underside of the string (open string). I have a straightedge that spans from the nut to the bridge. I lay a 1/4" thick spacer at the end of the fingerboard, and lay the straightedge from nut over the spacer and mark where it meets tge bridge. I do this along each string path. Join the marks with a smooth arch and trim just outside the line, allowing just enough that the string notches in the bridge will just meet the line. You will then need to reshape the face of the bridge to create a proper consistent thickness of the top edge

 

[Don Hergert]

If it was me and I was going to keep those medium to high tension thin metal strings on it, I'd be looking for a real double bass luthier to set it up properly. If the neck is properly repaired, the bridge probably either needs to be replaced or heavily modified; the lower bridge legs are very short, the adjusters are bottomed out and the action is still high. But if it were me, given the condition and history, I'd be very suspicious that something isn't right with the neck.

If you're serious about "slapping the blues" though, you might also want to look for strings that are more slap friendly. If you end up with low tension guts or thick synthetic strings, your action might be just about right, but you will probably need larger slots in your nut and on your bridge, and your fingerboard may need dressing for that kind of strings. This might get you by for now, but you may still need a new bridge or some appropraite neck work to get this instrument into proper condition for playing on into the future.

Btw, arco (bowing) action and pizz action should ideally be the same on a well setup instrument. Slapping action usually has to be higher. I play mostly pizz and slap, with occasional arco, using low tension fat synthetic strings and my action is G-3/16" (4.7625mm) to E-1/4" (6.35mm) above the end of the fingerboard -- this would often be considered very low action, but works for me on my DB because the fingerboard is properly dressed (relief, scoop, etc.). (I have especially gone for low tension and low action because my hands are old and troublesome.)

And lastly, while violin repair people may happen to also know something about double basses, very often they don't. The best recommendation I can make is take it to a reputable double bass luthier, then you'll get the real answers and the right kind of work done.

 

[ctrlzjones]

You also have to consider the curve in de dressing of the fingerboard. If the curve on the upper part is too steep lowering the bridge has little effect on the playability.

 

[Steven Ayres]

... it's unplayable as is, ...

Do I understand correctly that the unplayable one is in your third photo?

What I see there is a bridge already cut too low on top, typical of bridges meant to compensate for a failing neck joint. If you can share a side view of your neck joint it may help gauge whether you have a set problem, but the simplest answer is that you'll do best to take it to a competent bass luthier for a detailed, hands-on evaluation.

 

[Turnaround]

Do I understand correctly that the unplayable one is in your third photo?

What I see there is a bridge already cut too low on top, typical of bridges meant to compensate for a failing neck joint. If you can share a side view of your neck joint it may help gauge whether you have a set problem, but the simplest answer is that you'll do best to take it to a competent bass luthier for a detailed, hands-on evaluation.

I take back everything I said about cutting down the top of the bridge. I didn't see this:

 

[Leo Smith]

please show us a photo of the neck joint.

where are you located? that can guide us to a proper bass repair shop near your.

That action is correct for gut strings. So is the way the fingerboard is cut (Romberg Bevel). Neither is appropriate for those Helicores you have on right now.

 

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

Neck angle's way off. Kays are notorious for having air space in the neck joint, but whenever reset that neck needs to be slapped. It needs to be properly shimmed and reset to play well. That bridge also sucks.