Double Bass Issues with my (?) bass

[AntonLargiader]

Might be buying this '83 Engelhardt M-1, but can't get it to the luthier until the end of this week at the earliest.

Check out this bridge:


You can see the old foot positions which were centered between the f-notches (it's easiest to see the one that's farther away) but either the bridge shifted and warped or else it warped and someone repositioned it to maintain the string length.

I'm considering making a new one today just to get this part closer to being right. The soundpost is centered on the upper edge of the bridge foot, currently. With the bridge in the original location, it would be in textbook position. The G and D strings ring nicely but the A string is really dead and the E is nearly dead.

Quick question on bridge foot grain: This one has the grain running side to side, the Roth I have has it running parallel with the strings, and a bass-building thread here shows it running out from the bass top, bottom to top on the bridge. All three axes: is any of these right or wrong?

My other question is about the tailgut:


Since the stiff wire protrudes past the saddle, the saddle isn't doing what it normally does and it seems to me that the wire tailgut is acting like a big spring, possibly robbing some power from the strings. Is this common? I plan to change it to some sort of cable.

 

[fdeck]

I'm not a luthier, but live in a house full of string instruments. Every bridge has the grain parallel to the strings. On the other hand, my new bass has lines going across the face of the bridge, that look like wood grain, but are actually the growth rings, meaning that the bridge must have been cut from a pretty big tree.

 

[Waltjie]

Other than the obvious problem with the bridge, I couldn't help but notice just how deep the string grooves are! The strings really dissappear into the bridge top. That could also contribute to the strings being dead?

 

[AntonLargiader]

Thanks for the comments so far. I (well, I and the cabinetmaker who works next to me) made a new maple bridge yesterday just to see if having the bridge in the 'right' place relative to the soundpost improved the A. It didn't, but at least I don't feel like it's about to collapse.

The vertical-grain bridge I mentioned was in James' build. The growth rings are orthogonal to the strings, which is pretty logical (you don't want the strings trying to slice between them). That is how the one I made is, although it wasn't nearly as nice a piece of wood and the rings curve to about 45° at the G. Other bridges I've seen have the strings sitting on a stack of growth rings, if you know what I mean. I'll check out some others at the shop when I take this bass in.

I didn't do anything about the tailgut yet. The tailpiece has a groove in the top where a strip of some synthetic material makes a small bridge; this had collapsed under some of the strings and I reset that also. No change.

Yes, those string grooves are deep. Better on the new bridge, but not perfect. I cut the G groove a bit deep, but the A and E are good.

I'll post some more pics of the instrument shortly.

 

[forester]

also:
annual rings that stack horizontally (as in the case of most quarter sawn bridges) will APPEAR as parallel lines on the cap when the arch is struck down through them...closer lines at the apex, wider at the sides...same annual ring on each side of the center,true with the next underlying ring, etc,etc.

 

[AntonLargiader]

Took it over to Mr. Fretwell today. He thought it was a really nice bass for the price. I think he was less than impressed with the homemade bridge and he pointed out how the soundpost was way too far toward the middle. So it's getting a new bridge and soundpost, which he feels will really improve my A and E. The fingerboard was fine, in his opinion, and he thought the old-school wire tailgut was no big deal. I will replace that (he sells a cable kit) whenever I revisit the strings.

The neat part is that I'll have it back tomorrow. I probably would have had it back this evening if I'd gotten there a half hour sooner.

String-wise, he has a bunch of basses in the shop set up with (I think) silverslaps. Whatever they are, they feel like velvet compared to what's on my bass. Most of his own basses are set up with them; I'll double-check what they are tomorrow.