Double Bass Lowering my action on the double bass!

[Bassmark15]

Hey Everyone,

My name is Mark and I am really stoked to be apart of this community! I have been playing bass guitar for a while and have just started to make the switch to upright. Feeling great about it, but the bass I just bought has some pretty high action and was wondering what I could do to the bridge to make it a bit easier to play starting out. Its mainly the D and G strings I want to lower a little bit. Any ideas? I have an adjustable bridge but its on its lowest setting. Could I sand down the spot where the string fits into? What do you guys think?

-Mark

 

[Eric Hochberg]

Hi Mark. Welcome! FYI, your bass should be easy to play, period, not just while starting out! I suggest taking it to a DB luthier. Chris Symer is on this forum and he will be able to suggest someone good in Seattle.

As a new player, it's best to let a pro take a look and assess what is necessary to make your bass play and sound as well as it can.

 

[Chris Symer]

Hey Mark, send me a PM anytime you want to get a few names and numbers for luthiers around here. I'd be happy to give you some info to get you pointed in a reasonable direction.

 

[MJM44Kay]

It all depends on the condition of the finger board. If the adjustable bridge is all the way down, the only way to go lower is to cut it down. That's relatively easy...the question is how low can you go without buzzing and that depends on the condition on the finger board. I keep my bass at 1/4, 3/8, 3/8, 7/16.

 

[Andrew McGregor]

If the adjusters have bottomed out, there is something else wrong. You should go get a luthier to check out what that is... simply cutting more out of the bridge may be hiding another issue, and in any case may not work since the holes tapped in to the bridge won't be long enough.

Possibly it's as simple as the bridge is in the wrong place, but it is also possible the neck might be bending, or not set right, or the top may be sinking. You need to know.

 

[samriley]

If the adjusters have bottomed out, there is something else wrong. You should go get a luthier to check out what that is.

I've got an adjustable bridge on my 1890's flat back, and at the moment the strings are set to about 12mm at the end of fingerboard. the bridge is at its lowest point. I had Ben Puglisi in melbourne set this up. sometimes (but rarely) I try different strings on this bass and wind the action up.
On my gigging (lady head) bass I have a solid bridge set at about the same string height, around 12mm. Its great for guts if going for a big acoustic sound. I've recently encountered a problem where my adjustable bridge snapped at the foot, where the hole is drilled. So I've replaced it with a solid bridge without adjusters and can confirm that the bass sounds so much better/woodier/louder with a solid bridge. good luck!

 

[Eric Hochberg]

I've got an adjustable bridge on my 1890's flat back, and at the moment the strings are set to about 12mm at the end of fingerboard. the bridge is at its lowest point.

To the OP, 12mm is high (at least to me). You should be looking for 5-8mm, G-E. This will give you an easy playing bass. I agree that something besides your bridge height may be going on with your bass.

 

[Andrew McGregor]

I've got an adjustable bridge on my 1890's flat back, and at the moment the strings are set to about 12mm at the end of fingerboard. the bridge is at its lowest point. I had Ben Puglisi in melbourne set this up. sometimes (but rarely) I try different strings on this bass and wind the action up.
On my gigging (lady head) bass I have a solid bridge set at about the same string height, around 12mm. Its great for guts if going for a big acoustic sound. I've recently encountered a problem where my adjustable bridge snapped at the foot, where the hole is drilled. So I've replaced it with a solid bridge without adjusters and can confirm that the bass sounds so much better/woodier/louder with a solid bridge. good luck!

So, that sounds pretty strange to me. Not saying you're wrong, you obviously like it that way, but this is not a 'normal' setup at all.

Ordinarily (for steel or synthetic strings, anyway) there should be about a half mm left when the G string is at 4.5mm, or something roughly like that. Higher for gut strings, but 12 mm seems like a lot even for gut.

 

[MJM44Kay]

Back to the original question...Mark, I assume the bass you bought doesn't have any major structural problems, just a poor setup. As your first URB, I assume it's a relatively low cost used instrument. Given that, there is relatively low risk with cutting the top off the bridge and filing new grooves. You can pay a luthier if that fits your pocketbook. Shoot for 1/4" on the G or 6mm with a little more on the D, A, and E, with the adjusters, you can raise them later if needed.

The problem will be if there are wear grooves in the fingerboard. Then the low action will cause very annoying buzz...this means resurfacing the fingerboard.

Another caution is, depending on the setup, when you loosen all your strings, your sound post may fall down. Not a big deal, but a real pain to replace if you've never done it.

 

[rgarcia26]

Back to the original question...Mark, I assume the bass you bought doesn't have any major structural problems, just a poor setup. As your first URB, I assume it's a relatively low cost used instrument. Given that, there is relatively low risk with cutting the top off the bridge and filing new grooves. You can pay a luthier if that fits your pocketbook. Shoot for 1/4" on the G or 6mm with a little more on the D, A, and E, with the adjusters, you can raise them later if needed.

The problem will be if there are wear grooves in the fingerboard. Then the low action will cause very annoying buzz...this means resurfacing the fingerboard.

Another caution is, depending on the setup, when you loosen all your strings, your sound post may fall down. Not a big deal, but a real pain to replace if you've never done it.

Here is how I prevent the SP to fall:

There is lots of ways to achieve this I just doing as an precaution by SP isnt falling, but I don’t want to have to deal with it right now

 

[mmoehring]

I think we should add, since he is a new urb player: after cutting the bridge, if you do it yourself, make sure when raising and lowering the bridge with the adjusters to raise and lower both sides simultaneously.

Example: if you raise you treble side(g) 1 full turn, then you would need to raise the bass side(e) one full turn.

Just a detailed side note. Welcome to the double bass!

 

[drurb]

Back to the original question...Mark, I assume the bass you bought doesn't have any major structural problems, just a poor setup. As your first URB, I assume it's a relatively low cost used instrument. Given that, there is relatively low risk with cutting the top off the bridge and filing new grooves. You can pay a luthier if that fits your pocketbook. Shoot for 1/4" on the G or 6mm with a little more on the D, A, and E, with the adjusters, you can raise them later if needed.

The problem will be if there are wear grooves in the fingerboard. Then the low action will cause very annoying buzz...this means resurfacing the fingerboard.

Another caution is, depending on the setup, when you loosen all your strings, your sound post may fall down. Not a big deal, but a real pain to replace if you've never done it.

Even if the assumptions were true (no structural problems, low-cost instrument), I strongly disagree with the advice that this newbie should attempt the work himself. The answer contains many of the cautions. Not only is it a pain if the sound post falls, but he will have virtually no chance of re-setting it himself. He'd also have virtually no chance of maintaining a desirable radius on the bridge. He should get the bass to a luthier. It will be well worth it.

 

[Chris Symer]

Just FYI, Mark and I traded a few PM's and he is headed for one of the luthiers here that I (and maybe others as well) recommended to him. It will get him headed in the right direction.

 

[samriley]

So, that sounds pretty strange to me. Not saying you're wrong, you obviously like it that way, but this is not a 'normal' setup at all.

Ordinarily (for steel or synthetic strings, anyway) there should be about a half mm left when the G string is at 4.5mm, or something roughly like that. Higher for gut strings, but 12 mm seems like a lot even for gut.

Normal? What's normal? I know a lot of jazz guys with action like this. You obviously never played Dennis Irwin's basses. His action was crazy high and what a sound!!!

 

[james condino]

Mark:

Get yourself a copy of Chuck Traeger's book- "The Setup and Repair of the Double Bass for Optimum Sound". Even of you decide to not do the work yourself, this will arm you with a load of information that will allow you to better understand and communicate with a luthier of your choice to get the bass working how you would like it. It will cost you about the price of one string and likely be the best $ you'll ever spend on a double bass.

Good luck.

j,
www.condin.com
www.kaybassrepair.com

 

[rodsnhawgs]

Just a couple of thoughts with a disclaimer... I'm not an expert on DB and not a luthier. Having said that, I felt the same way when I bought my URB and started to make the transition over. I thought the setup was too high (even though mine was professionally setup by a pro shop with a great rep). It's easy to feel this way after playing electric...everything seems way too big! However, after spending hours of quality time with my UB, I no longer feel that way. What seemed high, in actuality, I now know is exactly the setup it needs to get the tones, volume, and ability to dig in and play up and down the neck as needed.

Next point...what is right? Yes, there seems to be some "standard", but everyone has a preference. And, that preference may be different depending on style of music, style of the player (and yes, I realize this too has some standards), string choice, etc. For example, I personally have played Victor Wooten's upright...his setup is really low so he can effectively play his style...and if it's good enough for Vic...it's probably good enough for others as well...although I'm pretty sure many "traditional" upright players would gasp at both his style and setup LOL.

Finally, I completely agree re having a pro luthier (that specializes in uprights) take a look at your bass. It may be right...and it may be wrong...but that's the best route to get you off on the "right" foot IMO.

 

[Doug R]

Previous comments apply. I agree that it may SEEM pretty high after electric bass, but keep in mind that strings need to be higher on these big beasts.

My Kay does not have an adjustable bridge, and I wanted my action lower, so I did it myself. To avoid having the sound post come loose, I simply loosened one string at a time, slightly, and moved it over to the adjoining string slot to get it out of the way.

Then carefully and slowly you can use a small round file or Xacto knife blade to file or carve the slot a bit deeper. Be careful, keep it smooth, rounded, and make sure it angles up toward a nice snooth edge on the neck-side. Use fine sandpaper to finish and smooth the groove.

Try taking a little off at a time, don't go too far. If you go too deep, use epoxy 2-tube glue to refill the slot to the correct depth. Mask both sides, then daub a tiny bit in the bottom of the slot and let it harden overnight.

This allows you to custom adjust the strings for different string sizes or types - and you don't get as much tone loss as you may experience with adjustable bridges. It's pretty much unseen under the strings anyway.

I'm finding that about 8mm (7-10mm) works best for me with Innovation Silver Slaps and banging and slapping on it pretty hard for rockabilly.

 

[Sam Dingle]

Hey guys. I have a question. I am trying to raise my action (i know. crazy). The bridge is as high as it will go but I can barley get my finger to grab the G string. Are there any ways to set up the bass in general so that the strings are higher? If it helps I have spirocores on my bass right now. Will different strings allow higher action? Any info is awesome

 

[Eric Hochberg]

The bridge is as high as it will go but I can barley get my finger to grab the G string. Are there any ways to set up the bass in general so that the strings are higher? If it helps I have spirocores on my bass right now. Will different strings allow higher action? Any info is awesome

If your bridge is as high as it will go (adjusters?) and yet the G string is much too low, I think you should get the bass checked out. Maybe the top is sinking...or hopefully it just needs a good setup. May need to add wood to the bridge legs, reshape the bridge crown, get a new bridge, etc. Has the bass always been like this since you've had it? Make sure the bridge is in the proper place and not leaning. The type of strings used will not affect bridge height.