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New EBMM Special Stingray 4HH Bridge Saddle Issue

bdplaid

bdplaid

Supporting Member
Aug 31, 2007
9,453
18,589
florida
#1
I'm posting this in case anyone else has this as an issue.

I got a new EBMM Stingray Special 4HH. Awesome bass which plays like a dream - almost. The action is really low. I want to take the strings just a bit lower, but the bridge saddle adjustment screws bottomed out. After a call to EBMM, they say it's normal and as designed. I found out why.

View attachment 3240358
This is a pic of the bridge saddle. They are hollow (strange in and of itself). They are only threaded on the bottom side, meaning that the height adjustment screw will "bottom out" when it hits the top of the saddle.

My options are:
  1. Drill out the top of the saddle for the screw to clear
  2. Shorten the adjustment screw by a few mm
  3. Buy new saddles
  4. New bridge

I think I'm going to do #3 or 4. I'd like quick change anyway.
 
#6
Honestly it plays so well now I don't want to mess with a shim. But EB is calling me back on Monday so i may have them send me one or a set just to try it out. But then I won't have an excuse for a quick change bridge!

I'll say again: hell of a bass. Frets are astonishingly good for a production bass.
 
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#8
IronLung1986 said:
Why on earth did they go back to the hollow barrel saddle style? Weight? Not worth it. This is the problem, they bottom out. So odd for them to bring back an archaic shortcoming that had been solved for so long.
Click to expand...

They've been in use on the Classic Series basses since 2010 - not a new thing at all - just passed across to the Special series as well - getting a decent action on these basses is not an issue (I have two of them).
 
#9
drTSTingray said:
They've been in use on the Classic Series basses since 2010 - not a new thing at all - just passed across to the Special series as well - getting a decent action on these basses is not an issue (I have two of them).
Click to expand...

Yes and I had this problem on my Classic as well. Pretty well known design flaw of doing the saddles that way, which is why they started doing them differently. It's one thing to keep an outdated feature available on a nostalgia model like the Classic. Quite another to suddenly put it back in your flagship model, which had previously been using an objectively superior design for decades.
 
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#10
IronLung1986 said:
Why on earth did they go back to the hollow barrel saddle style? Weight? Not worth it. This is the problem, they bottom out. So odd for them to bring back an archaic shortcoming that had been solved for so long.
Click to expand...
Shortcoming? I don't think so. Having the screws "bottom out" before the saddle hits the base plate is a good idea. It prevents the saddles from resting on the plate, a source of buzzing and rattling issues found all too often.
 
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#11
Turnaround said:
Shortcoming? I don't think so. Having the screws "bottom out" before the saddle hits the base plate is a good idea. It prevents the saddles from resting on the plate, a source of buzzing and rattling issues found all too often.
Click to expand...

Yea but there's a significant amount of useful adjustability between where the hollow barrels bottom out and the new saddles rest on the plate.
 
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#12
It really is simple to shim the neck. It won't take much. A small piece of sandpaper toward the bottom of the neck pocket works well. You can fold it over and double the sandpaper if you need more thickness, but if the action is already low, you might not need to do so.
 
#13
Turnaround said:
Shortcoming? I don't think so. Having the screws "bottom out" before the saddle hits the base plate is a good idea. It prevents the saddles from resting on the plate, a source of buzzing and rattling issues found all too often.
Click to expand...
Yes, but look at how much travel is left before it hits the base plate. I swear if I could just get another couple of mm we wouldn't be talking about this.
 
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#14
mojomike001 said:
It really is simple to shim the neck. It won't take much. A small piece of sandpaper toward the bottom of the neck pocket works well. You can fold it over and double the sandpaper if you need more thickness, but if the action is already low, you might not need to do so.
Click to expand...
I know, I've done it many times. Just seems odd to have to do this when the adjustment I need is right there, sort of.
 
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#17
Scootbass1 said:
You could also get shorter set screws. They are available at many hardware stores or fastener distributors. You can get stainless ones as well if you do not like the standard black colored ones. I have done this many times. The original screws can be stored in a small ziplock bag in the case for if or when you part with the bass.
Click to expand...
Right, need to know size. I saw the guys in the Caprice club were doing the same thing.
 
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