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pls delete

#2
I'll bite but this feels like a troll. What you are proposing will not work and if you try it you will ruin a perfectly good bass.Reason 1, the bass is hollow there is nothing for the mounting screws to grab into. 2, the body is arched, Fender and Badass bridges are designed for flat solid bodies. 3, Hofners have very narrow string spacing, both the Fender and Badass bridge have much wider spacing.
New Hofner bridges are readily available on Ebay just buy one of those.
 
#3
Traditional solidbody bridge + hollow body bass = BAD IDEA.

However, if you want a metal, adjustable bridge, then there are options. Others may have better options, but start by taking a look on ebay for "Tune o Matic Bass Bridge". They usually mount on metal pegs driven into the body, (don't do this) but you can probably put one on top of the wooden bridge base.

Other things to keep in mind:
-You only want the bridge piece, not the metal peg-mounted tailpiece.
-This is probably a job for a luthier to get it right.
-Make sure the string spacing matches what you have.
 
#4
soma89 said:
I have an old hohner Hollowbody fretless that currently has a wooden bridge somebody crafted...works well just looks odd and a little rough.

I would like to switch to something like a badass or fender style, but the strings need to be about 3/4 of an inch high. I dont think the saddles on a standard bridge can get that high (or can they?)

I've seen these with vintage badass bridges, and also saw one with a fender style bridge that was shimmed with a thick piece of wood.

Any recommendations?
Click to expand...

Are you sure it's not a semi-hollow Hohner?

I've made wooden shims about 3/16" thick in some cases under bridgeplates to raise bridges when more height adjustment is desired.
 
#6
Is it the Bartell model?

If it is, from what I've seen in pictures it appears the string spacing at the bridge may be too narrow for a Fender style bridge having 3/4" string spacing.

What is the center-to-center string spacing at the bridge?
 
#10
Schaller Roller Bridge.jpg You might have to raise it up some, as per mongo2's post, but .. a Schaller roller bridge, maybe?:cool:
 
#14
Is this what you have?
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I have one of these, and the original bridge is a piece of junk. The way it's designed, it's puts too sharp a bend in the strings between where they are anchored, and the bridge. Unless you are concerned about keeping it original, I would throw the original bridge out and put a modern replacement on it.
 
#15
byacey said:
Is this what you have?
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I have one of these, and the original bridge is a piece of junk. The way it's designed, it's puts too sharp a bend in the strings between where they are anchored, and the bridge. Unless you are concerned about keeping it original, I would throw the original bridge out and put a modern replacement on it.
Click to expand...
Yes!
Currently it has a replacement wooden archtop bridge. What kind of bridge would u recommend?? I'm thinking of getting a basic fender bridge and shimming it up if the long set screws cant get high enough.

Schaller bridge id a little expensive for me right now, any cheaper equivelent? Will they all pretty much need shimming?
 
#16
That's a Bartell Bass; they were made in California in the 1960s for Hohner.

These basses have a unique feature, a neck tilt adjustment screw. It's found directly south of the bridge pickup, on the instrument's center line. This can be adjusted over a considerable range to accommodate different bridge heights. I would look at something like this:
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[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
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#17
byacey said:
That's a Bartell Bass; they were made in California in the 1960s for Hohner.

These basses have a unique feature, a neck tilt adjustment screw. It's found directly south of the bridge pickup, on the instrument's center line. This can be adjusted over a considerable range to accommodate different bridge heights. I would look at something like this:
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[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Click to expand...

Brief update..Im pretty sure the previous owner put a big wood screw where the tilt adjustment screw used to be.

This wood screw was kept tight, giving it some back bow, causing me to think i could only use tall saddled bridges.

So..

would like to know how the tilting mechanism worked, how long the adjusting screw has to be, etc. But for now i could only guess..

Off the bat, I'm thinking if the mechanism caused backbow when tight, then it should cause the neck to straighten up when loosened.

But if i loosen,due to the natural weight of the headstock when guitar is layed on its back, this would pop the screw upwards and the neck would settle at the same position it was at when screw was tight. Worst of all, it would be very loosey goosey.

So I am guessing you gotta have a MACHINE SCREW in there as opposed to a wood screw you might find in the neck pocket.

So yeah..machine screw, possibly with locking nut behind it so it doesnt pop up, and just enough length to cover the full swing of the neck and not touch the back of the inner body...

Anyways if you have any idea on how to get the tilt working again let me know because we are diving into deeper waters now it seems.

Thanks again for all your help so far.
 
#18
I'm pretty sure it's a machine screw, Robertson head. I found it interesting that Bartell was using a Canadian Robertson drive screw on their instruments in the 1960's, but it makes perfect sense, as you can put a lot of positive torque on the fastener without cam-out, which Philips drive screws are prone to doing.

The way it works is like this: The neck has an extension arm that goes into the body. I never had it apart, so I don't know if it's steel or wood. This machine screw threads into the arm. Turning the screw clockwise tilts the neck backwards, and brings the fingerboard closer to the strings; counterclockwise increases the distance between the strings and the fingerboard.

The screw doesn't need to be held captive because string tension on the neck is always trying to pull the neck forwards, which keeps a constant tension on the adjusting screw threads.

If you give me a few days, I'll get over to the studio and take it apart to see how it's made. I'm curious how they pivot the neck heel without putting strain on the neck to body attaching screws.

The beauty of this design is you have infinite control over the Mwah effect when stopping the notes on the fingerboard.
 
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#19
byacey said:
I'm pretty sure it's a machine screw, Robertson head. I found it interesting that Bartell was using a Canadian Robertson drive screw on their instruments in the 1960's, but it makes perfect sense, as you can put a lot of positive torque on the fastener without cam-out, which Philips drive screws are prone to doing.

The way it works is like this: The neck has an extension arm that goes into the body. I never had it apart, so I don't know if it's steel or wood. This machine screw threads into the arm. Turning the screw clockwise tilts the neck backwards, and brings the fingerboard closer to the strings; counterclockwise increases the distance between the strings and the fingerboard.

The screw doesn't need to be held captive because string tension on the neck is always trying to pull the neck forwards, which keeps a constant tension on the adjusting screw threads.

If you give me a few days, I'll get over to the studio and take it apart to see how it's made. I'm curious how they pivot the neck heel without putting strain on the neck to body attaching screws.

The beauty of this design is you have infinite control over the Mwah effect when stopping the notes on the fingerboard.
Click to expand...
Awesome, yeah, take your time.
Thanks for pointing out that, when strung, the neck always wants to bow forward. I was thinking about it without strings for some reason.
 

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