Double Bass Raising the string height

[djc03006]

Hi,

I raised the bridge adjusters as far as I thought I could (to where they make contact with the bridge), but it's still not as high as I would like. I thought that I had run out of room, but my teacher was telling me today that I can continue to raise it higher. There is very little gap between the adjusters on either side (i.e. foot side and bridge side), so it's not like the adjusters are going to pop out of the feet or anything.

Just wanted to double check here before I go and do this. Initially I thought I needed a whole new bridge, but seems like I can save the expense if I can just raise it from here.

Thanks

 

[eh_train]

Hey djc,

A pic would be a huge help.

Without being sure of your situation, having too much thread showing on the adjusters isn't a great idea, stability-wise. If you're at the point where you have the adjusters jacked up high and still want to go higher, it might be time to have your luthier insert some wood into the bridge feet. It's not a huge job, and it might fix the situation that (I think) you're describing.

Cheers,

Paul

 

[stefaniw80401]

You should get a good 1/2"-3/4" of travel.
You MUST loosen your strings before raising.

I like to lay my bass on the kitchen table on a blanket wedging some pillows under the shoulders to stabilize. Put a 10# shot bag on the top of my bass over the SP area, then slack off all the strings. Take off the bridge, lube the crown slots with #2 soft pencil lead. Raise the adjusters .... see how much travel you have .... I'd feel safe with no less than 1/4" thread in the foot. If the adjusters are really tight, maybe lube the threads with bees wax? Soap? Pencil lead?

Put the bridge back in place and pull the strings back on. Watch out that the ball-end of the string does not get wedged in its tailpiece hole.

 

[Greg Clinkingbeard]

The threads on most adjusters are about an inch long and at least half should stay in the bridge.

 

[djc03006]

Hey djc,

A pic would be a huge help.

Without being sure of your situation, having too much thread showing on the adjusters isn't a great idea, stability-wise. If you're at the point where you have the adjusters jacked up high and still want to go higher, it might be time to have your luthier insert some wood into the bridge feet. It's not a huge job, and it might fix the situation that (I think) you're describing.

Cheers,

Paul

 

[djc03006]

Thank you very much for the follow up. I have attached a couple of pictures. The good news is that very little of the thread is showing right now so maybe I have some room to work with.

 

[djc03006]

The threads on most adjusters are about an inch long and at least half should stay in the bridge.

Thank you, Very helpful

 

[djc03006]

You should get a good 1/2"-3/4" of travel.
You MUST loosen your strings before raising.

I like to lay my bass on the kitchen table on a blanket wedging some pillows under the shoulders to stabilize. Put a 10# shot bag on the top of my bass over the SP area, then slack off all the strings. Take off the bridge, lube the crown slots with #2 soft pencil lead. Raise the adjusters .... see how much travel you have .... I'd feel safe with no less than 1/4" thread in the foot. If the adjusters are really tight, maybe lube the threads with bees wax? Soap? Pencil lead?

Put the bridge back in place and pull the strings back on. Watch out that the ball-end of the string does not get wedged in its tailpiece hole.

Thank you very much for the feedback. Since I can barely even see the thread at all it seems like I have plenty of room to adjust so I should be able to raise the auction as high as I want. Appreciate the tips also on lubricating the threads, they are kind of tight so I’ve been using a wrench.

 

[stefaniw80401]

Yeah, I've dealt with tight adjusters on my students' basses. Reiterate MUST slacken the strings. Try using a piece of leather, or a glove, to protect your fingers when turning the wheels. If needing to use pliers, something is wrong: strings still too tight or threads too tight -- which can happen if the hole is not threaded. This is why I usually go for bridge removal to begin with--as described earlier.

You might also discover the dreaded two-piece adjusters. Not sure why they exist, but they quite common from shops that don't understand bass lutherie.

Good luck. Keep us posted.

 

[djc03006]

Yeah, I've dealt with tight adjusters on my students' basses. Reiterate MUST slacken the strings. Try using a piece of leather, or a glove, to protect your fingers when turning the wheels. If needing to use pliers, something is wrong: strings still too tight or threads too tight -- which can happen if the hole is not threaded. This is why I usually go for bridge removal to begin with--as described earlier.

You might also discover the dreaded two-piece adjusters. Not sure why they exist, but they quite common from shops that don't understand bass lutherie.

Good luck. Keep us posted.

Thanks so much, and great advice. I am hesitant to remove the bridge, in case the soundpost falls down, maybe an overblown concern...

 

[stefaniw80401]

Thanks so much, and great advice. I am hesitant to remove the bridge, in case the soundpost falls down, maybe an overblown concern...

That's what the 10# shot bag is for. A heavy book(s) would also work, or a water bag/bladder like you might have in your camping gear. Even a brick on a foam pad would work.

Last time I did this with my students' bass, I had them put/push their hand over the soundpost during the operation. Maybe you have a friend who would do this for you? Make sure they go pee before committing.

But I work on my own basses and have a SP setter. Not everybody is as daring ... I get it.

Good luck!

 

[Ryan in PDX]

Thank you very much for the follow up. I have attached a couple of pictures. The good news is that very little of the thread is showing right now so maybe I have some room to work with.

You should be able to get as much height as you could possibly need since the adjusters are basically all the way down. When I adjust my bridge, I loosen the strings about a whole step each. That's loose enough for me to easily turn the adjusters with my fingers, and my soundpost hasn't fallen over.

 

[djc03006]

You should be able to get as much height as you could possibly need since the adjusters are basically all the way down. When I adjust my bridge, I loosen the strings about a whole step each. That's loose enough for me to easily turn the adjusters with my fingers, and my soundpost hasn't fallen over.

Excellent, thanks for the insight

 

[djc03006]

That's what the 10# shot bag is for. A heavy book(s) would also work, or a water bag/bladder like you might have in your camping gear. Even a brick on a foam pad would work.

Last time I did this with my students' bass, I had them put/push their hand over the soundpost during the operation. Maybe you have a friend who would do this for you? Make sure they go pee before committing.

But I work on my own basses and have a SP setter. Not everybody is as daring ... I get it.

Good luck!

Ah ok, yes I have some sandbags or something similar to keep pressure while the bridge is off, if I decide to go that route (although sounds like more fun to torture a friend into helping). I do have soap so that could be an option for the threads.

 

[eh_train]

Hi,

I raised the bridge adjusters as far as I thought I could (to where they make contact with the bridge), but it's still not as high as I would like.

Hey djc,

I'm more confused after seeing your pics. What they show is the adjusters lowered all the way down. Do you want the string height raised, or lowered? You have a ton of room to raise it, and no room to lower it further (unless you take some material out of the bridge feet). If you do want the string height lowered a luthier can do this pretty easily.

Regardless of whether you need to go up or down, IMO adjusters should be moveable even under tension. This requires cutting the threads so they're not too binding, and then using graphite to "lubricate". IMO, if you need to use a wrench to turn the adjusters they weren't installed well.

 

[djc03006]

Hey djc,

I'm more confused after seeing your pics. What they show is the adjusters lowered all the way down. Do you want the string height raised, or lowered? You have a ton of room to raise it, and no room to lower it further (unless you take some material out of the bridge feet). Again, a luthier can do this pretty easily.

Regardless of whether you need to go up or down, I insert my bridge adjusters so that they can move even under tension. This requires cutting the threads so they're not too binding, and then using graphite to "lubricate". IMO, if you need to use a wrench to turn the adjusters they weren't installed well.

Thanks for the follow up. Actually they were even a little lower before. I want to raise the string height. I guess this is a case of a noob question on my end - it makes much more sense to me now!

When you say you cut the threads, meaning you just shorten them a bit? Appreciate the help!

 

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

He means tapping them to smooth the threads. And you don’t need to put weight on the top. Just lay the bass on the G side and don’t bump it. If the soundpost has no place to fall to, it should stay in place if well fitted.

 

[djc03006]

He means tapping them to smooth the threads. And you don’t need to put weight on the top. Just lay the bass on the G side and don’t bump it. If the soundpost has no place to fall to, it should stay in place if well fitted.

Great advice, thank you much

 

[Greg Clinkingbeard]

Really, if the post falls it’s probably too short anyway.

 

[stefaniw80401]

He means tapping them to smooth the threads. And you don’t need to put weight on the top. Just lay the bass on the G side and don’t bump it. If the soundpost has no place to fall to, it should stay in place if well fitted.

Oooo...that's a great hack! Love that tip! Let gravity hold the SP against the converging arches. Brilliant.