What's the worst that could happen replacing a bridge?

[aproud1]

It shouldn't be too complicated as others have said. Just take your time and pay attention to how things come apart. If it is a direct replacement it should be easy.

One tip I'll add, use the original screws when reinstalling the new bridge unless they are damaged somehow. When you go to thread the screw in the hole, slowly turn it backwards until you feel it fall into the thread, stop immediately and start threading the right direction. This will help you find the existing thread and hopefully prevent stripping out the hole.

If you run into problems or have questions just come back over to Talkbass and ask for help.

 

[Chinchano]

It shouldn't be too complicated as others have said. Just take your time and pay attention to how things come apart. If it is a direct replacement it should be easy.

One tip I'll add, use the original screws when reinstalling the new bridge unless they are damaged somehow. When you go to thread the screw in the hole, slowly turn it backwards until you feel it fall into the thread, stop immediately and start threading the right direction. This will help you find the existing thread and hopefully prevent stripping out the hole.

If you run into problems or have questions just come back over to Talkbass and ask for help.

Thanks! I'm going to give it a try. I'd rather learn how to do things myself anyway.

 

[Shedua511]

Never unscrew the bridge! You'll let the troll out

Seriously, not much that can go wrong, as long as you take your time and make sure you have a bridge that will fit your bass and existing holes (of course you could plug the old ones and make new holes, but lets keep this easy )

 

[Chinchano]

Never unscrew the bridge! You'll let the troll out

Seriously, not much that can go wrong, as long as you take your time and make sure you have a bridge that will fit your bass and existing holes (of course you could plug the old ones and make new holes, but lets keep this easy )

LOL can't let the troll out

 

[MegaSwing]

Just be careful. Use hand power, not power tools. Do not unscrew or re-screw any single thing all the way at one time. Spread the pressure evenly across all fastening points as you loosen and tighten. Tighten things firmly but not to excess. Muscles beyond your fingertips should never be required. The worse thing that can happen besides stripping out the threads in the holes is your hand slipping and marring the finish with the screwdriver, a sign that you are applying too much muscle.

 

[Nev375]

You could potentially die!

Assuming you forget to take the strings off (ever forget? I forget stuff all the time.)
and assuming you can get at the screws with the strings still on, there's a few hundred pounds of
tension there just waiting to release that hunk of metal right up into the side of your
(or a loved one's) head. Right in that thin part of skull by the temple that is easily broken.

Mind you, that may be highly unlikely, but you asked about WORST case scenario.

 

[lfmn16]

I took my bass in to have the bridge changed and the nitwit who had originally changed it out used the wrong screws. The luthier tried to unscrew them and two of them snapped. He had to drill them out and then fix the mess. I was watching so I know he was being as careful as possible, but sometimes s#!t happens. He said it was highly unusual for something like that to happen, but you did ask what was the worst thing that could happen.

 

[JoeWPgh]

The worst that could happen? After flawlessly installing the new bridge, you throw up your hands and say, that didn't do what I wanted, and go shopping for a new bass.

 

[electracoyote]

Worst case scenario:

You go through the time and effort to not only install a new bridge and re-string the instrument, but to set the intonation and action optimum, just to realize the damn thing plays and sounds just the same as it did before.

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

Also check the thickness of the bridge and the saddles, and make sure that you can lower your string height as low as you want it to be. If the bridge is thick as well as the saddles, you might not have enough room to lower it to the preferred height. In that case you might need to shim the neck pocket, which is a whole different thing to deal with.

 

[fedenybass]

I've experienced changing a bridge which resulted in a dead spot with no sustain at the 12th fret. I Switched back to a brass bridge as recommended by the local luthier and the dead spot went away. That was the worst for me.

 

[TripleDouble]

You could crazy glue your hand to the body of the bass, forget to renew your homeowners insurance and have your premium skyrocket, or not wash your hands before going to the bathroom after chopping up some hot peppers for a vat of hot sauce. Point being, it pays to pay attention at all times, Mr. Pot. Love, The Kettle.

 

[MegaSwing]

You could potentially die! <snip>

Boy, wouldn't THAT just suck?

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

 

[Nev375]

Boy, wouldn't THAT just suck?

Yeah... but just for a moment if you are lucky.

 

[Chinchano]

Oh yeah, make sure the ground wire is making contact with the underside of the bridge. That will help. You can even fan out the wire if it isn't already and put a dab of CA glue to make sure it stays in place.

A bridge replacement with the same screw footprint may seem trivial to most here, but it is a nice step towards gaining confidence in instrument repair and maintenance.

A little experience goes a long way!

Yep! This will be my first real "job". Looking forward to it but just hope i don't screw up it up.....literally. It'll be a direct replacement so that part shouldnt be bad. Setting the action and intonation may take me some time.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Worst case would be installing the bridge and finding out that you set it back too far and now, cannot properly intonate the bass.

 

[ZenG]

Just be careful taking the screws out...and putting them back in.

Take it slow when turning screws........use a hand screwdriver....not a power-driver.

 

[MVE]

Before you start, lay the new bridge side by side with the current one and line up the screw holes, then adjust the intonation to match.
It won't be dead on and you will still need to adjust after installing, but it will be in the ballpark.

 

[Ric5]

Now mind you, I haven't done much work on my basses before but I'm thinking about replacing a bridge on my Ibanez sr505 that's bent now. What's the worst that could happen while trying to replace it on my own? It would be the same style bridge just a new one.

Just make sure the footprint of the new bridge covers all of the screw holes from the old bridge ...

Also put it on straight and make sure you allow for travel distance of the saddles so it will intonate ...