stingrayPete1977 Posted March 16, 2013 Share Posted March 16, 2013 (edited) Sorry for clogging up the forum this morning! I have fitted my piezo pickup and refitted the bridge central to the strings and put the feet central to the f hole notches, It sounds ok with no rattles etc but when you look at it from the from the bridge is slanting up on the treble side, should I ignor the notches and make it sit square to the eye or is it OK, does anyone else have a slanted bridge? Cheers in advance as ever for all your wisdom A photo would help you say..... [IMG]http://i997.photobucket.com/albums/af100/stingraypete/20130316_095500_zps36d42fe8.jpg[/IMG] Edited March 16, 2013 by stingrayPete1977 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted March 16, 2013 Author Share Posted March 16, 2013 I have just twisted the feet a bit and it looks much better now, the bridge feet look offset on purpose actually and dont look at the bridge as it is carved with a twist (which I presume most are) it makes it look worse than it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keeponehandloose Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 position the bridge so the Back edge of the G foot is halfway over the soundpost, thats a better guide than the notches Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexpea Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 [quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1363428131' post='2012546'] I have just twisted the feet a bit and it looks much better now, the bridge feet look offset on purpose actually and dont look at the bridge as it is carved with a twist (which I presume most are) it makes it look worse than it is. [/quote] yep, was about to say that the bridge feet look twisted. The photo also looks as if the bridge is slightly closer to the E side of the bass, though that could just be the angle of the photo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted March 17, 2013 Author Share Posted March 17, 2013 [quote name='keeponehandloose' timestamp='1363528600' post='2013647'] position the bridge so the Back edge of the G foot is halfway over the soundpost, thats a better guide than the notches [/quote] Ah ok, see how a little knowledge can be dangerous Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted March 17, 2013 Author Share Posted March 17, 2013 [quote name='alexpea' timestamp='1363532483' post='2013701'] yep, was about to say that the bridge feet look twisted. The photo also looks as if the bridge is slightly closer to the E side of the bass, though that could just be the angle of the photo. [/quote] I have since squared the feet up, its fairly centred to the board so that's probably the photo, I will see how it compares to the sound post position. Does it need to be at 90 degrees to the strings? I just plonked it where Gedo had cleary indented the strings before removing the bridge for shipping, after that it was a matter of where the feet would sit flat and even Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keeponehandloose Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 looking side on, the back of the bridge should be at right angles to the bass top, that means the front of the bridge slopes backwards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted March 17, 2013 Author Share Posted March 17, 2013 What about from above though? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keeponehandloose Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 square on, not like saddles on a bass guitar, forget all about bass guitars, they will soon become a distant memory... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPJ Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 [quote name='keeponehandloose' timestamp='1363528600' post='2013647'] position the bridge so the Back edge of the G foot is halfway over the soundpost, thats a better guide than the notches [/quote] Not so sure about this. My sound post is miles from my bridge but on purpose for a certain sound. I believe the notches are there for just this purpose, to position the bridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted March 18, 2013 Author Share Posted March 18, 2013 I have had a quick look and my sound post is quite far away too, I will square it up and make a little mark for reference next time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 [quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1363544067' post='2013907'] I just plonked it where Gedo had cleary indented the strings before removing the bridge for shipping, after that it was a matter of where the feet would sit flat and even [/quote] Mine had marks in the finish where the bridge had been before they packed the bass so I tried that at first, but then I measured the speaking length and it was a bit short of the advertised 105cm, so I tried moving the bridge further south to meet that specification and the bass sounded better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexpea Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 [quote name='TPJ' timestamp='1363610155' post='2014619'] Not so sure about this. My sound post is miles from my bridge but on purpose for a certain sound. I believe the notches are there for just this purpose, to position the bridge. [/quote] I was always told that the soundpost should be placed 1 or 2 inches south of the G side bridge foot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted March 18, 2013 Author Share Posted March 18, 2013 [quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1363617795' post='2014787'] Mine had marks in the finish where the bridge had been before they packed the bass so I tried that at first, but then I measured the speaking length and it was a bit short of the advertised 105cm, so I tried moving the bridge further south to meet that specification and the bass sounded better. [/quote] After my last post I did wonder if I could just measure the string length, I will have a look. I looked for any signs of where Gedo had placed it but no joy, I could see where the strings had been in contact with the bridge though and went for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted March 18, 2013 Author Share Posted March 18, 2013 [quote name='alexpea' timestamp='1363620545' post='2014840'] I was always told that the soundpost should be placed 1 or 2 inches south of the G side bridge foot. [/quote] That would be more like mine I think without looking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero9 Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 Getting a double bass setup properly requires some skill (best left to a luthier/specialist imo), however, you can play about with it and get some good results. This article gives some good guidance on setup: [url="http://dennishavlena.com/bassetup.htm"]http://dennishavlena.com/bassetup.htm[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubassman Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 (edited) [font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]The sound post should be the same distance from its f hole as the bass bar is away from its f hole. If you stick your finger through the left f hole as you look at the instrument you will find the bass bar. Measure how far away it is from the edge of the f hole - that should give you the distance that the sound post should be in from the right hand f hole on the opposite side. It varies from instrument to instrument. Finding that point should be your starting point. However on some basses its desirable to move the sound post into a different position to get different responses /tones - see below. The bridge feet should be centred on the centre line of the bass bar and the centre line of the sound post.[/font] [font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]The notches is the sides of the f hole should be where the bridge is centred. The sound post is most commonly placed about one sound post diameter south of the edge of the bridge foot i.e. the sound post should not be under or half way under the bridge foot but offset south ( away from the fingerboard) by 15mm or so ( unless you want a very bright twangy sound? ).[/font] [font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Looks like your bridge has warped quite a bit !! Ideally the distance from the nut to the bridge wants to be the same across all strings so that you get the same scale length. You can steam the bridge and try to untwist it but its likely that as some stage soon you will want to fit a new bridge. [/font] [font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Some useful info at : - [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_post"]http://en.wikipedia....wiki/Sound_post[/url][/font] [font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]"Moving the sound post towards the fingerboard tends to increase brilliance and loudness. Moving the sound post towards the tail piece decreases the loudness and adds a richness or hollowness to the tonal quality of the instrument. Moving it towards the outside of the instrument increases brightness and moving in towards the middle of the instrument increases the lower frequencies. There is very little room to move the post from side to side without fitting a new post (or shortening the existing one) since tension (how firmly the post is wedged between top and back) plays an important role in tone adjustment. Perfect wood-to-wood fit at both ends of the post is critical to getting the desired sound."[/font] [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Soulpost2.gif"][/url] Edited March 19, 2013 by ubassman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubassman Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 (edited) Here's how to straighten your bridge . Skip to 5.00 the first bit isn't really relevant ( it might just be the angle of your photo and a matter of better aligning the feet on the adjustable bridge ! ). [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTM2GNFPLas[/media] Edited March 19, 2013 by ubassman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted March 19, 2013 Author Share Posted March 19, 2013 Ta mate, some really good info there! I love this section of the forum I am going to have a play with the bridge now and report back........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted March 19, 2013 Author Share Posted March 19, 2013 (edited) OK had a little mess, I have moved the whole bridge forward to give the 105cm scale length across all 4 strings now and managed to get everything a bit more square, the notches are nearer the centre of the feet and it all looks more correct to my eyes. I cant beleive how much scope for movement there is even without moving the position of where the strings touch the bridge! It is also dead centre 49mm from each f hole too. What do we think now, better? Edited March 19, 2013 by stingrayPete1977 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted March 19, 2013 Author Share Posted March 19, 2013 Before for reference [IMG]http://i997.photobucket.com/albums/af100/stingraypete/20130316_095500_zps36d42fe8.jpg[/IMG] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexpea Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 [quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1363724778' post='2016672'] OK had a little mess, I have moved the whole bridge forward to give the 105cm scale length across all 4 strings now and managed to get everything a bit more square, the notches are nearer the centre of the feet and it all looks more correct to my eyes. I cant beleive how much scope for movement there is even without moving the position of where the strings touch the bridge! It is also dead centre 49mm from each f hole too. What do we think now, better? [/quote] Much better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted March 19, 2013 Author Share Posted March 19, 2013 Good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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