Staggered mono rails

[fleabag]

Why do some builders ( disregarding span fret basses )  who use mono rail bridges,  stagger mount them rather than just line them up equal like a fixed bridge ?

 

Is there some intonation thing going on ?

 

 

[funkypenguin]

Generally speaking the bridge saddles follow a slight diagonal from the lowest to the highest string, with the lowest string being further back and the highest further forward, so it makes some sense to mount the monorail bridge units to follow that diagonal from the start  

[Aidan63]

the one pictured looks like it has only something like a 10mm adjustment range and most of them are pretty much at the limit with the strings that are on it

[fleabag]

It was just an example really. There are plenty of other examples.  I was merely asking what the point was of staggering them

[fleabag]

6 hours ago, funkypenguin said:

Generally speaking the bridge saddles follow a slight diagonal from the lowest to the highest string, with the lowest string being further back and the highest further forward, so it makes some sense to mount the monorail bridge units to follow that diagonal from the start  

 

So how do they decide where the saddles actually go?  Normally, when i fit a fixed bridge to say a 34" scale, i measure where the 34" mark falls on the body,  and set the saddles at the midway point to allow adjustment either forward or backward in the bridge.  Surely staggering the mono rails, one would be guessing on where to set the saddles ?

[Geek99]

Why not just measure the intonated lengths of the strings on a BBOT and use those lengths to place the middle of the staggered rail saddles ?

[Lfalex v1.1]

Most monorail designs (exemplified by the photo example) don't have the range of travel in their saddles that single-piece bridge has. This leads to having staggered bridge pieces as the correct placement for the lighter strings would be too far forward for the heavier ones to be able to achieve correct intonation. 

 

In the case of mass-produced instruments, I'd fully expect the bass manufacturers to have got the measurements correct for a broad variety of strings during prototyping.

 

For purchased components, I'd hope the manufacturers provide clear measuring and fitting guidance. Similarly, for custom instruments, I'd expect the luthier to follow said guidance.

 

I've two basses where this layout is used;

An Ibanez with individual piezo-saddled monorails.

A Vigier with a Kahler (2400?) bridge with individual "blocks" that mount into a parallelogram- shaped plate on the body.

 

Neither are fan-fretted. Both seem to work without any issues. 

Edited March 9, 2022 by Lfalex v1.1

[fleabag]

1 hour ago, Geek99 said:

Why not just measure the intonated lengths of the strings on a BBOT and use those lengths to place the middle of the staggered rail saddles ?

 

That would be ok if all basses had the same look after intonation.  Here's two , one that is staggered uniformly and one that isn't.

[Chopthebass]

If there is enough travel in the saddle to get the correct intonation, there is no need, in my opinion, to stagger the units.