| Author | Message | ||
| rogertvr
Advanced Member Username: rogertvr Post Number: 292 Registered: 1-2003 |
What happens when you have about 1mm of relief in the neck, the bridge is flat on the baseplate, you have no squeaks or rattles when playing the instrument, but you feel that the strings could be even lower? What then? Any suggestions? | ||
| adriaan
Senior Member Username: adriaan Post Number: 453 Registered: 6-2002 |
Easy, you make the bridge slots deeper. | ||
| rogertvr
Advanced Member Username: rogertvr Post Number: 293 Registered: 1-2003 |
A little hit and miss isn't it? | ||
| adriaan
Senior Member Username: adriaan Post Number: 454 Registered: 6-2002 |
? | ||
| rogertvr
Advanced Member Username: rogertvr Post Number: 294 Registered: 1-2003 |
How does one make the bridge slots deeper? | ||
| serialnumber12
Junior Username: serialnumber12 Post Number: 41 Registered: 12-2004 |
A 'very' thin (round) file,one that fits into the slot precisely. | ||
| dela217
Senior Member Username: dela217 Post Number: 491 Registered: 6-2002 |
I wouldn't mess with the slots. I had the same sort of problem with one of my Alembics. What I did was have the bottom of the brass sustain block machined down. That way the whole thing sits deeper in the body. | ||
| knight
Junior Username: knight Post Number: 19 Registered: 9-2003 |
I was wondering about this too... I want to convert my Europa to fretless but I need to get the strings lower than they are now. IS THIS A SAFE PROCEDURE, DOCTOR??? I don't want to hurt my beautiful bass... | ||
| dgcarbu
Intermediate Member Username: dgcarbu Post Number: 160 Registered: 6-2004 |
Please ensure you do not take too much off, a replacement bridge is not cheap. | ||
| apdavis
Junior Username: apdavis Post Number: 28 Registered: 5-2004 |
I would agree with dela, You can aways contract for parts, and if your mechanical operations are good, changing your sustain block is the way to go. | ||
| mica
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 2218 Registered: 6-2000 |
A skilled repair person can certainly file the slots down. I would not recommend saddle filing on your Alembic as a first-time project unless you have metal experience. Another option is to order a set of replacement saddles. You can remove and save the originals, install the unslotted ones, and have your repair person work on those. That way, it's completely reversable. Dela's suggestion of sanding down the back of the block seems more appropriate for a do-it-yourself modification. | ||
| fredguy
New Username: fredguy Post Number: 3 Registered: 12-2004 |
Doesn't 1 mm (0.040") of relief seem high? I'd try to get it to 0.375 to 0.5mm (0.015 to 0.020") and see if the bridge was too still too low. dave | ||
| bob
Advanced Member Username: bob Post Number: 354 Registered: 11-2002 |
Take a close look: is the bottom of the bridge itself really sitting on the block, or is it the small nut on the height adjusting screw? I'm not sure all are like this, but if I needed to go lower I could simply countersink the holes in the block - maybe not with a real countersink, but a drill large enough to let that nut 'sink in' a bit. Pretty simple, you don't lose much mass, won't hurt anything else. Though I agree with dave/fredguy that 1 mm relief seems pretty excessive, and would try working on that first. -Bob | ||
| adriaan
Senior Member Username: adriaan Post Number: 456 Registered: 6-2002 |
Just out of curiosity: where did the "1 mm relief" bit come from? And does that refer to neck relief, as in how much space there is between the strings and the 12th fret? Fredguy, if you're talking bass then .040 corresponds to a medium light G string. I think that's about the relief that I have. I'm not sure I'd be comfortable playing having it lower. | ||
| rogertvr
Advanced Member Username: rogertvr Post Number: 295 Registered: 1-2003 |
Adriaan, yes, the 1mm relief is the space between the bottom of the strings and the 12th fret, when the string is fretted simultaneously at the 1st and 24th fret. I didn't think 1mm was particularly large, quite the opposite in fact - I thought it was quite small. | ||
| adriaan
Senior Member Username: adriaan Post Number: 457 Registered: 6-2002 |
Roger, I was thinking about the string going from nut to bridge, which in your case would leave a gap that is significantly wider than 1 mm. And you're not even having problems fretting the strings? I'll try and take some measurements when I get home. | ||
| adriaan
Senior Member Username: adriaan Post Number: 459 Registered: 6-2002 |
Unfortunately I don't have the proper tools to take these measurements. As far as I could tell, the relief with the string pressed onto the 1st and 24th frets is significantly less than 1 mm (as in: I can't see how an end of a G string could fit between fret and string). In this experiment, the string does produce a tone when plucked, but there is some fret rattle - more on the treble side than on the bass side. Regular string height at the 12th is roughly between 2 and 3 mm, with the G string raised the most. There is no fret rattle. The bridge is definitely not sitting on the top surface: there's about a 2 mm gap between the top surface and the underside of the bridge on the treble side, and about 4 mm on the bass side. In all, perhaps you need to tighten the truss rods a bit to reduce the relief, then you should be able to raise the bridge off the surface. HIH | ||
| rogertvr
Advanced Member Username: rogertvr Post Number: 296 Registered: 1-2003 |
What I've now done, based on the advice all you kind folks have given me, is to tighten the truss rods to remove most of the relief. The bridge is now still flat on the baseplate, but I really don't think that the strings could go any lower and the instrument still be playable. So I've got it to where I wanted it. Thanks for everyone's help and input to this, much appreciated! Cheers, Rog | ||
| dgcarbu
Advanced Member Username: dgcarbu Post Number: 201 Registered: 6-2004 |
Whew! Glad to hear you solved it without filing anything. Peace, Darrell | ||
| adriaan
Senior Member Username: adriaan Post Number: 460 Registered: 6-2002 |
Like a lawsuit? | ||
| jacko
Member Username: jacko Post Number: 99 Registered: 10-2002 |
Roger's English like me. We don't 'do' lawsuits ;-) graeme | ||
| adriaan
Senior Member Username: adriaan Post Number: 461 Registered: 6-2002 |
Better get Roger's Thesaurus Rex inlay out then. | ||
| rogertvr
Advanced Member Username: rogertvr Post Number: 298 Registered: 1-2003 |
Graeme's quite correct - instead, we do 'sue the b*stard'! Rog | ||
| adriaan
Senior Member Username: adriaan Post Number: 462 Registered: 6-2002 |
Then who burnt the custard? Ah, it's Jamie Oliver! The Golden Essex Boy Wonder Of The Blow Torch! |
