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Gotoh 201 bridge not flush on P bass.


geoham
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Hi,

Hopefully one of you can help here!

I've had a Gotoh 201 bridge fitted to my Jazz for some time now, and I had no problems fitting it - straight replacement for the BBOT!
Last week, I had the opportunity to pick up the same bridge used for £20 and jumped at the chance to get one for my P.

It seemed no problem to fit, but it doesn't appear to be sitting flush at the front (i.e. - neck side). To give you an idea of the size of the gap, I can fit three sheets of cheap printer paper under it snuggly, but not 4, so approx 0.3mm

It's definitely not the earth wire that's causing it btw.

Any suggestions?

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Had you not already said so I would have suspected the earth wire... where does it sit in relation to the mounting screws? The other possibility is that the bridge baseplate isn't completely flat (I suppose that if it were the bass body with some kind of bump you'd have had a similar gap with the stock BBOT).

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As I see it - either the body, the bridge plate or both aren't completely flat - or something is getting in the way - the screws, etc.

Can you get it to sit flat without it being screwed tightly on? (loosen strings, loosen screws partly so they keep the bridge centred but don't hold it flat to the body).

If it won't sit flat then, I'd grab a straight edge (or a cheap ruler that's straight, or anything with straight edge) and carefully check the body area (including ground wire), as well as the bridge plate.

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With the screws loosened off, it does appear to sit flush, it's when tightening the screws, it angles it back.

I'm confident it's not the earth wire, because I managed to pull it out a while back when changing the pickup, and put a wee mod in place. The earth wire is sitting entirely in the little recess, and I have some aluminium tape (ultra thin) providing a good contact to the bridge. It's never shifting again!

I'll pull the bridge back off tomorrow and make sure all is as it should be.

Cheers,

George

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Well, got to the bottom of it - the baseplate of the bridge isn't straight. Seems to be slightly bent where screw holes are. It's the same at both the bass and treble sides.
So, for now I need to decide whether to live with it, put the BBOT back on, or try and fix it. My uncle is a blacksmith....perhaps he could straighten it!

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have noticed this is happening on one of my P basses. The front of the stock bridge lifts up as I tighten the screws. I have checked the surface of the bass body, and the baseplate, and both are flat, so I am hoping string pressure will put it flat again when I fit the new neck on.

Edited by walbassist
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[quote name='Dan Dare' timestamp='1422299991' post='2670924']
I had this with a 201. The holes in the bridge were too tight a fit to the screws and tightening them lifted it as the threads engaged with the base plate. Slightly (note SLIGHTLY) enlarge the holes in the bridge with a file and it'll be fine.
[/quote]
The screws supplied with my Gotoh were very thin compared to iriginal screws. Did you use the original screws? I opened up the holes by 0.5mm (with a drill) and used Fender screws - the Gotoh screws would probably not tighten up in the holes in the body anyway.

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