markdavid Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 Hi All Have recently aquired an eb0 copy as per my other thread [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/301936-just-bought-this-odd-eb0-copy-off-the-bay/page__pid__3257211#entry3257211"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/301936-just-bought-this-odd-eb0-copy-off-the-bay/page__pid__3257211#entry3257211[/url] The bridge on this bass is awful, terrible and I was thinking of fitting a new bridge, the string spacing is very tight so I dont think an other EB0 bridge will have the peg holes in the correct place, I was considering fitting a fender style bridge and drilling the holes and fittign it myself. Is there anything I need to consider when doing this? Can I just take a drill to the bass or do I need to take any precautions etc to prevent issues doing this? sorry for newb question , have not done this before Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorris Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 Looking at the pics on your original post - I had same sort of thing - a CMI EB0 copy. Narrowness of string spacing (something like 15mm from memory) a big problem for a new bridge. All the standard bridges wouldn't accomodate this - including the adjustable Schaller type. What I did was find a six string bass bridge on ebay with approximately the right spacing annd use that (with two of the saddles unused). The bridge was a one off sale from an incomplete project and is unbranded so I can't give a source for it. Any other bridge would have resulted in the E / G strings being on the edge or off the board. But given the height of the original bridge I had to raise it up considerably. For this I used a piece of hardwood moulding - 8mm height - screwed onto the bass body and mounted the bridge itself onto that. I think i needed to put a shim in the neck pocket too. Looks a bit odd though ! Drilling was no problem - clean up the surface after removing the old bridge and use masking tape for pencil marks and to stop the surface finish breaking up. Difficult bit was aligning the bridge / pilot holes accurately. Measure twice / drill once etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markdavid Posted March 14, 2017 Author Share Posted March 14, 2017 [quote name='rmorris' timestamp='1489489271' post='3257307'] Looking at the pics on your original post - I had same sort of thing - a CMI EB0 copy. Narrowness of string spacing (something like 15mm from memory) a big problem for a new bridge. All the standard bridges wouldn't accomodate this - including the adjustable Schaller type. What I did was find a six string bass bridge on ebay with approximately the right spacing annd use that (with two of the saddles unused). The bridge was a one off sale from an incomplete project and is unbranded so I can't give a source for it. Any other bridge would have resulted in the E / G strings being on the edge or off the board. But given the height of the original bridge I had to raise it up considerably. For this I used a piece of hardwood moulding - 8mm height - screwed onto the bass body and mounted the bridge itself onto that. I think i needed to put a shim in the neck pocket too. Looks a bit odd though ! Drilling was no problem - clean up the surface after removing the old bridge and use masking tape for pencil marks and to stop the surface finish breaking up. Difficult bit was aligning the bridge / pilot holes accurately. Measure twice / drill once etc... [/quote] Damn, that sucks about the spacing, sounds like I might have to take it to a luthier and ask them to sort it, was hoping it would be a simpler fix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorris Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 well do check the spacing you need. Mine seemed to be particularly narrow. Maybe yours is wider ? 16mm would make things a lot easier... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorris Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 forgot to say... the other option I toyed with was using those individual nuts where there's one per string so you can get whatever you need. But the placement is more work and trigonometry ! They also seem to require some 'woodwork' beyond just drilling... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markdavid Posted March 14, 2017 Author Share Posted March 14, 2017 Thanks, i think i will just move this on, sell it as a project bass (bridge replacement needed) and eat the loss Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hubrad Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 (edited) The more modern Schaller, the 2000, can get you down to a smidge over 15mm. (also up to about 20, I think) I have this model on a couple of basses, 4 and 5 string. https://www.schaller-electronic.com/hp135112/Bass-Bridge-2000-4-string.htm Edited March 14, 2017 by hubrad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorris Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 [quote name='hubrad' timestamp='1489494785' post='3257367'] The more modern Schaller, the 2000, can get you down to a smidge over 15mm. (also up to about 20, I think) I have this model on a couple of basses, 4 and 5 string. [url="https://www.schaller-electronic.com/hp135112/Bass-Bridge-2000-4-string.htm"]https://www.schaller...00-4-string.htm[/url] [/quote] That bridge does look good ! I like it :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 Something to consider too is the height of the bridge. Fender bridges tend to be shorter to go with the zero neck angle - which makes for easier/cheaper manufacturing. Gibsons will generally have a higher bridge and the neck tilted back slightly in relation to the body. You may need to have a packing piece under the bridge or to recess the bridge into the body a bit depending which bridge you are fitting to which guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markdavid Posted March 16, 2017 Author Share Posted March 16, 2017 Thanks for the replies, i have had a look at the bass again and measured it out of curiousity and it seems my eyes are a little off lol, seems the E and the G are quite far in on the fretboard (ie they are not close to the edge of the fretboard), the neck looking narrow seems to be an illusion caused by a much wider neck at the nut (around 47mm if i remember correctly) and the neck being slightly slimmer than average at the last fret (60mm at the last fret vs around 62mm on my Mustang), I have a bridge on the way that should fit this bass that another Basschatter is very kindly sending me , I think this bridge will fare better than the current one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 Schaller did a Bridge model number 460 which still appear on eBay from time to time. It's a 2 point mounting but not sure of the width. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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