markdavid Posted June 9, 2017 Author Share Posted June 9, 2017 Thanks for the replies, I have had the intonation sorted and it is now pretty much spot on. The next thing I want to get sorted is the action, it is not high by any means and actually very playable due to the slim neck but being used to 1.5mm action on my other basses it is a little bit higher than I would like, I have adjusted the wheels to bring the action down but would like it a little lower, I am guessing I will need to sand the bottom of the bridge down? If so what is the easiest and least likely to go wrong method of doing this ? thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikay Posted June 9, 2017 Share Posted June 9, 2017 Bear in mind that if you lower the action you may need to tweak your intonation again! Ideally you should have got your luthier to set the action at the same time he did the intonation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markdavid Posted June 9, 2017 Author Share Posted June 9, 2017 [quote name='ikay' timestamp='1497007148' post='3315242'] Bear in mind that if you lower the action you may need to tweak your intonation again! Ideally you should have got your luthier to set the action at the same time he did the intonation. [/quote] Ahh in that case I may just leave the action where it is as it is very playable just slightly higher than my other basses Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted June 9, 2017 Share Posted June 9, 2017 A violin bass is also an archtop, so it is critical that the base of the bridge is in full contact across the radius. It's a tricky job without being particularly difficult. Usually you remove the bridge, place a piece of sandpaper facing UP on the archtop under the bridge position, and then sand down the base by leaving the sandpaper in place while moving the bridge - do you follow? That should create a curved base to the bridge which exactly matches the shape of the bass. Before you decide whether or not to do it, have a really close look at the base of the bridge as it is now. If it has already been contoured in this way then you might be best advised to leave well alone. If on the other hand the base of the bridge is completely flat and therefore only really touching the bass at the inner edges, then it's almost certainly worth doing the contouring because of the improvement you'll get in tone and (maybe) volume. If you want to use the top Hofner luthier in London, drop me a PM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markdavid Posted June 9, 2017 Author Share Posted June 9, 2017 [quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1497015638' post='3315331'] A violin bass is also an archtop, so it is critical that the base of the bridge is in full contact across the radius. It's a tricky job without being particularly difficult. Usually you remove the bridge, place a piece of sandpaper facing UP on the archtop under the bridge position, and then sand down the base by leaving the sandpaper in place while moving the bridge - do you follow? That should create a curved base to the bridge which exactly matches the shape of the bass. Before you decide whether or not to do it, have a really close look at the base of the bridge as it is now. If it has already been contoured in this way then you might be best advised to leave well alone. If on the other hand the base of the bridge is completely flat and therefore only really touching the bass at the inner edges, then it's almost certainly worth doing the contouring because of the improvement you'll get in tone and (maybe) volume. If you want to use the top Hofner luthier in London, drop me a PM. [/quote] Thanks, the bridge is curved but it is not perfect, there is a very slight gap between bridge and body, maybe only a quarter of a mm or less but none the less a gap is a gap so I may give this a try just to improve the contact between the bridge and body Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc S Posted June 9, 2017 Share Posted June 9, 2017 [quote name='ikay' timestamp='1497007148' post='3315242'] Bear in mind that if you lower the action you may need to tweak your intonation again! Ideally you should have got your luthier to set the action at the same time he did the intonation. [/quote] I was just about to say the very same thing. Did you pay your luthier for a full set-up? How well do you know him? Could you maybe give him a call, and ask if he could tweak the action for you? just say you're struggling with it, as it's too high (or low) for you. If you paid for a set-up a luthier should normally check how you like the action set Also, what strings have you got on the bass? Have you changed them? A decent set of strings really can make all the difference to the playability and sound of a bass - BUT if you intend to do this, be sure to replace them before you take to the luthier - as a different gauge of string may need another intonation/ action adjustment.... Best of luck with it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markdavid Posted June 9, 2017 Author Share Posted June 9, 2017 [quote name='Marc S' timestamp='1497017918' post='3315348'] I was just about to say the very same thing. Did you pay your luthier for a full set-up? How well do you know him? Could you maybe give him a call, and ask if he could tweak the action for you? just say you're struggling with it, as it's too high (or low) for you. If you paid for a set-up a luthier should normally check how you like the action set Also, what strings have you got on the bass? Have you changed them? A decent set of strings really can make all the difference to the playability and sound of a bass - BUT if you intend to do this, be sure to replace them before you take to the luthier - as a different gauge of string may need another intonation/ action adjustment.... Best of luck with it [/quote] Hi Yes new Labella Flatwound strings on the bass , the bass is very playable due to the super slim neck and the light weight despite the action being a little higher than my other basses so I might just leave the action where it is and just do the tiniest bit of sanding on the bridge just so the bridge has better contact with the body. That being said if I did get the action adjusted i would not be looking to get it as low as my other basses and would only be looking to get it lower by about .2 of a mm so the intonation might not be affected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpikeBass Posted June 11, 2017 Share Posted June 11, 2017 The action on my Hofner violin bass is quite high but that gives it that sound IMO I'd leave it as it is if I were you. Mine sounds like an upright (kind of) which I believe was the whole original idea... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markdavid Posted June 11, 2017 Author Share Posted June 11, 2017 [quote name='SpikeBass' timestamp='1497174427' post='3316251'] The action on my Hofner violin bass is quite high but that gives it that sound IMO I'd leave it as it is if I were you. Mine sounds like an upright (kind of) which I believe was the whole original idea... [/quote] Yes that did occur to me,my action is not high but kind of medium and even accoustically it sounds much thumpier than my other basses which i think is partly due to the semi hollow design and partly due to the slightly higher action which lets the note breathe a little more than on my super low action basses Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeftyP Posted June 24, 2017 Share Posted June 24, 2017 I'm glad it's not just me that has problems with the violin bass intonation! My Tanglewood version is a great little instrument but when I fitted flat wounds to it the intonation went way out. With all open strings in tune they were pretty flat at the 12th fret. Adjusting the saddle by small increments improved the situation until both open strings and the 12th fret were spot on. The problem was all the notes in between were slightly flat! I made sure I was pressing down on the strings as close to the frets as possible and even made all the open strings just a tad sharp but to no avail. More messing about with the bridge and everything was in tune. Don't ask me how I did it. If at first you don't succeed keep trying! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markdavid Posted July 5, 2017 Author Share Posted July 5, 2017 [quote name='LeftyP' timestamp='1498340555' post='3323992'] I'm glad it's not just me that has problems with the violin bass intonation! My Tanglewood version is a great little instrument but when I fitted flat wounds to it the intonation went way out. With all open strings in tune they were pretty flat at the 12th fret. Adjusting the saddle by small increments improved the situation until both open strings and the 12th fret were spot on. The problem was all the notes in between were slightly flat! I made sure I was pressing down on the strings as close to the frets as possible and even made all the open strings just a tad sharp but to no avail. More messing about with the bridge and everything was in tune. Don't ask me how I did it. If at first you don't succeed keep trying! [/quote] i don't know what brand of flats you are using but i use labella and when i took my violin bass to a local luthier to have the intonation set he had to put the saddles in a straight line and remarked that the strings all seemed to use the same gauge core ,maybe that explains the issues i experienced,i wonder if the labella set for hofner has inherent intonation issues Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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