Positioning a Bridge

[gilmour]

So my cat knocked over my upright a few days ago - my fault really as I'd just rested it against a sideboard.

Anyway it landed on it's front and the bridge came out - but messy really.

I've done my best to position the bridge and put it back where it was as there were some dust marks on the bass. However now the intonation is all over the place.

Has anyone got any tips on how to position a bridge? Or is it a job for a pro, in which case does anyone know anyone in Berkshire, or how much it should cost?

Thanks

[jakenewmanbass]

Hi Rob,
I've just PM'd you with this message, I'm repeating it here because it may be useful to others:

Yikes... I hope the sound post is in position. If it is (look through the f holes and you should be able to see it a round wooden pole going from front to back) then lay the bass on its back to stop it dropping out (it's held in with friction only), position the bridge between the notches in the f holes (that's what they're for) lay the untensioned strings over the bridge and gradually introduce tension evenly and across all the strings a little at a time, doing this will cause the bridge to tilt so adjust it back to upright every few turns of the machine heads.
If the sound post is not visible DON'T DO ANYTHING.
Putting tension on the front table without the sound post in place could put the bridge right through the bass (slightly alarmist ), so it's time to either find the post and re-position it or get your ass to a luthier, I would not try to re-position a sound post myself simply because I have never done it before, i'd be happy to do it once I'd had proper guidance from an experienced person, but to me the risk of damage is not worth the experiment.

Jake

Edited October 22, 2010 by jakesbass

[gilmour]

Jake, you're a legend thank you. I'll have a go at sorting it in the morning.

It would be fair to say that the finish is not in as good condition as it was though