Mod_Machine Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Pretty much what the title says. What should it be, what do i need to look at to find out - currently has a roller bridge on there so thats no guage for me! What would be the pros/cons of putting on a bridge of normal string spacing of 20mm? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 String spacing on an existing instrument is dictated by the width of the neck. You want the distance between the edge of the neck and the centre of the E and G strings to be between 3 and 5 mm depending on taste and ideally remain the same distance from the edge all the way down the neck. The A and D strings then fall at equal spacing between these two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Luc Pickguard Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 When I bought a '71 musicmaster, some numpty had put a standard Fender BBOT bridge on so the E & G were pretty much running along the edge of the neck with mms to spare. I managed to get hold of the correct bridge so its much better now. So yes, it depends on the neck - whatever looks right. If the pickup has pole pieces you could also use those as a guide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mod_Machine Posted February 18, 2011 Author Share Posted February 18, 2011 (edited) Measured at the heel of the neck its coming in at 56mm, where the strings come out of the mock bridge cover thingy also 56mm which equates to 18mm spacing MAX (total 54mm span) Every bridge ive looked at has 20mm spacing and a few have 19mm spacing (57mm span) Except for B14 in the following link which has 18mm spacing, and also the height needed to clear the bridge pick up. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/4-String-Chrome-Bass-guitar-Bridge-B10-B13-or-B14_W0QQitemZ140307803644QQcategoryZ42455QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp5197.m7QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D5%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D7171217838612113007"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/4-String-Chrome-Bass...217838612113007[/url] Need to call the co. though as i cant see how the intonation can be set unless the cradles are manualy moved by hand rather than by a spring system! Good thing about the roller bridge fitted was that last night i measured up where the bridge should be based on neck length, and then spent an age rolling the strings out to exactly 18mm spaces between each, then tightened up to full tuning and had a good few measures down the neck. Although its starts at the top with a 4.5mm space either side of the E/G sting to the edge of the neck, by time it gets to the 21st and final fret that has reduced to just under 2.5mm either side of the E/G. Not perfect but its something i can live with, and will have to learn to if i want it play it! Perhaps a new nut in future will help to even it out slightly. The problem this now presents is that although the strings pass perfectly over the neck pick ups 'poles' the bridge pick up seems to have been fitted a couple of mm to one side of centre at factory. This coupled with the strings still fanning out to meet the outer string cradles means the E now misses its pole considerably which presents a noticable drop in volume on that string when using that pickup only. A new bridge it definately is....meaning a new pick up aswell. Im thinking a Jazz bass copy with the 8 poles which will then give me a constant tone and still be hidden by the string/pick guard so not be too out of place with the asthetics. Im sad that so much of the original character is getting lost but it is turning it into something much more unique and still cheaper than buying a competition mustang or other preferable 3/4 scale. (the jedson is already far superior to the epiphone EBs and though the jet king is lush its just too big and im getting pretty bad cramp. I cant imagine some of the cheaper j bass pickups can be any worse than the ones currently (factory) fitted but if you know of any good value brands worth having a gander at please let me know! Edited February 18, 2011 by Mod_Machine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 How about a Schaller 3-D bridge? Total overall string spacing adjustable between 53.4 and 62.8 mm and the saddle height between 9.7 and 15.1 mm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mod_Machine Posted February 18, 2011 Author Share Posted February 18, 2011 Very cool pieces of kit However i cant really warrant the extra £50 when the the smallest they can go is only 0.6 of a mm smaller than the spacing of the one in the above link. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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