basskit_case Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 I have been the happy owner of a Jack Casady bass for a good few weeks now and I would really like the action lowered on it. The bass a three point bridge and dont know whether to deal with the action myself, or not, looks awkward? If the general consensus is that the work may be beyond me, can anybody recommend a good Luthier in Suffolk, North Essex to do the work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 [quote name='basskit_case' post='1268641' date='Jun 14 2011, 02:04 PM']I have been the happy owner of a Jack Casady bass for a good few weeks now and I would really like the action lowered on it. The bass a three point bridge and dont know whether to deal with the action myself, or not, looks awkward? If the general consensus is that the work may be beyond me, can anybody recommend a good Luthier in Suffolk, North Essex to do the work?[/quote] Three point bridges can be marginally trickier to setup than the normal flat plate types but not too difficult. The action height is set using the two back screws and then the pressure of the strings against the saddles is set by using the third screw. I've found the only real pain in the rear end is having to reset the intonation after fiddling with the third screw as it 'tilts' the bridge assembly. Take your time, make small adjustments and use a guitar tuner and it shouldn't be too difficult. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarky Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Or, for £125, get the drop-in replacement Hipshot Supertone bridge which is infinitely superior and still looks retro. [url="http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Hipshot,_Bridges,_Tuners.html"]http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_sp...es,_Tuners.html[/url] Here's a pick of one in situ on an SG type bass [attachment=82651:vault_ha...holebass.jpg] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basskit_case Posted June 15, 2011 Author Share Posted June 15, 2011 I found this [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f18/epiphone-blackbird-action-adjustment-685139/#post9568155"]link[/url] on talkbass, might be useful? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 [quote name='Clarky' post='1268694' date='Jun 14 2011, 02:40 PM']Or, for £125, get the drop-in replacement Hipshot Supertone bridge which is infinitely superior and still looks retro.[/quote] unlike the sg, the top of a jack casady is curved so would it still fit ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 [quote name='basskit_case' post='1269713' date='Jun 15 2011, 09:54 AM']I found this [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f18/epiphone-blackbird-action-adjustment-685139/#post9568155"]link[/url] on talkbass, might be useful?[/quote] Yep that's spot on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basskit_case Posted June 15, 2011 Author Share Posted June 15, 2011 [quote name='icastle' post='1269804' date='Jun 15 2011, 10:54 AM']Yep that's spot on. [/quote] Cheers iCastle, will give that a try tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 [quote name='ahpook' post='1269727' date='Jun 15 2011, 10:02 AM']unlike the sg, the top of a jack casady is curved so would it still fit ?[/quote] The Hipshot probably wouldn't fit. It doesn't fit the Les Paul Standard bass so i can't see it doing this one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spinynorman Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 I honestly can't see the point of the Hipshot replacement, I've got 2 Rippers with the original 3-points and they've got the best action of any basses I've had. And intonation is perfect. The Talkbass link looks like good advice. A couple of extra tips would be - use a wide-bladed screwdriver, otherwise you'll wreck the slots; if you're having trouble turning the screws, slacken off the strings a bit, and make sure you are adjusting each screw a bit at a time in turn; if the saddles fall out, they are helpfully numbered 1-4 underneath (at least on my Ripper they are); keep the front of the bridge higher than the back, otherwise the rear posts may pull out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 (edited) [quote name='spinynorman' post='1271359' date='Jun 16 2011, 12:59 PM']I honestly can't see the point of the Hipshot replacement, I've got 2 Rippers with the original 3-points and they've got the best action of any basses I've had. And intonation is perfect. The Talkbass link looks like good advice. A couple of extra tips would be - use a wide-bladed screwdriver, otherwise you'll wreck the slots; if you're having trouble turning the screws, slacken off the strings a bit, and make sure you are adjusting each screw a bit at a time in turn; if the saddles fall out, they are helpfully numbered 1-4 underneath (at least on my Ripper they are); keep the front of the bridge higher than the back, otherwise the rear posts may pull out.[/quote] May I offer an alternative point of view? Intonation was never the 3 point bridge's problem, it's the lack of individual string adjustment. On the the three point bridge on my Epi Les Paul Standard, I've had to substitute a D saddle from another bridge in place of the G saddle because I can't fit a Supertone on the carved top without some major surgery. The way it worked out I just couldn't get the G string at the height I wanted without negatively affecting the others. The higher saddle on the G gave me a position which worked out across all strings. On an Epi EB-3 I had, the pole pieces were out of alignment with the strings where the 3 pointer was pulling them. The Hipshot made that problem very easy to sort with its string spacing adjustment. Another problem with the three pointer is that the ball ends are caught so close to the saddles that silked strings can have their silks going over the saddle, especially on the E string. I have not conducted any studies into the negative effects of this, so excuse me if I simply regurgitate what I've heard - being that such a situation is to be avoided. Now you've been very lucky with 2 basses where everything has come together nicely, but it's nice to have the ability to make up for any minor variables in the construction of basses. The three pointer doesn't give you anything like that flexibility, and believe me sometimes it is warranted and required. I'm not going to get into any witchcrafthorseexcrement about what it did for the tone of the instrument. I have my opinions. It definitely added a bit more weight at the body end of the bass and slightly improved (for me anyway) the neck dive of a long scale SG shaped bass. With the Hipshot you don't lose the highly convenient top loading, and the saddles don't fall out when you're changing strings (come to think of it neither does the entire bridge assembly eject itself if you remove all the strings). The intonation adjustment screws are accessed from the bottom rather than having to fit a screwdriver through/around/between your strings. You don't need to worry about the height of the front relative to the back either. It is a highly evolved direct replacement and if I may be so bold vastly superior to the original in every detail. Edited June 16, 2011 by neepheid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 [quote name='neepheid' post='1271618' date='Jun 16 2011, 03:07 PM']It is a highly evolved direct replacement and if I may be so bold vastly superior to the original in every detail.[/quote] Indeed Individual string height adjustment rather than all or nothing, plus string spacing. Solid and actually touching the body, rather than floating on three metal stilts. Does what 'normal' bridges do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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