Stompbox Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 Does anyone have opinions on this? I have an Andeas Zeller 4/4 bass with tape wound Pirastro strings - the action seems to be too high to me - the clearance between the underneath of the strings and the face of the fingerboard (end of the fingerboard) is as follows:- E string 13.5mm ( the board has a Romberg bevel - if that's relevant) A string 12mm D string 11.5mm G string 10.5mm If it seems too high to me, then, perhaps it is too high??? I seem to have to put too much work in to hold the strings down..... The other point is that I understand that a bridge is supposed to be pretty much at right angles to the belly of the instrument. The bridge on mine (which is a one piece/non adjustable made - I am advised it's made of of MAILLE wood -??- has developed a curve to it when viewed from vertically above the side facing the tail piece is convex, and th eside facing the fingerboard is slightly concave. 1) Is this what happens over a period of time & can I still trust the bridge not to collapse? 2) Does anyone have experience of reducing the height of a bridge - are there any notes/information on this? Thanks, Stompbox. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted June 3, 2012 Share Posted June 3, 2012 I'm sure that the experts on this forum will help you with more detail, but in the meantime, these are my answers to your questions. Yes, that sort of action seems way too high to me. If the height of the bridge isn't adjustable, it will need to be cut to measure by an expert in order to reduce the action for comfortable playing. The bridge tends to go out of shape when you tune the bass, due to friction, especially if there is little or no graphite or other suitable lubricant in the grooves where the strings rest. But to answer your question,no, that's not right, it needs to be adjusted. I would suggest you take your bass to a luthier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stompbox Posted June 3, 2012 Author Share Posted June 3, 2012 Good morning Bluejay - thanks for your reply. It's just that the bass is physically hard to play when I compare it with the WAV4 electric upright I have - I know that they are, indeed, two different instruments, and that a double bass requires a certian amount of "physicallity" to play, and get the strings moving, but there is no need for it to be awkward. The string height at the nut may need to come down too. Lets see if I get any other comments and opinions on this, Cheers, Stompbox. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oggiesnr Posted June 3, 2012 Share Posted June 3, 2012 Second the "visit to the luthier" suggestion. The action is way higher than mine and the bridge sounds dodgy. Although I could do some of the work on my own bass (and other instruments) long experience has shown me that it's usually cheaper in the long run to get an expert to do it. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 By the way, I've found an article among my DB-related bookmarks that may be of some help, even if only to know what the luthier will have to do, if you prefer not to work on your bass yourself: [url="http://www.dennishavlena.com/bassetup.htm"]http://www.dennishavlena.com/bassetup.htm[/url] Looks very basic but it has drawings an' all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stompbox Posted June 4, 2012 Author Share Posted June 4, 2012 [font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Good morning to you Bluejay,[/font] [font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]That's a very interesting link - I've copied the document to my "bass files", and, a[/font][font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]s you say - complete with drawings. All good stuff. [/font] [font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Incidentally - what a lovely morning after yesterdays rainy & windy day - when all the celebrations went on up here in Morecambe - we almost got "blown away".[/font] [font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]I'm out tonight (on bass guitar) for an early evening gig, which is really local so I'm looking forward to that.[/font] [font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Thanks again for your help on this. I've heard of a local guy in Lancaster who does work on string instruments, so will check him out,[/font] [font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Regards,[/font] [font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Geoff[/font] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Have fun at your gig, Geoff - post photos if you get any taken. Hopefully the weather should be less dreadful today. And when you get to see the luthier, keep us posted on his work on your bass - the info will be useful to others who may be in the same predicament. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iiipopes Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 (edited) For jazz/dance band pizz gigs which are usually amplified, on my ply CCB I've worked over to my playing style, I'm using Bel Canto's GDA with a Spiro 3885.5W E string with a slight scoop on the fingerboard and action of 4-5mm on the G string gradually increasing to 7-8mm on the E string, and a lesser crown radius on the fingerboard to better facilitate pizz (measured vertically to each string at the end of the fingerboard directly under each string on the radius.) Edited June 4, 2012 by iiipopes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stompbox Posted June 4, 2012 Author Share Posted June 4, 2012 Cheers for the information, iiipopes. Car loaded, off to gig in 20 mins......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stompbox Posted June 5, 2012 Author Share Posted June 5, 2012 Hey Blujay - a couple of pics from last night at "The Ranch House Bar"..... Cheap booze, live music Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday night - and guess what - it was really busy ! ! ! You would think other landlords would grasp this as a business concept...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 Yay! Looks like fun! And you guys even had a little stage space to stretch out. Good to know you had plenty of punters The reason why there aren't more pubs with live music licences is probably the red tape and the noise regulations they have to comply with, as well as (I think) the extra insurance etc. - at least this appears to be the situation in London. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stompbox Posted June 28, 2012 Author Share Posted June 28, 2012 I've just posted a new topic where I've done the nut slots on my bass - do have a look & see if it's of interest. Geoff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stompbox Posted July 1, 2012 Author Share Posted July 1, 2012 Hi, just put a post on here about adjusting the bridge on my bass:- [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/180451-adjusting-re-cutting-bridge-on-double-bass/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/180451-adjusting-re-cutting-bridge-on-double-bass/[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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