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Need to fit a new bridge (including drilling holes) anything I need to consider?


markdavid
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Hi All
Have recently aquired an eb0 copy as per my other thread [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/301936-just-bought-this-odd-eb0-copy-off-the-bay/page__pid__3257211#entry3257211"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/301936-just-bought-this-odd-eb0-copy-off-the-bay/page__pid__3257211#entry3257211[/url]
The bridge on this bass is awful, terrible and I was thinking of fitting a new bridge, the string spacing is very tight so I dont think an other EB0 bridge will have the peg holes in the correct place, I was considering fitting a fender style bridge and drilling the holes and fittign it myself.
Is there anything I need to consider when doing this? Can I just take a drill to the bass or do I need to take any precautions etc to prevent issues doing this? sorry for newb question , have not done this before

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Looking at the pics on your original post -
I had same sort of thing - a CMI EB0 copy.
Narrowness of string spacing (something like 15mm from memory) a big problem for a new bridge.
All the standard bridges wouldn't accomodate this - including the adjustable Schaller type.
What I did was find a six string bass bridge on ebay with approximately the right spacing annd use that (with two of the saddles unused).
The bridge was a one off sale from an incomplete project and is unbranded so I can't give a source for it.
Any other bridge would have resulted in the E / G strings being on the edge or off the board.
But given the height of the original bridge I had to raise it up considerably. For this I used a piece of hardwood moulding - 8mm height - screwed onto the bass body and mounted the bridge itself onto that. I think i needed to put a shim in the neck pocket too.
Looks a bit odd though !
Drilling was no problem - clean up the surface after removing the old bridge and use masking tape for pencil marks and to stop the surface finish breaking up.
Difficult bit was aligning the bridge / pilot holes accurately. Measure twice / drill once etc...

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[quote name='rmorris' timestamp='1489489271' post='3257307']
Looking at the pics on your original post -
I had same sort of thing - a CMI EB0 copy.
Narrowness of string spacing (something like 15mm from memory) a big problem for a new bridge.
All the standard bridges wouldn't accomodate this - including the adjustable Schaller type.
What I did was find a six string bass bridge on ebay with approximately the right spacing annd use that (with two of the saddles unused).
The bridge was a one off sale from an incomplete project and is unbranded so I can't give a source for it.
Any other bridge would have resulted in the E / G strings being on the edge or off the board.
But given the height of the original bridge I had to raise it up considerably. For this I used a piece of hardwood moulding - 8mm height - screwed onto the bass body and mounted the bridge itself onto that. I think i needed to put a shim in the neck pocket too.
Looks a bit odd though !
Drilling was no problem - clean up the surface after removing the old bridge and use masking tape for pencil marks and to stop the surface finish breaking up.
Difficult bit was aligning the bridge / pilot holes accurately. Measure twice / drill once etc...
[/quote]
Damn, that sucks about the spacing, sounds like I might have to take it to a luthier and ask them to sort it, was hoping it would be a simpler fix

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forgot to say...
the other option I toyed with was using those individual nuts where there's one per string so you can get whatever you need.
But the placement is more work and trigonometry !
They also seem to require some 'woodwork' beyond just drilling...

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The more modern Schaller, the 2000, can get you down to a smidge over 15mm. (also up to about 20, I think)
I have this model on a couple of basses, 4 and 5 string.

https://www.schaller-electronic.com/hp135112/Bass-Bridge-2000-4-string.htm

Edited by hubrad
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[quote name='hubrad' timestamp='1489494785' post='3257367']
The more modern Schaller, the 2000, can get you down to a smidge over 15mm. (also up to about 20, I think)
I have this model on a couple of basses, 4 and 5 string.

[url="https://www.schaller-electronic.com/hp135112/Bass-Bridge-2000-4-string.htm"]https://www.schaller...00-4-string.htm[/url]
[/quote]

That bridge does look good !
I like it :-)

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Something to consider too is the height of the bridge. Fender bridges tend to be shorter to go with the zero neck angle - which makes for easier/cheaper manufacturing. Gibsons will generally have a higher bridge and the neck tilted back slightly in relation to the body. You may need to have a packing piece under the bridge or to recess the bridge into the body a bit depending which bridge you are fitting to which guitar.

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Thanks for the replies, i have had a look at the bass again and measured it out of curiousity and it seems my eyes are a little off lol, seems the E and the G are quite far in on the fretboard (ie they are not close to the edge of the fretboard), the neck looking narrow seems to be an illusion caused by a much wider neck at the nut (around 47mm if i remember correctly) and the neck being slightly slimmer than average at the last fret (60mm at the last fret vs around 62mm on my Mustang), I have a bridge on the way that should fit this bass that another Basschatter is very kindly sending me , I think this bridge will fare better than the current one.

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