basshead56 Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 (edited) Hi all So finally got round to digging this bass back out of its case to make use of it and noticed that in needing a setup, the stock bridge is hideous and very difficult to adjust. Ended up taking it to my luthier friend who couldn't do much for me in terms of lowering the string height. I am considering swapping it out for one the Babicz ones but am wondering if it will fit as I note the totally different shapes of both the stock and the babicz FCH-3. Anyone have any thoughts on this? Edited May 9, 2018 by basshead56 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Bay Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 (edited) Nope, that is to replace the standard three point Gibson style bridge. I have the same Studio model and love the bridge and have no issue getting a low string height. It’s adjustable via the grub screws like most bridges. I presume yours is bottoming out too early somehow? Edited May 10, 2018 by T-Bay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Tan Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 No trouble with the string height, but how do you adjust the intonation on the Thunderbird Studio bridge? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommorichards Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 To adjust the intonation on that bridge, There's a little grub screw under the string. If you loosen that with an Allen key, you then manually push the saddle back and forth until you hit the required spot. There's no screw to turn like the fender bridges. Once you've intonated it, then screw the grub screw down until the saddle doesn't move at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basshead56 Posted June 7, 2018 Author Share Posted June 7, 2018 On 10/05/2018 at 18:18, T-Bay said: Nope, that is to replace the standard three point Gibson style bridge. I have the same Studio model and love the bridge and have no issue getting a low string height. It’s adjustable via the grub screws like most bridges. I presume yours is bottoming out too early somehow? I thought as much. Yes it seems to bottom out pretty early on so even at their lowest, the saddles dont sit low enough to give me the lower action I prefer. it's playable but not very enjoyable. Especially knowing how good these basses usually are Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommorichards Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 Well, there are a few options, considering its a neck through and so the usual remedy, a shim, isnt possible here. 1 - Change the bridge for one that will allow a lower string height 2 - Make the nut slots a tiny bit lower. Sometimes they come quite high and so may make the action a bit high. 3 - Recess the bridge. Not too hard, and as long as you're careful, shouldn't look too messy. 4 - File the slots in the bridge saddles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Tan Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 On 05/06/2018 at 02:56, tommorichards said: To adjust the intonation on that bridge, There's a little grub screw under the string. If you loosen that with an Allen key, you then manually push the saddle back and forth until you hit the required spot. There's no screw to turn like the fender bridges. Once you've intonated it, then screw the grub screw down until the saddle doesn't move at all. Ok. That worked. Thnx. It never needed any adjustment until I switched string gauges. It's a bit of a pain because you have to relieve and lift the string repeatedly so hopefully it stays this way for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommorichards Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 It is a pain, the rickenbacker bridges are the same too, as are the normal 3 point Gibson bridges. Fender got it right first time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basshead56 Posted June 10, 2018 Author Share Posted June 10, 2018 On 08/06/2018 at 13:07, tommorichards said: Well, there are a few options, considering its a neck through and so the usual remedy, a shim, isnt possible here. 1 - Change the bridge for one that will allow a lower string height 2 - Make the nut slots a tiny bit lower. Sometimes they come quite high and so may make the action a bit high. 3 - Recess the bridge. Not too hard, and as long as you're careful, shouldn't look too messy. 4 - File the slots in the bridge saddles. Looks like it's a case of shaving and filing down the slots/saddles then. Dismantling today and off to my mate the engineer on Wednesday haha. Will update afterwards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 Looks like you've got some very handy mates! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BreadBin Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 No-one has mentioned truss rod adjustment? A change of string gauge can require this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommorichards Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 It could also be truss rod adjustment needed too, you're right there @BreadBin I posted when I was tired, and thought the obvious had been tried. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basshead56 Posted June 21, 2018 Author Share Posted June 21, 2018 No truss rod was spot on chaps. So my mechanical engineer friend shaved down the offending blocks. Asked him to shave 1mm off each one. Popped them back in this afternoon and... Perfection itself! 1mm gave me about 3mm lower at the neck. So the action is now exactly as I like it - low. No more parking elephants under these strings haha. Neck straight, no buzzes or dead spots and sexy TBird tone for days! Fun fun fun till some takes it away and all that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 Hope you bought him a beer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basshead56 Posted June 24, 2018 Author Share Posted June 24, 2018 19 hours ago, MoonBassAlpha said: Hope you bought him a beer! A bottle of whisky actually haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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