Ricky's Had His Head Chopped Off.. BOSH..!

[Ralf1e]

19 hours ago, Waddo Soqable said:

Having had a bit of a look today I conclude that simply filing down the saddles and generally goofing around with the bridge units isn't going to be the way ahead as regards dropping the action ☹️

This because the amount I need to lower the strings would bring them right down to the front frame edge of the units, in fact I'd need to file a groove there too to lower the strings a little further. plus even if I did grind a load off saddles and bases, I'd end up with no break over angle at all at the bridge (there's not a great deal as they are).. whatever way you look at it, it isn't a good solution, see pics and you'll see what I mean.

This leaves the wood butcher option.. No I'm not going to try and dis-attach the neck and re set, it's too well fixed and getting it off intact  and back on again would be a nightmare. The way to go is I think to carve out a lower 'platform' a few mm below the current body top surface. If I was a skillful carving wiz I could mark out around each unit and chop out a lovely individual shaped slot for each unit, that's not really an option so i'll have to do the next best thing and make a lowered recess for them all to sit on.

This may do me a favour in one way, I'll be able to run an 'earth' wire to the bridge units in a tidier fashion, possibly with a thin metal contact plate under the four of them?  

Looks like i'll be practicing a bit of dremelling / carving /chopping on some random scrap wood before hitting the body itself.

 

 

 

 

If you want slots then you could start them with Forstner bits. I just had a quick play with a scrap bit of ash. Used 15mm bit spaced at 19 mm clean out with 12mm chisel used a wider one to cut down through the edges first sanding out with little block. The holes can be filled with cyno and wood dust. Slot is about 2.5 mm deep

Edited January 31, 2023 by Ralf1e
typo

[Ralf1e]

3 hours ago, Ralf1e said:

If you want slots then you could start them with Forstner bits. I just had a quick play with a scrap bit of ash. Used 15mm bit spaced at 19 mm clean out with 12mm chisel used a wider one to cut down through the edges first sanding out with little block. The holes can be filled with cyno and wood dust. Slot is about 2.5 mm. 

I should have said if you have access to a bench drill you can set the depth gauge and it will be far easier I did this with a Makita cordless hand drill.

[lemmywinks]

Anybody tried these roller designs? Can get 4 and 5 string versions:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004322893627.html?pdp_npi=2%40dis!USD!US %2458.00!%2458.00!!!!!%400b0a133316751727927826314ea071!12000028754074896!btf&_t=pvid%3A26e8e451-0d21-4148-9973-864d6c356d14&afTraceInfo=1005004322893627__pc__pcBridgePPC__xxxxxx__1675172793&spm=a2g0o.ppclist.product.mainProduct&gatewayAdapt=4itemAdapt

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002962475457.html?pdp_npi=2%40dis!GBP!￡83.10!￡70.63!!!!!%400b0a133316751727967816423ea071!12000022982989718!btf&_t=pvid:662b283c-1fa2-4e32-a456-a5db1e783d04&afTraceInfo=1005002962475457__pc__pcBridgePPC__xxxxxx__1675172797&spm=a2g0o.ppclist.product.mainProduct

[Ralf1e]

They look like they didn't sleep at night working this out. Crazy good design if they are geared which they look to be.

As long as they don't fall apart

[Waddo Soqable]

5 hours ago, Ralf1e said:

Saw one of these for sale yesterday. Are they any good as they are or do they need lots of new parts to sound the part?

I'd say they're fine for the price they are, that in mind I've certainly found them a usable bass as is..

[Waddo Soqable]

6 hours ago, SpondonBassed said:

 

Have you seen @Andre_Passini's Nova headless hardware?

Yes they're from Brazil I believe, they look to be a very nice quality set, there was a bit of talk on bassassin's thread about these.. 

[Waddo Soqable]

3 hours ago, Ralf1e said:

If you want slots then you could start them with Forstner bits. I just had a quick play with a scrap bit of ash. Used 15mm bit spaced at 19 mm clean out with 12mm chisel used a wider one to cut down through the edges first sanding out with little block. The holes can be filled with cyno and wood dust. Slot is about 2.5 mm. 

Certainly doable then!

I've got one of those tiny pillar drills but you'd struggle to get a bass body under it so likely be the same approach as here if I go this way 

Thanks too for doing a good bit of R&D work there! 👍

[Ralf1e]

14 minutes ago, Waddo Soqable said:

I'd say they're fine for the price they are, that in mind I've certainly found them a usable bass as is..

They were asking £150 for it?

[Ralf1e]

22 minutes ago, Waddo Soqable said:

Certainly doable then!

I've got one of those tiny pillar drills but you'd struggle to get a bass body under it so likely be the same approach as here if I go this way 

Thanks too for doing a good bit of R&D work there! 👍

If you plunge routed it you could do it but would need to make a jig. If you have a router one of these will help for a one off it might not be worth it but you could make something similar from mdf or plastic sheet

 

Edited January 31, 2023 by Ralf1e
Added info

[Waddo Soqable]

2 hours ago, Ralf1e said:

They were asking £150 for it?

They used to sell new on ebay for circa 140 up till a couple of years ago as I recall, however they don't sell them new in the UK anymore presumably due to the agro from the Hall character. I think they still do them from Germany tho don't know if they ship to UK 

150 is a bit strong for a used one, generally you'd think about 100 give or take a tenner. 

That said if they're NLA the used price may go up a bit. Plus when you see them advertised, on ebay used anyway, they're always subject to the ad being pulled by ebay as above. 

[Waddo Soqable]

2 hours ago, Ralf1e said:

If you plunge routed it you could do it but would need to make a jig. If you have a router one of these will help for a one off it might not be worth it but you could make something similar from mdf or plastic sheet

 

I can borrow a router, but it's a big old heavy lump and it's not a tool I've ever used before,(I'm more a Metalwork than a wood bloke) I'd be a bit dubious & imagine the whole thing could go horrifically wrong!! 

Still nothing ventured nothing gained.. I'll check it out though and see what bits he's got for it. 

[ezbass]

2 minutes ago, Waddo Soqable said:

I can borrow a router, but it's a big old heavy lump and it's not a tool I've ever used before,

In which case, maybe just hog it out with a conventional drill bit and tidy up with a chisel?

[Waddo Soqable]

3 minutes ago, ezbass said:

In which case, maybe just hog it out with a conventional drill bit and tidy up with a chisel?

Yep, the more basic approach is sometimes the best, I've got the offer of a couple of machine tool options anyway, I'll have a stab at a bit of scrap wood over the next few days or so before I think of going near the real thing. 

[kodiakblair]

4 hours ago, lemmywinks said:

Anybody tried these roller designs? Can get 4 and 5 string versions:

 

One of the headless build threads from a few years back mentioned them.

 

Weighed the same as 2 double deckers buses from what I recall.

[Waddo Soqable]

I did recall reading about those, and mentioned was an issue with the strings jamming or blocking up the rollers, there were a few who weren't that impressed with the design. 

[Ralf1e]

1 hour ago, ezbass said:

In which case, maybe just hog it out with a conventional drill bit and tidy up with a chisel?

If you try to use a router without a jig it WILL run away putting the bass and you at risk. Used with the right jig it has nowhere to go as long as you don't lift it while it is running. I don't have words to describe how dangerous they can be in the wrong hands.

I have 5 of them please trust me on this.

[Richard R]

1 hour ago, Ralf1e said:

 I don't have words to describe how dangerous they can be in the wrong hands.

 

Certainly none that would get past the BC filters! 

[Waddo Soqable]

2 hours ago, Ralf1e said:

If you try to use a router without a jig it WILL run away putting the bass and you at risk. Used with the right jig it has nowhere to go as long as you don't lift it while it is running. I don't have words to describe how dangerous they can be in the wrong hands.

I have 5 of them please trust me on this.

I certainly wouldn't just plough away freehand with a tool like that without some kind of guide/fence/jig type thing to steer it! 

 

[Bassassin]

21 hours ago, lemmywinks said:

Anybody tried these roller designs? Can get 4 and 5 string versions:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004322893627.html?pdp_npi=2%40dis!USD!US %2458.00!%2458.00!!!!!%400b0a133316751727927826314ea071!12000028754074896!btf&_t=pvid%3A26e8e451-0d21-4148-9973-864d6c356d14&afTraceInfo=1005004322893627__pc__pcBridgePPC__xxxxxx__1675172793&spm=a2g0o.ppclist.product.mainProduct&gatewayAdapt=4itemAdapt

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002962475457.html?pdp_npi=2%40dis!GBP!￡83.10!￡70.63!!!!!%400b0a133316751727967816423ea071!12000022982989718!btf&_t=pvid:662b283c-1fa2-4e32-a456-a5db1e783d04&afTraceInfo=1005002962475457__pc__pcBridgePPC__xxxxxx__1675172797&spm=a2g0o.ppclist.product.mainProduct

Not seen these before. I'm very put off by the string having to wind around a cam inside the bridge (replicating the behaviour of a conventional tuner) which is giving me flashbacks to this illogical, ill-conceived and overengineered thing on a cheapo bass I picked up a while back. Have a read;

 

 

The second listing has head-end string clamps which would make it marginally more practical, but the fact it comes with a tiny string-cranky handle (that you'd definitely never lose!) doesn't exactly telegraph ease-of-use!

[lemmywinks]

On 01/02/2023 at 11:59, Bassassin said:

Not seen these before. I'm very put off by the string having to wind around a cam inside the bridge (replicating the behaviour of a conventional tuner) which is giving me flashbacks to this illogical, ill-conceived and overengineered thing on a cheapo bass I picked up a while back. Have a read;

 

 

The second listing has head-end string clamps which would make it marginally more practical, but the fact it comes with a tiny string-cranky handle (that you'd definitely never lose!) doesn't exactly telegraph ease-of-use!

 

 

They've been floating around on AE but this is the first time I've found a 5 string version, piqued my interest as the problem with a lot of headless conversions is that the bridges always hang off the end of the body whereas this one would potentially solve that. Maybe worth the design compromise, what little reviews there are seem positive and the guitar versions turn up on some Earts. Branded as Guyker parts here, looks like the little crank thing has its own little storage slot on the upper edge:

https://www.guyker.com/products/guyker-alp-5-string-headless-travel-bass-bridge-wb1005-black

 

That's a really interesting project btw, is the bass still going?

Edited February 4, 2023 by lemmywinks

[SamIAm]

8 hours ago, Bassassin said:

Not seen these before. I'm very put off by the string having to wind around a cam inside the bridge (replicating the behaviour of a conventional tuner) which is giving me flashbacks to this illogical, ill-conceived and overengineered thing on a cheapo bass I picked up a while back. Have a read;

A big advantage (IMHO) of the more common headless design with the grub screw head end mount is that one can cut down string length (A bit of TLC is needed first, some crimping and superglue) ... this opens up a much larger range of string choices (Especially for the short scale that I prefer). With these tuners, the same constraints exist that one must have a thinner silked section of the string that goes into the tuner. (Tho I suppose that at the head end, one could cut off the ball end of the string if one was using a grub screw system)

 

S'manth x 

Edited February 1, 2023 by Smanth

[6feet7]

How wide is the nut? 

Edited February 1, 2023 by 6feet7

[Waddo Soqable]

7 hours ago, Bassassin said:

Not seen these before. I'm very put off by the string having to wind around a cam inside the bridge (replicating the behaviour of a conventional tuner) which is giving me flashbacks to this illogical, ill-conceived and overengineered thing on a cheapo bass I picked up a while back. Have a read;

 

 

The second listing has head-end string clamps which would make it marginally more practical, but the fact it comes with a tiny string-cranky handle (that you'd definitely never lose!) doesn't exactly telegraph ease-of-use!

I was sure I'd seen more than one justifiably negative opinion on those type of bridge tuner mechs. 

The "straight pull" method is both simpler and more effective I'd say, good to see your old thread there 👍 

[Waddo Soqable]

5 hours ago, 6feet7 said:

How wide is the nut? 

If you mean my one, it's 42mm

[Richard R]

6 hours ago, 6feet7 said:

How wide is the nut? 

 

52 minutes ago, Waddo Soqable said:

If you mean my one, it's 42mm

 

Sorry to hear you only have one, Waddo. As long as it doesn't impair performance.