Routing a for recessed bridge

[rocknrollmouse]

I have a bass with a curved body, think Warwick-style, maybe somewhere between a Thumb and a Corvette.  The body curves both at 90 degrees to the strings, like a braclet ( falling away at both sides; and along its length, neck-bridge-end, so the bridge-to-end falls away in a curve.  

Being a budget bass in it's time, it has a flat bottomed bridge, think a P-bass style.  Of course the bridge doesn't sit flat to the body - it's close, but the gap bugs me.  The gap shows itself under the rear of the bridge, the part where the ball-ends of the strings are captured; at first I though the bridge was bent, but checking it with a rule, it is the body that falls away.

 

The solution I'm thinking of is to route a recess in the body to take the bridge.  The recess does not need to be very deep, 1-2 mm will be enough to give a flat surface for the bridge to sit on.  I'll be replacing the original bridge with a high-mass style, so the recess can be shaped to allow the bridge to "drop in".

To cut the above recess. I'll need a flat plane, or template, for the router to sit on.  Any advice for creating the template, or jig, for the router to sit on?  (I'll be using a simple hand-held plunge-router for this job.)  

[KingBollock]

Do you need the action to be lower than it currently is? If not, then maybe a thin, shaped shim to go under the bridge might be easier to achieve?

 

I am sure there will be others here that can actually help you with what you actually want help with, but it was just a thought.