Bridge suggestions for an SBMM Ray34ca

[Danuman]

Last year I managed to grab a Sterling Ray34ca that had been hanging in a local music shop for well over a decade. It's the one with the pencil neck, 2-band preamp and retro styling.

 

It's an incredible player, but I would like to reduce the string spacing to 18mm. I don't have particularly large hands, and the more demanding 16ths-type stuff on high tempos is causing my plucking hand to cramp up. For that reason, I have Hipshot bridges on all my basses. I even have a spare one in my parts drawer, but it doesn't sit well on top of the threaded inserts, unfortunately.

 

I've looked around for aftermarket stuff, and I'm guessing there's nothing available. I don't want to remove the inserts, and I would prefer not do any irreversible mods (other than maybe some drilling). I've looked into having saddles custom-made with 18mm spacing, but I have no idea where to begin, really.

 

Do any of you lovely Basschatters know how I might reduce the string spacing on a bridge of this type?

 

Cheers, Dan

[MichaelDean]

@waldemar does small custom metal orders. He might be able to make up some custom saddles for you...

 

 

 

Not used him, but I do follow him on Instagram. Looks like he does some cool bits. 

 

https://www.instagram.com/small_scale_cnc

 

[lemmywinks]

Could you just pinch the saddles of one of the vintage styled bridges, like this?

https://northwestguitars.co.uk/collections/bass-bridges/products/hosco-vintage-style-4-string-bass-bridge-with-threaded-saddles

[Danuman]

On 26/11/2024 at 16:09, MichaelDean said:

@waldemar does small custom metal orders. He might be able to make up some custom saddles for you...

 

 

 

Not used him, but I do follow him on Instagram. Looks like he does some cool bits. 

 

https://www.instagram.com/small_scale_cnc

 

 

Thanks, this is exactly the kind of thing I was looking for!

[JohnH89]

Best bridge for any Sterling bass is this one . Out of the train window when halfway across . 😁 . Please don't take offence , its a joke but my experiences of them have been less than stellar . I'm sure yours will be great .

 

[Danuman]

On 26/11/2024 at 16:39, lemmywinks said:

Could you just pinch the saddles of one of the vintage styled bridges, like this?

https://northwestguitars.co.uk/collections/bass-bridges/products/hosco-vintage-style-4-string-bass-bridge-with-threaded-saddles

I like this idea, but I guess I'd have to find vintage style saddles that fit my current bridge, which could be tricky... worth a try, though!

[Danuman]

4 hours ago, JohnH89 said:

Best bridge for any Sterling bass is this one . Out of the train window when halfway across . 😁 . Please don't take offence , its a joke but my experiences of them have been less than stellar . I'm sure yours will be great .

 

I'm not too fond of this idea, but I appreciate the thought. This bridge seems terrific for throwing basses off lol

 

I briefly owned a Sub-series Ray4 that felt exceptionally cheap, so I know what you mean. I must admit there's enough little things with this one too, but it's made from some really nice pieces of wood. Maybe because it's an early one, or maybe I was just lucky.

[JohnH89]

I think early one and lucky . Lucky wins everytime . Enjoy your bass mate and play the bejesus out of it . 👍