Setup Advice

[Calvin Marks]

Hi all! It seems that the weather is playing havoc with my new bass and I need some help/advice here. I have a very tall "Belgian" style bridge on my Gorman bass which the maker himself admits that he made the E string side of the bridge too low. This in turn results in the E string smacking against the end of the fingerboard...I have a few options/ideas...

1) I can raise the bridge to a very high level to give the E string an appropriate level of clearance but this in turn will result in the G string being too high for solo playing...

2) I could have the bridge raised to a level where the E string speaks properly and then have the G string side of the bridge slightly lowered to accommodate thumb position "acrobatics".

3) I could perhaps have a "bevel" put in my fingerboard to give the E string more clearance. My bass has a round fingerboard...Is it unheard of and difficult to have a bevel put in?

4) I could have a new bridge built...Seems like the best option but I have limited financial resources.


I'd like all of your excellent opinions on what I should have done...Keep in mind that I have limited finances at this time.


Thank you VERY much. :cool:

[Ken Smith]

Hi all! It seems that the weather is playing havoc with my new bass and I need some help/advice here. I have a very tall "Belgian" style bridge on my Gorman bass which the maker himself admits that he made the E string side of the bridge too low. This in turn results in the E string smacking against the end of the fingerboard...I have a few options/ideas...

1) I can raise the bridge to a very high level to give the E string an appropriate level of clearance but this in turn will result in the G string being too high for solo playing...

2) I could have the bridge raised to a level where the E string speaks properly and then have the G string side of the bridge slightly lowered to accommodate thumb position "acrobatics".

3) I could perhaps have a "bevel" put in my fingerboard to give the E string more clearance. My bass has a round fingerboard...Is it unheard of and difficult to have a bevel put in?

4) I could have a new bridge built...Seems like the best option but I have limited financial resources.


I'd like all of your excellent opinions on what I should have done...Keep in mind that I have limited finances at this time.


Thank you VERY much. :cool:

He made you a new Bass and the Bridge is wrong? If so, he owes you a new one, not an altered one to fix a mistake.

[Calvin Marks]

He made you a new Bass and the Bridge is wrong? If so, he owes you a new one, not an altered one to fix a mistake.

Oh I completely agree with you...So does my repair guy in Toronto. The issue is...Don lives about 2000 miles away from me and it's most likely impossible for him to build me a bridge without having my bass with him...I'm at a loss for ideas.

[Ken Smith]

Oh I completely agree with you...So does my repair guy in Toronto. The issue is...Don lives about 2000 miles away from me and it's most likely impossible for him to build me a bridge without having my bass with him...I'm at a loss for ideas.

Like warranty service with a car. You take it to the dealer, they fix it and they bill the maker of the car. The maker of your bass should pay you in advance if necessary to cut a new bridge at a shop of your choice.

Are there bridge adjusters on this bass? If so, do what I do. Pull the bridge apart, glue a 1/4" piece of walnut to the non-threaded part of the bridge, (drill a hole in the walnut for the adjusters first) wax the non threaded part of the adjuster and glue the walnut to the maple and put it on the bass fast with strings on. The bridge assembled on the bass with strings will be the clamp. Next day, take off the bridge and trim the walnut so it looks like it 'grew there' (like I do ;)) and then re-cut the top of your bridge as needed.

Why walnut and not maple? The maple will never match up for one and two, the walnut helps the adjusters turn easier. Looks purdy too..:cool:

I do this so the adjusters stay lower to the bridge and not up in the sky after re-cutting the top of the bridge. I have done this many many times. It is not easy to do it well but much much easier then cutting an entirely new bridge.

Ok, come here and buy a nice Bow from me and stay over night in a nearby hotel. I will have your bass ready for lunch the next day.. For a fee...:)

[Calvin Marks]

Thanks for the great advice. I really appreciate the great input. I myself am by no means a skilled craftsman...I have no woodworking knowledge or practical experience so naturally I'd prefer to get a professional to do this for me. I agree that a new bridge is ideal...I'm a bit nervous in regards to how I should go about asking for this from the maker...Basically he's going to have to shell out 500 bucks out of his own pocket to fix this.

[Ken Smith]

Thanks for the great advice. I really appreciate the great input. I myself am by no means a skilled craftsman...I have no woodworking knowledge or practical experience so naturally I'd prefer to get a professional to do this for me. I agree that a new bridge is ideal...I'm a bit nervous in regards to how I should go about asking for this from the maker...Basically he's going to have to shell out 500 bucks out of his own pocket to fix this.

Not Shell out but rather 'shell back' because you paid for it already when you bought the Bass. Some type of warranty should be in place here and that is minimal.

I was selling a Bass recently in as-is condition in the $20k range and the potential buyer asked about warranty in case something else happens. It already needed a new bridge and fingerboard but the bass just came over from across the pond. I offered an additional $2k off the price, no questions asked to cover his warranty question. This is business, not 'shelling out'.

The buyer didn't buy the bass. It seems that buyers rarely speculate on an instrument even though the price deal is in their favor. The estimated value of this Bass was about $24k all done up. I just had the bass restored and adding all of the repair costs to the instrument from the as-is condition it comes out that the buyer had he bought the bass and had it fixed would have saved money doing so.

In your case paying the regular price I assume and not an 'as-is' price deserves some soft or warranty compensation. Being so fat away the maker should gladly offer or agree to pay another Luthier closer to you to get the problem fixed. Like him having a warranty center in your area. He can go back to work the minute after he writes the check and save his own valuable time for making and repairing the jobs he has on his schedule already. Paying out seems easier than working to me. Don't you agree?

Just to be clear, from the pictures you have posted of your Bass it looks beautiful and your have described the sound as fantastic so the bass is a winner. Now, it just has to play as good as it looks and sounds. Get THAT done now and collect later if possible but don't hold back from calling him to get what you've already paid him for, a playable bass.

Also, you were having some string-search problems for this bass as well. Having the bridge working correctly will make a huge difference in the performance of a string. Especially if the E is too low. Actually, how can you even begin to pass judgment on a string if the set-up is not right. This would be like trying out a car with a flat tire and judging the ride of the car.. right?

One think I have done in the past is this. I re-cut the top as necessary 'first' and also align that by raising the adjusters evenly. Then when it's just how I want it, I measure how thick the walnut decorative shim must be that I will glue to the non-threaded foot of the bridge. They say measure twice, cut once so this means you must know the amount of spacer needed to glue in place before you start that job.

Call the maker now and discuss this with him. Feel free to print this out (or copy and email it to him) and show him what I said. I am sure he will agree at least to some degree that he needs to help you resolve this at mainly his expense.

Also, if it were me, I would have preferred that the customer call me to discuss it before posting it on line. In the future, reserve that option for when the maker refuses to help and not before you even ask him.. ok?;)

[Calvin Marks]

Thank you for the top notch advice. It was very much appreciated.

Calvin

[Martin Sheridan]

I'm in agreement with Ken. If the maker knows that the bridge was wrong to begin with he should take care of the expense.
But, did you pressure him to turn it over too you before he was able to redo the bridge himself?

[Calvin Marks]

I'm in agreement with Ken. If the maker knows that the bridge was wrong to begin with he should take care of the expense.
But, did you pressure him to turn it over too you before he was able to redo the bridge himself?

No, definitely not.

[Arnold Schnitzer]

Don Gorman's a really good guy. I'm sure he'll do the right thing. $500 for a bridge???!!!???

[Calvin Marks]

Don Gorman's a really good guy. I'm sure he'll do the right thing. $500 for a bridge???!!!???

Oh, he's a top notch guy. In this case he said considering that there's a lot of thread left in the adjusters...He's paying someone to raise the bridge and then cut down on the G and D string side. Seems like a good idea.


500...That was just a guess. There's a bass store in Toronto where I had a bridge made for my old bass...They charged me 500 bucks...I know.