Quote:
Originally Posted by Calvin Marks
Hi all, so I recently had my bridge re-cut since the E string side was far too low...Unfortunately, the problem has not been fixed so I decided to take measurements and see what you all think of this.
Height from belly to the top of the string at bridge:
G - 16 cm
D - 17 cm
A - 17 cm
E - 16.5 cm
Height from end of fingerboard to the very under part of the string:
G - 4 mm
D - 6.5 mm
A - 6 mm
E - 5.5 mm
From reading all the posts on this server it seems that my strings are not consistent in height at all...
I like 4mm for the G, but the 2.5 mm height increase on the D seems like too much of a gap. I also need way more than 5.5 mm on the E string, it seems that it should be at least 7 mm...
I also noticed that the strings aren't exactly IN the grooves at the bridge. The G string fits in nicely, with space due to how thin it is...But the D, A and E are somewhat over the slots.
My nut spacing between strings is perfect at 10 mm, and the height is consistent.
Also, the spacing between the strings at the bridge is consistent at 25 mm.
|
Your heights under teh fingerboard are way out of whack from anything I've seen or heard of. The G is the lowest and the E the highest with a 1-1.5nn progression on average or 2mm at the most. Up and down doesn't work for playing the Bass and for the tone, you must be overworking there trying to play that bass.
25mm spoacing is tight for a 5-string for bowing. 26-27 is better. For a 4-string orchestra bass, 26mm minimum to about 2 mm is the average, the 26mm being tight. 9-10mm or 3/8" at the nut is fine. Height under the string at the Nut should be a business card above 'zero'.
Sounds like this bass you have is in need of a 'bass player's' set-up. If playing solo only, the 25mm might work but with those heights, I can see now why you have been hunting for strings.
Come here if you can and play some of the basses here known by players as the best set-up group of basses at any shop on average. All of them are my basses and all were done for easy of playing with the bow, fingers, solo, orchestra, jazz etc. combined.
Did you ever read
Arnold's set-up measurements here on the Forum?
Introduced here.
Numbers are just that, numbers. I don't have the exact set-up numbers on every bass. What I do shoot for is the best set-up for each bass. Fingerboard curve/arch and camber/relief also play a huge factor in my mind. I like my boards a tad less than straight as far as the relief goes.
In my opinion, once you know the best numbers for your bass and playing, the communication with your Luthier will improve. The problem arises sometimes when other things on a bass do not allow the optimum set-up. Neck over stand and fingerboard shape play a role here as well. the straightness of the neck under the fingerboard is at least equally important. The neck reinforced with CF graphite is always a plus for that.
The music on the bass is so hard for our large instrument. Fighting the bass itself with a bad set-up or other inherent problems just takes the fun out of playing, totally.
If the G is 4mm then I would try for 4/5/6/7 (low arch) or 4/5.5/7/8.5 (bigger arch) or something close to 4-8 or so and increase all the numbers if the G is higher. The FB curve must follow the bridge to some degree.