Advice on bridge
Hello all,
I have two basses, both made in Reghin, Romania. They are of the same size and have the same kind of labels. Not too much information on these basses on the net (probably they are not historically significant?), but believed to have been made in a state owned factory back in the late 70’s. I would like to get them properly set up (for mostly arco playing) and the first thing is to get the bridges replaced (unless the luthier thinks that the fingerboard needs to be dressed first). I’m hoping to get some advice here, to be more informed before I take one of them to the shop, just so that I will not make unreasonable requests and offend people at the shop.
All things being equal, how much wood between the crown and the heart is ideal? I’m asking because the bridge on my bass is very short. Please see the attaches image. The string height (in mm) at the end of the bridge for: E=10, A=10.5, D=9.5 and G=8.5.
I am going to take the bass to the local luthier. I know that they cut their own bridges but if they follow the “industrial standard” (Despiau, Aubert) it would mean I’m gonna end up with a bridge looking just like my existing one and I really don’t like the look of it. Mind you the feet of the existing bridge are only about 0.5mm thick. I think the feet should be thicker than that, which means I will lose even more wood between the crown and the heart. Only way I can think of getting more wood between crown and heart without increasing string height is to shorten the legs. Does the length of the legs of the bridge have a direct/huge effect on sound?
I’ve also attached an image showing the overstand at 24.5mm. I don’t think that this is particularly low, and the arch of the table doesn’t seem particularly high. Maybe it’s the angle of the neck/heel?
Thanks in advance for your input.
Cham.
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