Neck set - bridge height question

[Arnold Schnitzer]

Blame Mr. Dewar.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Arnold Schnitzer

Blame Mr. Dewar.

You? On the sauce?.. Dewars makes Varnish now? Sniffing too much at work?

BTW, FWIW, "I" do the jokes around here Mister!....

[Arnold Schnitzer]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

Dewars makes Varnish now?

Spirit varnish, yes...

[Ken McKay]

Hi Craig, Here is a sober opinion.

Since you are building the bass, start with the ideal numbers for bridge height and overstand.

[Ken McKay]

Use a neck template to find the neck angle.

[Ken Smith]

30mm overstand? Is that what you have there? Quite low in my book. Most builders today use from 35-40mm. Decreases the angle of the Neck to the player and helps with the Top tension as well. Keeps the hands closer to the body when playing with less angle pitch I would think.

[Ken McKay]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

30mm overstand? Is that what you have there? Quite low in my book. Most builders today use from 35-40mm. Decreases the angle of the Neck to the player and helps with the Top tension as well. Keeps the hands closer to the body when playing with less angle pitch I would think.

Thanks Ken, I raised it to 40mm. And now this bass has KS stamped on the back in tribute to your many suggestions (kidding).

[Matthew Tucker]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

30mm overstand? Is that what you have there? Quite low in my book. Most builders today use from 35-40mm.

Well, it all depends on the bass, doesn't it? Ken's bass is a cornerless model with sloping shoulders, already easy to reach around into TP, so I don't think he necessarily needs a higher overstand.

My cornerless has 30mm and it's perfectly adequate. any more and it would start to look odd ...

Having said that, its good to start with a deeper overstand. You can always reduce it when fitting the mortise.

[Craig Regan]

Originally Posted by Ken McKay

Hi Craig, Here is a sober opinion.

Since you are building the bass, start with the ideal numbers for bridge height and overstand.

Still searching for the ideal number for the overstand. I set up an adjustable neck simulator so my "client" could see what felt most comfortable.

It moves in and out for overstand ht. and pivots for the neck angle. The screw in the neck block isn't very cool but I was very careful.

[Craig Regan]

Came up with 1 1/2" Overstand, could be high but the bass is huge.

Ken, your bass is looking great!

[Ken Smith]

Cherry Back and Ribs? Classy looking fellow..

Minimum I think is 35mm and 40mm maximum for the overstand. Bigger shoulders might need 36-38mm as opposed to 30-35mm. Bridge height should be 6.5-6.75" at the center with lowish string height. This is my personal preference.

[Craig Regan]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

Cherry Back and Ribs? Classy looking fellow..

Fun Fact: Cherry is part of the Rose family, Prunus Serotina Rosaceae.