Rattles and adjustments

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by stan haskins

Hi everyone -

This is my first winter with a carved bass. I've noticed that I needed to adjust the bridge upward to move the strings away from the fingerboard three times already (the third time was this last weekend). I would estimate that the adjusters are extended out about 1- 1.5 cm now. I tried to adjust the bass and treble sides equally, However, the G string seems to need alot more adjustment than the E string. I want to bring the E string back down a bit - is it dangerous, illegal, or amoral to have the bridge adjusted "unevenly"?

ALso, along with this problem, I've developed a rattle. I'm pretty sure it originates from the tailpiece cable (where the cable attaches to the TP). It's very irritating, and especially loud around the low B on the A string.

Thanks for any response,
Stan

First off, the Back moves the most over the seasons. It's common to have lower Bridge height in the winter months and higher height in the Summer. The adjustable bridge is there for just this reason. Uneven side to side adjustments are not uncommon. Two other things can be going on here, at least. One, when you raise the bridge to meet the rising fingerboard due to the shrinking back, you are making the bridge higher on the top thus putting more pressure on the table. That may be pushing the top down unevenly under the Bass bar or soundpost sides of the bridge feet. Two, now that the back has slightly shrunk and the top is being pressed down more from the raised bridge, the soundpost may be too long or in the wrong position, OR, this being is a new Bass, the Back may have swelled out from the soundpost pushing it as the Bass settles in. The Shen Willow is a modified Flat/arched back with a special X-brace. All Basses settle in over time. Even in the case of Basses 100-200 years old, they move throughout the seasons as well.

So, do not be overly alarmed BUT do NOT ignore signs that your Bass is 'yearning' for attention. A player can only do so much by himself. Your Bass needs to go to a Bass Luthier like yesterday to be 'winterized'. Find the best guy you can even if you have to travel. I would suggest Arnold or Jeff as they are both a good 'drive' from you but that's where I go and I live in Pa.!

The rattle, might be minor BUT again, do not assume.

I have learned that people often take better care of their Cars than they do of their personal health issues like regular check-ups and such. With Basses, it is usually much much worse. Yes, there are some 'minor' league luthiers out there ready to carve your Bass up with their invented methods but then again, there are some top Pros that are no less in their field than a brain surgeon or Root C**** Specialist is in theirs in my opinion.

Get some 'professional' help with this and your Bass will live a better life and a lot longer.

How can one tell the difference between the Major and minor leaguers in the Luthier business? See who the Pro Symphony guys uses 'regularly' with their 50k-200k Basses. You will see guys traveling past several other 'average' type luthier's shops to get their Bass worked on no matter how long the drive or how long the wait. Why? Because they don't want their 'pride and joy' screwed up by some wannabe that the 'average high end' Bass they work on is a Juzek!

Go the extra mile and pay the extra dollars to get it done right and the first time as well. Second time's a biatch!