Bass in yo' face!
- badform
- PAT. # 2.972.923
- Posts: 310
- Joined: Mon Jul 04, 2011 5:45 pm
- Location: B'more, B'more
Bass in yo' face!
So... I recently picked this thing up.
I've always wanted an acoustic bass guitar to noodle on and be heard (as opposed to plugging in my Jazz Bass). It came with a few issues... There's a loose wire between the preamp and the piezo. I can deal with that. It's the intonation that's driving me a bit batty.
The bridge is starting to pull the front of the body up a bit, so the action was a bit high. I was able to shim the neck and tweak the truss rod, as well as lower the bridge saddle a bit in order to get really nice, even action and a just the right amount of neck relief (not quite flat... just right).
The problem is, only the E string intonates correctly. The other three strings are just a bit sharp at the 12th fret. The A string is a tad sharp on the 3rd fret. Since it doesn't have adjustable saddles, what the heck to do I do? The only thing I can think of is maybe have a custom nut cut (something like an earvana nut).
Any ideas?
I've always wanted an acoustic bass guitar to noodle on and be heard (as opposed to plugging in my Jazz Bass). It came with a few issues... There's a loose wire between the preamp and the piezo. I can deal with that. It's the intonation that's driving me a bit batty.
The bridge is starting to pull the front of the body up a bit, so the action was a bit high. I was able to shim the neck and tweak the truss rod, as well as lower the bridge saddle a bit in order to get really nice, even action and a just the right amount of neck relief (not quite flat... just right).
The problem is, only the E string intonates correctly. The other three strings are just a bit sharp at the 12th fret. The A string is a tad sharp on the 3rd fret. Since it doesn't have adjustable saddles, what the heck to do I do? The only thing I can think of is maybe have a custom nut cut (something like an earvana nut).
Any ideas?
- therizzla
- PAT. # 2.972.923
- Posts: 2277
- Joined: Sun Oct 08, 2006 3:06 pm
- Location: Tacoma, WA
- Contact:
- badform
- PAT. # 2.972.923
- Posts: 310
- Joined: Mon Jul 04, 2011 5:45 pm
- Location: B'more, B'more
Re: Bass in yo' face!
Hey, whadda ya know... I think I knew that, actually.
Maybe he couldn't intonate his either.
Maybe he couldn't intonate his either.
- gremlin03
- PAT. # 2.972.923
- Posts: 587
- Joined: Mon May 18, 2009 3:36 am
Re: Bass in yo' face!
Also the same bass Simon Gallup used when the Cure performed on MTV Unplugged
- KeithJ
- PAT. # 2.972.923
- Posts: 520
- Joined: Sun Feb 24, 2013 5:43 am
- Location: The Pawnshop of the West
Re: Bass in yo' face!
I have seen a guitar that had a badly misplaced bridge on it, and to compensate, the luthier routed the saddle slot really wide and put a huge piece of bone in there to fill the slot. That was then filed down on either side to create a compensated saddle. It was an interesting way to fix the problem for sure. How far is the intonation off on the other strings, and are they falling flat or sharp?
- badform
- PAT. # 2.972.923
- Posts: 310
- Joined: Mon Jul 04, 2011 5:45 pm
- Location: B'more, B'more
Re: Bass in yo' face!
All the strings (except for the E) are a bit sharp.
- KeithJ
- PAT. # 2.972.923
- Posts: 520
- Joined: Sun Feb 24, 2013 5:43 am
- Location: The Pawnshop of the West
Re: Bass in yo' face!
OK, so you just need to effectively move the saddle back a little bit. You could try replacing the bridge all together, or cutting up the one that is in there now. I have done something similar to this: http://www.stewmac.com/Luthier_Tools/To" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... nator.html using small hex keys to find out exactly where the intonation should be. Mark the bridge with a pencil when you find the sweet spot and that will tell you where to cut.
ALSO: Keep an eye on that bellying of the bridge pulling the top up. If it pulled up a little and stopped that's OK, but if it starts looking really distended then you probably have other issues to deal with.
ALSO: Keep an eye on that bellying of the bridge pulling the top up. If it pulled up a little and stopped that's OK, but if it starts looking really distended then you probably have other issues to deal with.
- Mickster
- PAT. # 2.972.923
- Posts: 80
- Joined: Tue Jul 02, 2013 4:29 am
Re: Bass in yo' face!
^ You could try lower guage strings if the bridge is pulling teh body out of shape. As a side effect, these might also help with the intonation as it sounds like the bridge may have been designed to work with a guage other than what's on there at the moment.
- badform
- PAT. # 2.972.923
- Posts: 310
- Joined: Mon Jul 04, 2011 5:45 pm
- Location: B'more, B'more
Re: Bass in yo' face!
Thanks for the suggestions. New strings are a sure thing. The belly/bridge seem stable, so I'll try lighter strings (it was designed to be plugged in, afterall).
- jackxiv
- PAT. # 2.972.923
- Posts: 78
- Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2014 12:32 pm
Re: Bass in yo' face!
Hows the action? I have an Ibanez Acoustic Electric and the action can get a little clunky up the neck, have had to do a lot of work to fix it!
I work for a small luthier shop called the Guitar Mill that has a large selection of vintage-correct Off-Set bodies and necks and produces Mario Guitars. I also play a Fender Mustang bass in my band Parasite Diet.
www.guitarmill.com
www.guitarmill.com
- badform
- PAT. # 2.972.923
- Posts: 310
- Joined: Mon Jul 04, 2011 5:45 pm
- Location: B'more, B'more
Re: Bass in yo' face!
I got the action to be really good, after massaging the saddle height, shimming the neck, and adjusting the truss rod. With the bolt on neck, it's a lot easier to get this playing well.jackxiv wrote:Hows the action? I have an Ibanez Acoustic Electric and the action can get a little clunky up the neck, have had to do a lot of work to fix it!
- jackxiv
- PAT. # 2.972.923
- Posts: 78
- Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2014 12:32 pm
Re: Bass in yo' face!
Sweet. Yeah, mine is a set neck, so it was a little more trouble. You know, in my opinion, I think set necks have more cons than pros. I mean you get the sustain with a set neck, but I think it almost not worth it. Go team Bolty!badform wrote:I got the action to be really good, after massaging the saddle height, shimming the neck, and adjusting the truss rod. With the bolt on neck, it's a lot easier to get this playing well.jackxiv wrote:Hows the action? I have an Ibanez Acoustic Electric and the action can get a little clunky up the neck, have had to do a lot of work to fix it!
I work for a small luthier shop called the Guitar Mill that has a large selection of vintage-correct Off-Set bodies and necks and produces Mario Guitars. I also play a Fender Mustang bass in my band Parasite Diet.
www.guitarmill.com
www.guitarmill.com