Help! StingRay 5 HH Concern! Bridge Crooked?????

[Gsharp9]

I've noticed that the strings on my EXTREMELY BEAUTIFUL SR5 are not running straight through the saddles!! I've rarely played this bass as it hangs in a special place.... i know that will cause some of you to roll your eyes... but i do play it when that is the need in one of the bands i play in. Just hasn't been the need for the last little bit since i've had this. It was a gift from my son, and it has both the EBMM specialness, PLUS the fact that he bought it for me.... so it was impossible for me to look at it with a critical eye for awhile.

so, that finally happened..... and lo and behold... the bridge is crooked on the bass, and the strings all take the same turn as they pass through the saddles. What should i do about this??? it seems to me that a bass that is constructed on the premise of the headstock having strings that run perfectly straight through the nut should not have this problem at the bridge.

To be fair, I had noticed that the bridge sat just a little strange, but i had always thought it was a trick on my eyes in relation to the body shape behind. it was only a few days ago that i looked down the strings and realized that they were all slanted as they came through.

I've added some pics, while realizing that they are subject to angle and pitch, at least maybe someone can see what i mean.

Could someone weigh in on this topic? I need some advise on what I should do?

Gsharp9

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

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Email Customer Service for advice:

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[bovinehost]

So I'm not going to go look at all my fivers because I'm notoriously lazy, but I do have a Reflex 5 sitting out at the moment and I looked at it to see if it was different from yours. I think it's not. That being the case, maybe I don't have to go open cases to check the others. There may well be a slight 'angle' between the saddles and the bridge, and in over 20 years of playing MM fivers, I've yet to encounter or regard this as a problem. So my question to you is: how does it play?

 

[Gsharp9]

There may well be a slight 'angle' between the saddles and the bridge, and in over 20 years of playing MM fivers, I've yet to encounter or regard this as a problem. So my question to you is: how does it play?

@bovinehost: i would tend to agree with you... I've never noticed a problem. it was more a a realization. it's my first MM and i'm aware that i may be acting like a first time parent

She sounds and plays amazing! I have a friend who calls her "Evenrude" because she "purrs with power". I'm not sure i like the name but i've always found it funny !!

G

 

[Golem]

...................
seems to me that a bass that is constructed on the premise
of the headstock having strings that run perfectly straight
through the nut should not have this problem at the bridge.

.................................

Gsharp9

If it helps you feel ok about it, consider that you have a false
comparison there. Strings running straight thru the nut allow
smoother tuning cuz the strings travel [a very small amount]
across the nut when you turn the pegs. Strings do not travel
across the saddles, so a straight run offers no advantage as
compared to a slight angle. Unlike the nut, the bridge is just
a stationary anchor point when you are tuning.

------------------------------------------------------------

OTOH I don't see any evidence in your photos of any angle
such as you describe. I'm a photographer ..... not at all like
all the others who SAY they are photographers. IOW I really
do know what I'm talking about. If you'd show us a photo
shot from several feet away with the lens axis perpendicular
to the bridge plate, that should show any alignment issues if
there are any. The current photos are "unhelpful" :-( I can
see your phone reflected in the bridge plate and the lens is
centered between the 'B' and 'E' saddles. It should be dead
center on the 'A' saddle and it would appear a mere fraction
of that size if you were at a suitable distance.

Fully enlarge the 2nd photo and you can see the reflected
images of the strings appear to run quite straight as they
exit the stop tail and head toward the nut. Yet the strings
do appear to angle hugely sideways. There may actually be
a slight and really negligible sideways angle but the photos
you posted make it look unreasonably large.

------------------------------------------------------------

BTW and also "If it helps you feel ok about it" redux:

It's Evinrude ... with an "i", NOT with that second "e"

Acoarst this is a compliment from your friend. The exhaust
note from an Evinrude, as heard above the water's surface,
is generated below the surface, in the water. Surely you've
heard the perfect brown note sometimes described as the
"farting in the bathtub" sound ?

 

[strummer]

This is something I was (and still is) sure is a design feature of the newer bridges, to keep the strings well away from the springs without the old bridge issues.
Without any exact measurements, it sure looks like the sting angles away slightly to the left (looking from the back of the bass) and the length screw angles away just as much to the right. Playability issues: zero.
just my 2c

 

[Thornton Davis]

My 2015 Tobaccoburst Stingray 5HH has the same issue with the D & G strings, although to me it's not an issue. So long as the strings are centered over the pickup magnets and string spacing isn't compromised, it doesn't both me one bit.

TD