Stingray Classic Bridge saddles

[Karl]

Hello,
I wonder if someone could help me with a slight problem that I am having setting up my Stingray.The bridge saddles for the A and D strings cannot be lowered to height that I am looking for which is around 7/64ths from the 12th fret. I have found that they just tighten up at around 8/64ths as if they have bottomed out.
I am not having this problem with the E and G string saddles which can be lowered considerably.
I have tried applying some 3 in 1 oil to the grub screws which has not rectified the problem.

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

.
You need to add a shim to the rear of the neck. That will give you extra adjustment in lowering the saddles further.

Customer service has them in three colours. Brown is the thinnest and is probably all you need.

This thread may help:

http://forums.ernieball.com/ernie-ball-music-man-basses/66884-stingray-neck-heel-shim.html

 

[Karl]

.
You need to add a shim to the rear of the neck. That will give you extra adjustment in lowering the saddles further.

Customer service has them in three colours. Brown is the thinnest and is probably all you need.

But the saddles for the E and G strings go down all the way!

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

Not all saddles are necessarily affected. I recently added a shim to one of my Basses because I couldn't get the "G" low enough. The other saddles were ok.

 

[Karl]

I think the grub screws may be stripped Rod which I cannot understand. Even with no string tension at all they won't lower. I took it to a Luthier about 3 months ago who set it up to my specs and I haven't adjusted the saddles until now after a string replacement. I get the feeling he must have done something to cause this to happen.

 

[tbonesullivan]

Do they still thread in and raise the saddle? IF they were stripped, the nut would just spin.

How low do you have the treble side action, and now close is the saddle to the bridge plate?

The screws and saddles are plated after machining, so sometimes the threads may need to be "broken in".

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

I think the grub screws may be stripped Rod which I cannot understand. Even with no string tension at all they won't lower. I took it to a Luthier about 3 months ago who set it up to my specs and I haven't adjusted the saddles until now after a string replacement. I get the feeling he must have done something to cause this to happen.

The Classics have hollow (or barrel) saddles. When you lower the saddles, the adjusting screws don't protrude through the top of the saddles as they would on other Ray bridges. Instead, the screws stop dead when they reach the upper part of the inside barrel. I think this is what you are experiencing. Just to check, try raising the saddle. The screws should now continue to protrude through the bottom of the saddle. If they do then the thread is not stripped. If all is well at this point then you need a shim at the back of the neck pocket. It raises the heel of the neck giving the effect of lowering the saddles. You'll then probably find your saddles are a bit lower than you want them and will need to actually raise them to the height you want! The shim at the back of the neck increases the lower adjustment range.

 

[five7]

Same as on the Caprice.

 

[Karl]

The Classics have hollow (or barrel) saddles. When you lower the saddles, the adjusting screws don't protrude through the top of the saddles as they would on other Ray bridges. Instead, the screws stop dead when they reach the upper part of the inside barrel. I think this is what you are experiencing. Just to check, try raising the saddle. The screws should now continue to protrude through the bottom of the saddle. If they do then the thread is not stripped. If all is well at this point then you need a shim at the back of the neck pocket. It raises the heel of the neck giving the effect of lowering the saddles. You'll then probably find your saddles are a bit lower than you want them and will need to actually raise them to the height you want! The shim at the back of the neck increases the lower adjustment range.

Thanks for the info Rod! I am going to take a look at the saddles this weekend, if the neck does need to be shimmed at the heel what size shim should I go for because I think they come in different sizes in regards to thickness?

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

Thanks for the info Rod! I am going to take a look at the saddles this weekend, if the neck does need to be shimmed at the heel what size shim should I go for because I think they come in different sizes in regards to thickness?

It probably only needs the thickness of a piece of paper.

I strongly suggest giving your Bass to your setup tech to take a look at. Taking the neck off yourself can lead to damage to the edges of the neck pocket and/or stripping the neck bolt holes on the neck heel.

 

[danny-79]

The Classics have hollow (or barrel) saddles. When you lower the saddles, the adjusting screws don't protrude through the top of the saddles as they would on other Ray bridges. Instead, the screws stop dead when they reach the upper part of the inside barrel. I think this is what you are experiencing. Just to check, try raising the saddle. The screws should now continue to protrude through the bottom of the saddle. If they do then the thread is not stripped. If all is well at this point then you need a shim at the back of the neck pocket. It raises the heel of the neck giving the effect of lowering the saddles. You'll then probably find your saddles are a bit lower than you want them and will need to actually raise them to the height you want! The shim at the back of the neck increases the lower adjustment range.

I did not know thd saddles were hollow on the classics. Interesting

 

[tbonesullivan]

I did not know thd saddles were hollow on the classics. Interesting

That's how they were made back in the day. Check out this website for lots of other juicy info on bridge evolution.

http://www.musicmanbass.org/mycustompage0061.htm

 

[danny-79]

That's how they were made back in the day. Check out this website for lots of other juicy info on bridge evolution.

http://www.musicmanbass.org/mycustompage0061.htm

I will do just that. Thanks for the link

 

[danny-79]

I had completely forgotten about that site (and who to thank for creating it) lots of good reading, Thank you