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Bridge set-up question

roburado

roburado

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Hey y'all. Got a question about my bridge on the new Silo Spec in the family. http://www.ernieball.com/forums/music-man-guitars/24854-thread-brought-you-number-3-a.html

I got it with the set-up a bit weird. Sure, it works, but I'm sure it didn't come from the factory this way. I don't think that I want to have the GC where I got it doing the set-up, because it's probably going to be the same guy who set it up this way telling me that there's nothing wrong with it.

So, here's the issue. Action is fine, but the bridge looks like this: (sorry about the dark pic)
PICT0337.jpg


I was contemplating sending the guitar to Repairadise to have it put back the way the factory would have sent it out, but you know, maybe, I ought to start to teach myself to fish by way of experience instead of having jongitarz or someone else fix this for me.

First of all, you can sort of see the back end is down. The bridge looks raised up. I guess I'm going to have to drop it down. Is it just a simple righty-tighty, lefty-loosey type of thing? In other words, just stick an Allen wrench in the mounting posts and turn clockwise to make the bridge go down? I'll obviously have to loosen up the tension on the trem springs too.

Next, the strings look like they're coming off the saddles at too much of an angle, don't they? The saddles seem like they're raised up to the sky. What do you think? Or are you not getting enough info from the picture?

So, I'm thinking drop the bridge, loosen up the springs, drop the saddles, give more neck relief. The thing looks straight as an arrow. Does that sound reasonable? Not enough information for you to give me an answer?

The guitar plays fine, I guess--certainly well enough to buy it. I guess I'm just trying to optimize it or to return it to the way the factory sent it out. Okay, maybe with .010s instead of .009s.

I don't know about trem function really, because well...heh...it didn't come with a trem bar. I'll contact CS about getting one.
 
candid_x

candid_x

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Jun 26, 2006
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3,272
I bleeb 4 is stock. I'd be curious to know how the two posts are set or adjusted, whether they screw down or are wedged/hammered into place. But me thinks Jon wants this discussed in private. Is it cool to still ask how these posts are secured? Curious minds would like to know.
 
roburado

roburado

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candid_x said:
I bleeb 4 is stock. I'd be curious to know how the two posts are set or adjusted, whether they screw down or are wedged/hammered into place. But me thinks Jon wants this discussed in private. Is it cool to still ask how these posts are secured? Curious minds would like to know.
Click to expand...

When I turn the post clockwise it screws in. When I turn it counterclockwise, it screws out.
 
MN246

MN246

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Jun 17, 2005
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Oregon
roburado said:
So, here's the issue. Action is fine, but the bridge looks like this: (sorry about the dark pic)

First of all, you can sort of see the back end is down. The bridge looks raised up. I guess I'm going to have to drop it down. Is it just a simple righty-tighty, lefty-loosey type of thing? In other words, just stick an Allen wrench in the mounting posts and turn clockwise to make the bridge go down? I'll obviously have to loosen up the tension on the trem springs too.

Next, the strings look like they're coming off the saddles at too much of an angle, don't they? The saddles seem like they're raised up to the sky. What do you think? Or are you not getting enough info from the picture?

So, I'm thinking drop the bridge, loosen up the springs, drop the saddles, give more neck relief. The thing looks straight as an arrow. Does that sound reasonable? Not enough information for you to give me an answer?

The guitar plays fine, I guess--certainly well enough to buy it. I guess I'm just trying to optimize it or to return it to the way the factory sent it out. Okay, maybe with .010s instead of .009s.

I don't know about trem function really, because well...heh...it didn't come with a trem bar. I'll contact CS about getting one.
Click to expand...

It sounds like you have a pretty good handle on what needs to be done. I wouldn't mess with the saddle height until the bridge is leveled. It looks like the bridge needs to be lowered and the string tension adjusted. Drop the front of the bridge. From the picture it looks like it needs to be dropped about the amount of the thickness of the body of the bridge. The next thing is to make sure the guitar is in tune, and start loosening the string tension. This is done by backing out the screws that secure the spring claw. Be careful how much you loosen the screws, I wouldn't go much more than a half a turn at a time. As you loosen the screws the guitar will go out of tune. So, in between tension adjustments, you need to tune and check where the bridge. It will get to a point where the bridge is level and the guitar is in tune. This is where the string tension needs to be set.

Next, make sure the truss rod is properly adjusted. With a nice flat neck, adjust the string saddles to the desired string height. I would check during the adjustments to make sure the strings are not buzzing anywhere. If they do, recheck the truss rod adjustment.

Next, you need to check the intonation. With all the string in tune and all of the above adjustments made, check to make sure the open string and the harmonic at the 12th fret are both in tune. If they are not, you will need to adjust the string length. This is done by adjusting the screw on the back of the bridge that sets the saddle position. CAUTION, you need to loosen the string before adjusting length. You will need to adjust the string length until both the open string and the 12th fret are both in tune at the same time.

Good luck, if you run into any problems, just post a follow up on this thread and I or someone else will post some advise.
 
roburado

roburado

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MN246 said:
CAUTION, you need to loosen the string before adjusting length. You will need to adjust the string length until both the open string and the 12th fret are both in tune at the same time.

Good luck, if you run into any problems, just post a follow up on this thread and I or someone else will post some advise.
Click to expand...

Oh...thanks for the heads up. I quit working on it for today. The bridge is fine. Everything is fine right now except the intonation. I'm leaving that for tomorrow. Out of curiosity, why do I have to loosen the string first? Is it so there's less pressure on the saddle to allow it to move?
 
jongitarz

jongitarz

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Sep 15, 2003
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Here
roburado said:
Thanks, Jon. I went to 3 springs. What are the factory settings for pickup heights?
Click to expand...

Start at 4/32 at the bridge, 5/32 middle, and 6/32 at the neck. Season to taste. YMMV etc. Those are good starting points, but do some exploring and see what sounds good to you. Don't put the single coils too close to the strings or tuning/intonation nightmares will occur.

Good talking with you today, Rob!
 
roburado

roburado

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Jul 18, 2005
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Location
Commerce, MI
jongitarz said:
Start at 4/32 at the bridge, 5/32 middle, and 6/32 at the neck. Season to taste. YMMV etc. Those are good starting points, but do some exploring and see what sounds good to you. Don't put the single coils too close to the strings or tuning/intonation nightmares will occur.

Good talking with you today, Rob!
Click to expand...

Good talking to you too, Jon. Have a great vacation, man. I guess I'm going to have to find myself a good ruler. I think I had some of those intonation/tuning nightmares already. Playing the guitar was like playing with a chorus/vibrato pedal on the low E and the A. Bizarre as hell. I don't know if that's what you mean, but that's what happened. I lowered the pickups, which BTW the strings were buzzing on them after I dropped the bridge, and the problem went away.

What are those measurements, Jon? Measured from where to where? Distance from polepiece to string?
 
MN246

MN246

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roburado said:
Oh...thanks for the heads up. I quit working on it for today. The bridge is fine. Everything is fine right now except the intonation. I'm leaving that for tomorrow. Out of curiosity, why do I have to loosen the string first? Is it so there's less pressure on the saddle to allow it to move?
Click to expand...

That's pretty much right on the money. If you have to lengthen the string, you probably don't want to have to put a bunch of extra tension on it. Also, when I say loosen the string, I don't mean that it has to have excess slack, just enough that adjusting the saddle won't over stress it.

I'm glad to hear that the bridge is wet up corretly now. I hope it plays the way you want it to when you're done.
 
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