Question Tim Commerford Stingray Bridge Intonation Question and help - 2 questions

[MMSR4TCP]

Hi,

I have two technical questions that pertain to the Tim C MM Bridge with the string dampeners. So the bass arrived with the action quite high at the 12th fret slightly over 6.35mm. This would be considered an extremely high setup (high = 3.5mm). I prefer my action to be what is considered Low Med (2.15mm). So I went about adjusting everything. I'm good at doing this stuff. That being said i've never owned a MM Stingray before. I quickly discovered teh string mutes rally prevent any action lower than a Med setup 2.7mm (without modifications of the E string pad). The neck is perfect regarding relief etc.

Ok, I'll start at Medium. After adjusting the E and G then doing the radius for A and D, 100% I needed to re-intonate the bass. This was a significant drop from the 6.35mm. I was able to Intonate G-D-A..but not E. The E saddle binds with the bridge mounting nut.

The Two Issues and Questions

• The String Mute Pads Prevent me from dropping the E lower than 2.7mm (E only) the remaining strings and pads all have room. The E pad is no higher than any other string and they are all parked. - I'm looking for previous experience with these and if this is a normal thing.
• The E string Bridge Binds with the Bridge mounting screw. This is preventing the intonation of the E string. It binds then the screw will just come out.
  • Looking for experience here.

So I tried moving the A saddle out of the way E intonated, but then A binds. So on and so forth down the line to G binding with the other mounting nut. I cannot move any of them cockeyed, none of the saddles clear any of the others ,so relief from binding cannot happen this way.

It's apparent the delivered action set at 6.35mm (or 1/4") was purposeful to allow intonation from the factory. There is no way on earth that remotely resembles a factory specification.

Guidance would be great here

Here are some images.

E binding with the mounting nut.Just barely but its stops cold. No pressure can move it.
The Medium height relief *barely clearing the mute pad.


Thanks in advance everyone. This bass is amazing from a tone perspective with all the switching, tone, and boost options.

 

[Blackened Soul]

Yeah, not sure if it’s helpful info but.. as someone that has installed 4 of the ebmm studmount bridges (the 5 string model without the mutes) these things have to installed dead on, they are really high tolerance in terms of where to studs are… one thing to check is are all you saddles level? Both height screws have to be equal, any tilt and the saddles can bind (even on stock basses from the factory) this why it’s always a good idea when you make height adjustments to double check all you saddle height screws are contacting with the bridge plate because the studs clamp the saddles together.. this probably why the G&L bridge uses a set screw on the side of their bridge (the G&L bridge is a evolutionary step from the mm bridge)

The two fixes I can think of… and I don’t recommend them on a bass under any kind of warranty.. grind some material off the sides of the saddles (like a few 1000ths of an inch) or pull the whole bridge, plug/fill the holes, redrill, reset the stud ferrels and remount the whole bridge… which is extremely hard without jigs and or cnc…