bridge height per string

[goran]

Hi, so I have Mark King Deluxe 5 and I really don't want to sell it but, I just can't get used to radiused strings as they are now, if I lower the bridge then my B strin is to low, and if I get the B string where I wanted to then A, E and D strings are to high.

Radius of string on bridge is to big and I was wondering what would be best solution to change that? I mean the easiest?
Ask someone to lower A, E and D string with some tool on bridge, the bridge is gold plated?
Ask Alembic to make a new bridge?

Btw. I'm in Europe, just so you know

Thoughts?

I have series 1  and the radius is not that big, so that thing plays like butter.

Thanks in advance

[lbpesq]

I imagine you could get Alembic to make a new, taller, B saddle?

Bill, tgo

[hieronymous]

I think you could just have the B saddle replaced - measure yours, send them pictures, maybe Alembic could cut you a new one that isn't so deep. Or get a blank saddle from Alembic, have someone local cut it.

My 5-string Stanley Clarke has a similar issue - the B string is just too low compared to the others. However, I had a new nut and saddles made by Alembic to restring it to EADGC - I went back to BEADG, so used one of the new "taller" saddles from one of the other strings and use a tapered B. Not a perfect solution, I should have Alembic make me a proper B!

[rv_bass]

Goran,
I’ve been working through the same issue with my Alembic five string. I raised the nut just slightly on the B string side, then I adjust the truss rod to where I get the neck where I want it for the E, A, and D strings, then raise the bridge slightly to accommodate the height of the B string.  There is just a little string slap on the B happening, but not enough to really hear it when plugged in.  So it took some time tinkering with the nut, neck, and bridge, but I finally got it to work, and I like my strings pretty low all around.  Hope that helps.

[StephenR]

Have you tried using a lighter gauge of B-string? My five-string Balance K Series bass came with Alembic strings on it and I could never get it set up to where the B-string wouldn't clank. Part of it is playing style, I use a pick and don't have a particularly light touch but when I changed to different strings with a .125 B instead of the .128 it came with I was finally able to get the bass set up to my satisfaction.

I generally try to leave the string height alone after getting it to where I like it and make adjustments to the truss rods to add enough relief so that it works. I rarely, if ever, have had issues with strings bottoming out on the first 4 frets, mainly the middle of the neck or so the truss rod adjustments work for me. If I don't have enough relief in the neck and raise the bridge the action in the upper registers above the 12th fret gets too high to be comfortable. Every instrument is a bit different and of course individual playing style makes a huge difference. Thankfully Alembic instruments are really easy for the player to set-up and adjust.

It would be great if Alembic would offer an option for the same custom bridge they designed for Phil Lesh's basses, he can now adjust individual string height. My biggest issues are usually with the A, and B strings and being able to tweak the height a tiny bit would be a huge help

Good luck... your MK five-string is quite beautiful and I hope you can find a way to get it set up to your satisfaction so you can keep it..

[goran]

Thanks all for help, I've tried it with raising nut, but stil same problem happens, I tried different set of strings, but again always have a feel that G and B string are to low, when E, A and d strings are perfect.
For example I love the feel of pickup under my fingers, so G string gets to be so low that it's hard to even pluck a note, while E A D string are on right spot.

So probably a new bridge. Too bad they cut the radius so it's to big....

[adriaan]

From what you describe, it seems like you have the bridge pickup extremely close to the strings. I wonder if the strings sound more even when you lower the pickup, where the magnetic pull on the strings will be weaker. That's an easy thing to try with no permanent changes.

Sounds like you want a "ramp", in that case a flat (or slightly curved) piece of wood sitting on top of the pickup would be a better solution.

[BeenDown139]

FWIW i have a similar issue with my MK5, except it's definitely the B string.  I tried a set a optima golds on this bass.  while i like the look, the sound didn't knock me out.  and i immediately noticed that the B string is noticeably louder and out of balance with the rest of the strings. 
i'm not sure what the technical term for this is, but the wrap on the B string doesn't go all the way to the ball end like the rotosound strings that i normally use do.  As you can see from the picture, the B string sits closer to the pickup than the rest do.  The only way out that i can see is to raise that end of the bridge to accommodate the height difference.  or do something funky to the saddle, which i am not inclined to do.

so, while these strings were an interesting experiment, the way the wrap on the B string is pretty much the nail in the coffin as far as i'm concerned and as soon as they're due to be changed, it's back to rotosounds for this bass.

but this may work for you - it will definitely lower the B string height, maybe you can get it work better for you than it did for me.

if you were in the states, i'd mail you the optima strings and you could try it.  they were about $110 USD from juststrings, btw.

your actual results may vary...
 

[goran]

Actually it's not that far, I have ramp on some basses, and I have basses with flat pickup without ramp, but this one just needs less radius...

I've been using this method for years to set my basses almost the same, because of different density of a wood and strings there are some changes, but this method is really good.

The thing is that I can't do that on this bass, so just trying to see what would be the best way to do it so the bridge is how I want it...

This is how I do it for years so the basses have almost the same feel

[adriaan]

For what it's worth, here's a similar shot of the bridge on my 6 string. The saddles for the B and C strings on mine appear to be lower than those for the E and G strings, on yours the B saddle is indeed relatively tall. Perhaps the original owner had the bridge set up for a tapered B string, like BeenDown139.

[adriaan]

... oh, and I don't think your bridge is gold-plated, it looks like plain brass.

[JimmyJ]

OK, I'll add some thoughts because I've done a bit of bridge and nut tweaking too.

As I understand it, Alembic uses a 12" radius on the fingerboard, meaning the arc from a 12" diameter circle should match the curve of the fingerboard and frets.  I made this little template by tracing the edge of one of my 12" speakers just as an example.  (Unscientific and inaccurate, but just for demo purposes). 

Because our string gauges are graduated they should approximately fit that curve on both the fingerboard side and outside - even though the template is raised on B-string.  You can see this in my pics below - at the nut and at the bridge.  (Instead of trying to match the bottom of the bridge slots to the radius, matching the top of the strings is, in my opinion, close enough.)

So Goran, you can make your own template to see what your string radius looks like.  And then I suggest you simply deepen the saddle grooves of the strings you want to lower.

At one point I had ordered proper "nut files" from StewMac in the closest diameters I could find.  But then had a better idea: I just used a block of wood and one of my GHS Boomers and worked it back and forth in the slot to wear away the brass.  Boomers are roundwound chrome so not very abrasive, but it was enough to deepen the slot in the saddle and lower the string.  Plus, the diameter of the slot was a perfect match!  If you're playing steel roundwounds go slow because it will happen fast.

I think you should give it a go!

Jimmy J

[lbpesq]

Very clever using the speaker circumference, Jimmy!   One can also get a set radius gauges on eBay relatively cheap, between $5-$20.

Bill, tgo

[goran]

... oh, and I don't think your bridge is gold-plated, it looks like plain brass.

You are right, so even better, that means I could just lower E, A and D string with the idea that Jimmy has.
Jimmy that's perfect, I use nickel and stainless steel... man, that is perfect idea, I was thinking where to take the bass to deepen the slots.. oh such a great idea... thanks!!! I'll give it a go.

I also see that your bridge is the same way as mine g string side is way lower than B string side. I even thought that could be wrong to have it that way because od the screws.

Thanks all

I send you the result!

[JimmyJ]

Alright Goran, good luck with the tweak.  Take it slow, brass is pretty soft so it can come away quickly.  Maybe make a small mark below the slot on the pickup side just to check your progress.  You shouldn't need to remove much. 

I think I also tried to do it at a slight angle down towards the tailpiece, maybe 1/2 the angle.  I'm not sure if that's correct, or even wise, but I figure the most important bit is exactly where the string comes off the saddle on the pickup side.  That's what dictates the height.

Let us know how it goes.
Jimmy J