Problem with string touching rear of bridge

[David Houck]

I rarely pick up my six string; it seems every time I practice I'm thinking that I need to really work on the four string.  So, I've never addressed this problem.  The highest string, C, touches the rear of the bridge as it passes from the saddle to the tail piece.  This particular bridge sits on a sustain block.  I don't know what to do about this.  I've had two thoughts so far.  I could shim the sustain block where it sits in the body with an angle shim that would cause the bridge to angle back a little; but the sustain block is already a fairly tight fit in its cavity so setting it at an angle would probably cause it not to fit.  Or I could shim the tailpiece raising its height a little.  This would have the disadvantage of reducing the angle of all the strings as they pass over the saddles; but then it probably doesn't need much of an increase.  Any suggestions?  If I shim the tailpiece I would probably just send the tailpiece to Santa Rosa and let them make the shim.

[mica]

How high is the bridge set? If the truss rod and bridge height are fine, you could file a groove in the back rail of the bridge. It doesn't seem like you've played the 6 enough to wear the saddle.

[bob]

Is it really a problem?
 
It might not look right, and it may wear into the bridge a little over time (no worse than filing a groove in it). But my guess is that it's only putting a very slight bend in the string (it must be pretty close unless something is way out of whack).
 
That part of the string shouldn't be moving anyway, so the only issue - aside from how it looks to you - is whether you get a good clean sound on that string. As long as it doesn't rattle in the saddle, and you can intonate it properly, maybe there's nothing to fix.

[David Houck]

Thanks Mica.  At the moment the bridge is off the bass, but the bridge was set pretty low.  And no I haven't played it enough to wear the saddles.  Filing a groove in the back rail of the bridge doesn't seem like something I would want to do.  If that is the best solution, I would rather have you do it.

[David Houck]

Bob; I'm not getting a good clean sound, which is perhaps why I don't practice my six string much (every time I pick it up I'm reminded by the sound of that string that I need to do something about it touching the bridge).  And your comment about it rattling in the saddle leads me to confess that I haven't revealed all of the pertinent information.  The bass came strung B to C but I've got it strung E to F; thus the strings don't fit the saddles snugly and the F touching the rear of the bridge does exacerbate the lack of snugness.  I should order a new nut and saddles, but I have never really decided whether I want to stick with the E to F or switch back to the B to C for a while.  So yes, it is at present affecting the sound.