Author Topic: The Alembic Bridge (Read 266 times)

rogertvr · « **on:** January 18, 2005, 11:03:24 AM »

What happens when you have about 1mm of relief in the neck, the bridge is flat on the baseplate, you have no squeaks or rattles when playing the instrument, but you feel that the strings could be even lower? What then? Any suggestions?

adriaan · « **Reply #1 on:** January 18, 2005, 11:25:14 AM »

Easy, you make the bridge slots deeper.

rogertvr · « **Reply #2 on:** January 18, 2005, 12:32:47 PM »

A little hit and miss isn't it?

adriaan · « **Reply #3 on:** January 18, 2005, 12:38:02 PM »

rogertvr · « **Reply #4 on:** January 18, 2005, 12:57:59 PM »

How does one make the bridge slots deeper?

serialnumber12 · « **Reply #5 on:** January 18, 2005, 01:08:36 PM »

A 'very' thin (round) file,one that fits into the slot precisely.

dela217 · « **Reply #6 on:** January 18, 2005, 01:54:48 PM »

I wouldn't mess with the slots. I had the same sort of problem with one of my Alembics. What I did was have the bottom of the brass sustain block machined down. That way the whole thing sits deeper in the body.

knight · « **Reply #7 on:** January 18, 2005, 01:55:53 PM »

I was wondering about this too... I want to convert my Europa to fretless but I need to get the strings lower than they are now.

IS THIS A SAFE PROCEDURE, DOCTOR???

I don't want to hurt my beautiful bass...

dgcarbu · « **Reply #8 on:** January 18, 2005, 01:56:18 PM »

Please ensure you do not take too much off, a replacement bridge is not cheap.

apdavis · « **Reply #9 on:** January 18, 2005, 03:19:18 PM »

I would agree with dela, You can aways contract for parts, and if your mechanical operations are good, changing your sustain block is the way to go.

mica · « **Reply #10 on:** January 18, 2005, 03:31:44 PM »

A skilled repair person can certainly file the slots down. I would not recommend saddle filing on your Alembic as a first-time project unless you have metal experience.

Another option is to order a set of replacement saddles. You can remove and save the originals, install the unslotted ones, and have your repair person work on those. That way, it's completely reversable.

Dela's suggestion of sanding down the back of the block seems more appropriate for a do-it-yourself modification.

fredguy · « **Reply #11 on:** January 18, 2005, 09:05:57 PM »

Doesn't 1 mm (0.040) of relief seem high? I'd try to get it to 0.375 to 0.5mm (0.015 to 0.020) and see if the bridge was too still too low.

dave

bob · « **Reply #12 on:** January 19, 2005, 10:07:19 PM »

Take a close look: is the bottom of the bridge itself really sitting on the block, or is it the small nut on the height adjusting screw?

I'm not sure all are like this, but if I needed to go lower I could simply countersink the holes in the block - maybe not with a real countersink, but a drill large enough to let that nut 'sink in' a bit. Pretty simple, you don't lose much mass, won't hurt anything else.

Though I agree with dave/fredguy that 1 mm relief seems pretty excessive, and would try working on that first.
-Bob

adriaan · « **Reply #13 on:** January 20, 2005, 03:28:09 AM »

Just out of curiosity: where did the 1 mm relief bit come from?

And does that refer to neck relief, as in how much space there is between the strings and the 12th fret?

Fredguy, if you're talking bass then .040 corresponds to a medium light G string. I think that's about the relief that I have. I'm not sure I'd be comfortable playing having it lower.

rogertvr · « **Reply #14 on:** January 20, 2005, 04:07:30 AM »

Adriaan, yes, the 1mm relief is the space between the bottom of the strings and the 12th fret, when the string is fretted simultaneously at the 1st and 24th fret. I didn't think 1mm was particularly large, quite the opposite in fact - I thought it was quite small.