ESB-4SC First Build

[Dekka28]

Thank you weirdbits. I will go through all your suggestions and see where I am at.
I did check number 2 and this is when the string height measurement were taken.(not necessarily when pictures were taken)
I was wondering about the bridge as i don't think it is sitting flush at all. I assume it should be flush completely. I will also measure the base.

[Dekka28]

WeirdBits thank you again for the suggestions.

I have had a look at the few things you suggested. I tested the neck fit with some paper bits as you recommended and I can say that they did not move at all. So I think it is safe to say it's making contact.

I set the bridge and got an approximate intonation and it was pretty good. I had a look at the nut and I think it might need to go a fraction down for me:



I tried to move the neck a little bit and I have to say I am quite happy with it.



Now where weirdbits was bang on the money was the bridge base. Once I had measured and placed the bridge this is what the base looks like. There is a massive gap!!!



So I thought I'd check and bingo it looks like it was shaped to see perfectly between the bridge and neck pick ups. Interesting!!!!



So I think that the first call of order is to reshape the bridge base to lower the height of my strings.

What I still don't know how to fix is this gap on the treble side of the neck!!!

Any suggestions?

[WeirdBits]

You could take a small amount off the underside of each end of the bridge where it sits on the adjustment knobs, so that there's less gap to the bridge base. But, before you start doing anything like that we need to make sure that neck angle and action is in the ballpark... then you can decide what, if anything, needs to be adjusted.

Do you have a long straight edge or steel rule? You need to check how straight the neck is, does it have a bow or back-bow? We also need some side-on shots (from bass and treble side) with the neck clamped in place and strings on showing the string height/action at the first few frets, 12th fret and end of the freboard (fishing line pulled taut can also work). Then, if you can (it's tricky to do), clamp the neck in place using a clamp each side of the fret board and sit your straight edge down the middle of the fretboard (le. standing a steel ruler on its edge etc). It tougher to do on a bass as it needs to be long ruler, but with it sitting on the frets and extending over the pickups it should give you an idea of where the fret height/line is in relation to the bridge height. That will give a good indication of the neck angle and show if it needs adjusting in relation to the bridge/saddle height.

Tweaking the neck angle is a big deal, so you need to know exactly where it currently stands before you can assess what or where things need to be adjusted.

[Dekka28]

Hi Weirdbits,

Thank you again for your advice.

You need to check how straight the neck is, does it have a bow or back-bow?

I have set my straight edge in the middle of the neck running from the 1st fret to 15th frets and 12th to 22nd frets and there appears to be no gaps at all.

Is that the way to do it?

Here are the

side-on shots (from bass and treble side) with the neck clamped in place and strings on showing the string height/action at the first few frets, 12th fret and end of the freboard

On bass side first:




next post for treble side...

[Dekka28]

follow from previous post

...The treble side





With the floating bridge down to its lowest settings I measured the string heights. Here are the measurements:

On the bass side and treble side the measurements were identical and as follow:

1st fret: 1.5 mm / 12 Fret : 3.5 mm / 22 fret : 4 mm

straight ruler sitting on the frets and extending over the pickups to give an idea of where the fret height/line is in relation to the bridge height

Does that help at all?

Let me know

Thank you

[WeirdBits]

Those pics are exactly what we needed. The side-on shots give a good indication of the neck and action along its length, and that final image with the steel rule shows (generally) how the neck angle sits in relation to the pickups and bridge height.

The action (string height) is obviously way too high and that last image shows that neck angle will need to be tweaked to bring the action down and allow a reasonable range of adjustment on the bridge. There are a couple of options here (shim/wedge, re-profile etc), but I think an expert opinion would be best so I'll ask DB to have a look at this thread and offer his suggestions.

Edit: Quick back of the envelope calc... a 1mm shim at the back of the neck pocket would give around a half degree change in neck angle and produce a 6-7mm change at the bridge (very rough calc with estimated values).

[dingobass]

Thanks for alerting me to this one Weirdy.

There are a few options availble here. As Weirdy pointed out, a wedge shaped shim at the rear of the heel is one.
I personally would avoid this, as it looks like the break angle is fairly close to what it should be.

The next option is to do some work on the base of the bridge.

Grab a piece of 180grit sand paper and hold it down over the body where the bridge sits and start sanding the base.
Sand in the direction of neck to rear, not side to side.
This will help to lower the over all height and also match the profile of the bridge base to the body.
You will need to take care not to sand it unevenly..

Next step is to remove the bridge and file the areas where the bridge sits on the height adjustment wheels.
Again, take care to remove the same amount from both sides.
You can safely remove 4-5mm without compromising the strength of the bridge.

The combination of both should bring the height down enough to give you enough adjustment.

Next step will be to adjust the nut height. Gently tap it off and sand the base, again check regularly to make sure you don't remove too much.

Hope this helps

[Dekka28]

Hi weirdBits ad DB

Thank you for the precious information. I'll get cracking and post some update.

DB would you be able to have a look at the gap issue I have on the treble side of the neck?

Let me know if you need any pictures or measurements

Cheers

[dingobass]

Oops, I missed the gap part..
Can you post a close up pic please?

[Dekka28]

Hi DB,

No problem I have loads of pictures!!!

the slight gap on the treble side. The bass side is completely flush with the body. the treble side however is not. See below (I could actually slide my card sized tool in the gap without any problem)


Gap on treble side:


And to give you an idea of the fret board gap



thank you