Bass bridge position question - Nut to 12th Fret is 433mm

[Tim Stahlmann]

I am a first time builder as well doing a PB1 kit. When I measure from the middle of the nut to the middle of the 12th fret I get a measurement 433mm. A little longer than 431.8 that others have. When placing my bridge do I then measure 433mm from the 12th fret to the bridge saddle? Also is there a particular string saddle that works best as the low E and A strings have shorter intonation screws.

Cheers for you help.

Tim

[Brendan]

Tim - the measurements should be fine - could be measurement issue with others.

Have you checked out: https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=3048 - former luthier that was part of the forum wrote it for me when I made my first PB-4 kit, so it should be pretty close...

The 433mm you are looking for is ideally to have a couple of mm either side worth of play to give you room to intonate.

[Tim Stahlmann]

Thanks mate, Cheers. for some reason i ended up doing the finish on the body before i drilled holes. not sure why i did this

[Brendan]

Should still be right - post some photos if you have any concerns.

[fender3x]

Others will correct me if this is wrong, but I think the measurement should be from the fingerboard side of the (not the center) to the center of the 12th fret. That would probably account for the small difference you are seeing. In other words, it's from stop-point to stop-point on the vibrating string. Center on the fret because it's rounded. Fingerboard end of the nut because it's not.

Similarly, going the other way, it should be the same length from the center of the 12th fret to the point at which the string stops on the G string bridge saddle. That's the center on a normal Fender Bridge. It's the end closest to the pickups on a Gibson three-point or tune-o-matic.

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[fender3x]

That should have said "fingerboard side of the nut".

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