Wazkelly Build diary for DIY closing down sale Ash J Bass

[wazkelly]

I like it when a plan comes together.

Thanks Simon.

Re-checked intonation after lowering the PUP's and it was still off a bit on the G so as there was very little adjustment room left to work with that forced me into fitting the replacement. Unfortunately the theory about magnetic forces pulling on the strings because PUP's were too high may not have been contributing much to the intonation woes. It could have affected the harmonics a small amount but was too hard to identify and the fretted 12th on the G was still reading off by enough to be noticeable.

[Simon Barden]

Did you find the bottom B string hard to fit through the hole in the rear of the bridge? I've got an 80's Peavey 5-string that I'm refinishing (and is currently part sanded and all in bits). Whilst it is supposed to be from their custom shop, its serial number of 888888 (on a holographic Peavey custom shop label) leads me to think that it might have been a prototype, especially as it was very poorly finished with no grain filling. The bridge is quite robust, with a thick rear bar, but I really had to pull the B string through using pliers and a lot of force.



As a result, I want to get a different bridge, but most of that style of bridge use the same sized holes for all the strings - and the same size as all the holes in the equivalent 4-string bridges. This strikes me as wrong. I may also look at rear string mounting bridges, as I'm now happier about drilling through the body and fitting ferrules. But again, all the string ferrules seem to have the same sized holes! It may be time to get the drill out on those as well.

Also, the bottom B sounded very dull indeed in comparison to the other four strings, with far less sustain, even though there was a decent break angle over the nut and bridge saddle. This was with two sets of strings. Is this normal?

I suppose this might be something to do with the pickups, which I also want to change, but they are all encapsulated in resin, so I can't take them apart to see if they might possibly have 4-string innards. It did have active treble and bass controls, but they weren't nice sounding and the overall tone was very growly, so I may first try the pickups in a passive mode in case they can be redeemed, but they will more likely be swapped for some other soapbar pickups.

[wazkelly]

Hi Simon, my fiver is the EX-5 and bridge looks similar to the one on your Peavey except the holes are big enough to take the ball ends into the base as per this shot. It is the standard PBG bridge that comes with the kit and have seen many that look similar on eBay.



I am guessing that it is the ball ends that are protruding as they are doing the same on the Red J Bass as seen in last shot on the lower RHS of that post where the strings used are D'addario. Can't remember what are on the EX-5 and tend to think they are more a mid priced set as I have only been playing it on & off for the past 6 months. Must say that the string holes do seem to have a bigger diameter.

Not sure rear loading would solve the problem unless you can find ferrules big enough to swallow the ball ends. There are some of the top mounted 'claw' styles that might work where the string is brought in through a groove at the back edge.

Low B was quite dull on mine too and reckon that had something to do with the much lower subsonics as it is also much harder to tune with a tuner too. Thickness of string plus string tension are probably affecting sustain too but I found this was more of an issue on open B and up to C and rarely play those anyway.

Swapping to better PUP's made a huge difference and all the strings now have same volume level and tonal clarity. Mine measure 102mm x 40mm and replaced with John Benson Customs for USD $200 plus $20 postage & handling. They had to be ordered via Adam at PBG as a special order and took a couple of months to arrive.

Hope some of this helps and makes sense.

[Simon Barden]

It wasn't an issue with the ball ends protruding, just that the string hole size was too small for the actual B string to go through smoothly. I did go for a heavier gauge of strings than I would normally have chosen, as I'd read in several places that the low B needed to be above a certain size to work well. I can't remember what gauge first got fitted as it was several years ago now but probably 45-135, they were an expensive set of player-named DR strings (maybe Marcus Miller?). They were then replaced by a set of Peavey Cirrus strings (which I was sure would fit as they were designed for the bass!) but had the same issue. I think the biggest problem was where the silk windings went round the ends of the strings - I had to get a knife and cut the silk away as it wouldn't fit through at all without doing that!

Looking at some Schaller 5-string bridge drawings, I see that their string hole diameter is 4.6mm on a top-mount bridge (with a 6mm diameter string ferrule indent) and 4.8mm on a string-through bridge. As a 0.135" string has a diameter of 3.43mm (plus manufacturing tolerances), there shouldn't be an issue (although there is no indication of diameter at the start of the silk windings)

But I'm also a bit limited to the choice of bridges as I think the Peavey has a wider than normal (or wider than Fender at least) string spacing. It's difficult to find details like the hole sizes in string ferrules and bridges from most manufacturers. So I need to find an adjustable width bridge that will fit my string spacing requirements and that I know has a large enough string hole size.

Why can't it be easy?

[wazkelly]

Hey Simon, all you can do is find the nearest best fit and run with that.

String spacings could be an issue if your neck is quite narrow towards end of the fret board. Never seen or heard of a bridge with sideways adjustable saddles. Maybe these individual bits might do the trick?

[Simon Barden]

Some of the Schaller bridges have sideways adjustment. Had problems with getting a better bridge for narrow bass string spacings before, but the Peavey seems to be a wider spacing than standard by a few mm.

I'd thought about individual saddles, but it would then be a case of having to fill in and disguise the existing saddle fixing screw holes. The individual ones would be good on an un-drilled body.

[wazkelly]

Yeah, just re-checked your bridge and it is anchored with 6 screws and they are positioned either side of the string so those individual ones wouldn't hide the old holes.

Never got past the price tag on Schaller to see what they could or couldn't do. Maybe they are cheaper in UK? Are they still made in Germany?

[Simon Barden]

They still are made there. Which generally explains the higher prices. Still expensive compared to say the average Gotoh bridge, but there is a lot more engineering and adjustability in them.

[wazkelly]

Can't beat German engineering.

Shipping and exchange rates tend to price them a bit out of reach once they get to this far flung part of the planet.

[Simon Barden]

Still, if you wanted to spend a lot of money on a bridge, some of the ABR ones (another German brand) are about double the price of the Schallers.