Tonerider bridge pick up, scale length and cavity routing

[Johnny Bravo]

I re-measured, starting at 100mm and still got the same measurement. Whew.

So, here's my dilemma (apologies for the pedantry but this feels like a "cross roads" moment that I'm going to royally stuff up!).



The left picture is with the bridge in position (using the pre-drilled holes) which gives me my scale length. The second picture shows what I think I will need to route out.

I'm just triple checking but I think I just need to use the existing pre-drilled holes for the bridge and just route out the mm or so (I think this is the way I am heading and means that the front of the bridge lines up much better with the scratch plate). I'm going to use a sanding drum and take it very slowly.

The other option (ie making sure that the pickup is happy first and then fit the bridge relative to that) worries me because I'll have to set the bridge another 1-2mm back and I don't think I'll have enough play in the saddles (ie need longer threads) and have to fill and re-drill the bridge screw holes.

I'm pretty sure that I've answered my own question now but a "You got this, Johnny. I agree with the first option" would be appreciated

Please forgive me - I hope to be a little more adventurous/less needy as I go along.

[Trevor Davies]

Option 1: Sanding drum away!

I had to do a similar sand on my TLA-1 kit.

[McCreed]

I will just add one more thing to check before committing to either option. (sorry, meant to mention this before)

Check that the mounting holes for the bridge are indeed perpendicular to the fretboard/neck. There have been kits that were drilled slightly askew and this can cause more headaches.

If they are all good, I would go Option 1. At least you know there's plenty of bridge plate to cover that extended cavity now.

As for Option 2, longer screws are easily sourced and have been used to get others' bridge position problems fixed.


I'll offer a little tip for using the sanding drum, you can take it or leave it...

To keep a cleaner, straighter line along the top of the cavity, clamp a piece scrap timber (with a clean edge) along the pencil line and use it as a "bumper" (almost like a template) to keep the drum from jumping or digging too deep.
You still need to be careful because it's not like having a bearing on a router bit, but it helps!

Do one straight section then reposition the "guide" for next one. The little rounded corners can be touched up freehand or getting creative with the guide.
At the end of the day it's going to be covered up, so if it looks like a dogs breakfast, only you'll know! I just think we all at least try to be as neat as we can .

[Rabbit]

I wouldn't worry about intonation...distortion fixes *everything*!

[Simon Barden]

The end hook on a retractable tape measure is loose so that it should read correctly when
a) hooked over the end of a piece of wood and pulled tight
b) pushed up against an object when measuring from that object e.g. a wall

What you don’t want to do is just place it so the end hook is somewhere between the two positions.

Like McCreed, I use a rigid metal rule for neck measurements. I have both 600mm and 1m rules as both come in handy. The 600mm one is good for placing on the neck to see where the line of the neck hits the bridge. A 1m rule is too long for this (unless the nut has been removed.

Another thumbs up for using a Dremel drum sander and a bit of wood as a guide/stop bar.

You may then need to enlarge the cable exit hole downwards a bit within the cavity, as you can sometimes end up with the pickup lead interfering with the pickup baseplate. Just enough so that the cable can bend downwards and run under the baseplate. If it doesn't, fine, If it does, don't try and put up with it, just make the bottom of the hole larger to a depth of 3-4mm.

[Rodc]

After you get the intonation right. Double check the string alignment by putting in the 2 E string tuning heads and running a couple of strings to the bridge. As I said, mine was out around 4mm. While you are doing that check to see if you have plenty of saddle adjustment too. My saddles were sitting on the bridge and the strings were still to high of the fretboard.

[Johnny Bravo]

Thank you everyone - your advice and willingness to help is humbling.

Very grateful.

Agree about the tape measure end.

Agree about making sure that the screw holes for the bridge are perpendicular. I'm going to make sure that the bridge doesn't move because of the screws going in at funny angles.

And, hell yeah, distortion fixes everything. Clean tone is for suckers who want to sound musical. Rock on!

[RocknRolf]

Wow, this thread is now laden with good info on scale lengths and bridge placement etc.

Just on the Tonerider vs kit bridge pickup: I had to rout extra to make the Tonerider trt1 fit.

On sanding drum techniques, I like to make strokes/passes to get a relative smooth finishing. No pushing, letting the drum do the work.

Good luck and have fun!

[McCreed]

The end hook on a retractable tape measure is loose so that it should read correctly when
a) hooked over the end of a piece of wood and pulled tight
b) pushed up against an object when measuring from that object e.g. a wall

What you don’t want to do is just place so the end hook is somewhere between the two positions.

Thanks Simon. You articulated that better than I did.
I should have said that pushed vs pulled tape measurement can vary (eg: overly loose cleat, worn cleat rivets etc).
It's good to check the tape against a steel rule to determine if it's accurate in both directions, and check it periodically.

Side Note:
When I did carpentry as a teenage apprentice (back around the Dark Ages) the boss would get grumpy if you let the tape snap back against the casing! That's exactly how those little rivets get loose and holes in the metal tape get distorted!