You've got loads of saddle movement on that bridge. Set the saddles fully forward (end of the screw flush with the end of the saddle), then the top C string should sit slightly back from that when intonated and the rest then staggered backward from there. You still want to give yourself plenty of space to move the low B string saddle backwards as much as possible without over-squashing the spring.
One last thing, there is a tiny hole for the wire to earth the bridge that comes out under the bridge. But the bridge is covered in black paint which doesn't conduct electricity, and there isn't much room to solder the wire to the bridge without making the bridge stick up.
Should I scratch some paint off the bottom to solder it? Is there a good way to solder it so that the bridge still lies flat?.
Hi Jarro,
No need to solder the wire to the bridge. Just scratch (sand) some paint off the bottom of bridge near the hole, splay the ground wires out from the hole, and screw the bridge in place. The pressure creates a good connection.
PitBull Builds: FVB-4, LP-1SS, FBM-1, AG-2, TB-4, SSCM-1, TLA-1, TL-1TB, STA-1HT, DSCM-1 Truckster, ST-1, STA-1, MBM-1.
Scratch Builds: Pine Explorer, Axe Bass, Mr Scary, Scratchy Tele's.
The little voices in my head keep telling me "build more guitars"
Oh perfect, too easy.
I guess the strings don't end up grounded like with other guitars because the whole bridge is painted. I'm not sure how much that matters.
Any tips for wrapping the strings around the posts? I had a string pop off because the post is open, which I've never had in any other guitar.
If there’s no hole in the centre of the post to poke the string end down, then looking at pics of other IB bass kit builds, people often seem to put the first wrap above the string end going through the slot and the rest then below the string end.
I must admit it’s not a great tuner post design. The bottom of the slot is at the base of the curved section of the post, and not in the centre, so the tendency is for the string wraps to push the string up the post.
Oh yeah I see a hole, that's different to other guitars for sure.
Now I just have to fix the nut slots and get the action right, it's a bit hard to play right now.
I managed to get the welding tip cleaners to work for the highest three strings, but I can't find anything to improvise for the bigger strings. I might end up buying nut files.
I generally use the pointed tip of a needle file to cut the bigger nut slots on a bass nut, though I did rediscover an old nut file set that does bass strings as well as guitar ones, which makes things a bit easier.
I think I will give that a go first, thanks.
Would you cut the slots to the right relative height and sand the base down, or just cut the slots to the right height? I've read that the slots being too deep can be bad, but I'm not sure how much it matters.
Here is the almost finished product.
For ease of fretting and minimal out of tuneness, you really want to get the strings sitting as close to the first fret as possible without buzzing. That distance will depend on your playing style. If you really dig in hard or pull at the strings, then you’ll need a bit more height than if you play lore gently and let the amp do the work.
Having the slots too high can result in notes sounding sharp on the first few frets as you need to apply more pressure to fret each string, increasing the string tension and making the note sharp, as well as making the bass harder to play.
But too low and you’ll get open strings buzzing on the first couple of frets, either occasionally (on loud notes) or all the time. Then it’s time to replace the nut.
The bass is looking really good.
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