IB-5 FrankenLab Style

[Simon Barden]

I find they are greatly overrated.

Looks lovely.

[McCreed]

I thought those were sound holes in the body...


and, yes... looks great!

[wazkelly]

Looks great Frankie.

The kit supplied bridges are not too good when it comes to setup as the saddle barrels are quite thick in diameter and restrict how low you can go at the bridge end of things.

My EX5 had the same bridge and eventually swapped it out for something with lower and thinner saddles. Only dropped level by a small amount but still much lower action than before.

Preferred action height for low enders can vary from one person to the next. After formerly owning a couple of Ric's I have never played anything with as low an action. Great for playing with a pick but not so forgiving when playing finger style.

Some notable Bass players tend to suggest a little bit of high action is not too bad as it makes you work harder???

With 5 low end stringed things in my house all have differing action heights, mostly due to limitations in bridge designs and have them all set up as low as possible without buzzing, which has still left plenty of height in the middle part of fretboard.

Because the strings are thicker and vibrate more, trying to eliminate buzzing above 12th fret can be quite a challenge.

Good luck with your quest and trust you will have lots of fun along the way. Heck, you may even be tempted into crossing over to the dark side, ha ha!

Cheers Waz

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[FrankenWashie]

Looks great Frankie.

The kit supplied bridges are not too good when it comes to setup as the saddle barrels are quite thick in diameter and restrict how low you can go at the bridge end of things.

My EX5 had the same bridge and eventually swapped it out for something with lower and thinner saddles. Only dropped level by a small amount but still much lower action than before.

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Thanks Waz,
I had planned on Babicz individual bridges. But at 70 bucks a string it was hard to justify the cost given that I don’t actually play bass!

I’m going to run with it as is, I might trim the nut a bit and do some other fiddling and fettling. I have access to Machine tools at work so FrankenHacking the bridge is a possibility. I’ve got to pull the strings off and fit the electrics anyway, as well as get the HS logo on it. We can play around with it some more.


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[wazkelly]

If you could countersink the bridge so that base plate is flush with surface that would make a world of difference.

[FrankenWashie]

If you could countersink the bridge so that base plate is flush with surface that would make a world of difference.

Yeah I’ve been tossing that idea around Waz, if I get the base more or less flush mount to the front then that going to drop it roughly 4mm, this would then allow for further adjustment on the saddles themselves and it will let me dial the action in.
I still think I need to drop the nut a mm or so, but it feels sweet to play, or at least to pretend to play!

[wazkelly]

Yeah, best to work on one end at a time and in this instance the nut will be easiest and quickest. Are you using the supplied plastic one or something else?

[FrankenWashie]

Yeah, best to work on one end at a time and in this instance the nut will be easiest and quickest. Are you using the supplied plastic one or something else?

I’m going to use the factory plastic to pattern up on, then if it works okay I might craft a bone or a Brass one. At some point I still think the bridge will need addressing, though whether that is sticking to the supplied or changing out I am not really certain

[wazkelly]

I’m going to use the factory plastic to pattern up on, then if it works okay I might craft a bone or a Brass one. At some point I still think the bridge will need addressing, though whether that is sticking to the supplied or changing out I am not really certain

Hey Frankie, on the EX5 I used an adjustable nut which is awesome.

It is based on. Warwick Bass product called Just a Nut and can be found on their website and also this one too.....

https://www.thomann.de/gb/warwick_ju...ring_45_mm.htm

[FrankenWashie]

Hey Frankie, on the EX5 I used an adjustable nut which is awesome.

It is based on. Warwick Bass product called Just a Nut and can be found on their website and also this one too.....

https://www.thomann.de/gb/warwick_ju...ring_45_mm.htm

That’s a great idea Waz......and I have much brass and a fully equipped machine shop at work .

mwa ha ha ha MWA HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA!!!


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