Substandard bridge

[bassduke49]

This has been discussed before, but I thought I would add some documentation. This bridge was bought new from Pick of the Ricks. The story is this: Chatting with Graham Griffiths at the RIO confluence, discovered he was looking for a bridge that would fit the old tailpieces. I had a replacement tailpiece put on my "mink" bass several years back, but I had the old bridge sitting in it. It didn't quite fit, because they changed the proportions of the bridge (and the cavity for it in the tailpiece) sometime back, and the old bridge was kinda jammed in the new tailpiece. Graham offered to get a new bridge sent to me in exchange for the old one that would fit his bass. Good. Shortly after, the new bridge arrived from POR, all wrapped in plastic. Unbeknownst to Graham, Chris, or me, the bridge is not a good one. Oh, it fits the tailpiece, alright, but I noticed the strings were buzzing at the bridge end. A close look revealed the problem. This is one where the saddles don't sit down onto the bridge. And here's why: comparing with other bridges in my collection, it appears to me that the holes for the intonation-adjusting screws were tapped farther toward the end of the tang than usual, resulting in the saddle sitting higher up off the bridge. There's enough play in the slots for the tangs to allow the saddles to tilt to either side. See photos:

Now, here's the rub. Called RIC and talked with Kenny since I was unsure how to handle a warranty situation. Kenny tells me to go to the dealer, and also says he's heard of this problem in a few cases. OK, I call Chris at POR, and he's out of bass bridges, and has been having trouble lately getting warranty parts replacements from RIC. So he doesn't know when or if he'll be able to cover the warranty part.

Note that I took this to the proper channels before bringing it here. It's not a big problem, as I have other instruments to play. Maybe I can just sit on this one and hope that RIC will bring out the new improved 4003 tailpiece/bridge assembly soon!?

[incubus2432]

Well that's ugly to look at!

Paul, with a little patience it could be "fixed" without too much trouble I would think. I'd find a set of long cheap (soft-ish) screws from the hardware store that fit the saddles, loctite on the threads, screw them in so the existing hole is filled, cut/grind them flush then redrill/tap the holes in the proper location. It may sound like too much hassle but there may not be many other options at the moment. Just a thought.

[bassduke49]

Thanks, Brian, but nah! I don't have a tap set, drill press, or the knowledge and patience to accomplish all of that. I'll wait for parts to become available.

[aceonbass]

Paul. I've run into this situation a few times. It's not the bridge itself that's the problem, it's the saddles. I have a couple of things I do to fix this situation. Send the assembly to me and I'll fix it free of charge. PM me and I'll send you my address.

PS: Are your strings evenly spaced? It doesn't look like it from those pics.

[bassduke49]

Thanks, Dane. Strings evenly spaced? I dunno. The saddles had the grooves cut into them already (is that normal?) and I didn't have it on the bass long enough to notice the spacing.

Is your fix shimming?

[nukebass]

Since the bridge was new, is it possible to just order the saddles and have those replaced? It looks like RIC has them in the boutique.

[bassduke49]

I suppose, but then I might get bad ones again. Assuming I couldn't get them exchanged, that's $20 plus shipping for something that might not be any better.

[jingle_jangle]

Go to your local hardware or hobby store and pick up some K & N brass shim stock in .005" thickness (.007 is better if they have it). This stuff cuts with scissors and glues with super glue. Cut some tiny pieces of a size that would fit up under the loose saddles on either side. They curl slightly when you cut them, so tap them flat once cut. Slide them under the offending saddles on either side. Optionally, once you've got a rattle-free fit, you can remove the saddles and glue the shims under them. Sand the gluing surfaces on the shims and saddles a bit to give the super glue some real bite.

[jsod]

A while back I had a BlueBurst 4003 returned to the factory for a couple of warranty replacements, the bridge being one of them for exactly this reason.

See thread:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=261852&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

They didn't replace the bridge as it was deemed "normal" to have the saddles sticking up a bit; granted mine was not as bad as Paul's. I didn't have any string buzz, either.

Virtually all 4003's made since 2002 that I've seen appear to have non-flush saddles to varying extents.

[rickaddict]

I've noticed and commented on this problem since around 2002 or 2003. It's sad. I happen to like the old bridge/tail piece/ mute. It can work just fine if you get a good one, (many pre-2003 bridges work) but unfortunately that doesn't seem to be a priority at RIC. All it would take is a little more accuracy in the making of the saddles, a little more care in the mute pad size and placement, and a couple extra screws holding down the back of the tail and these basses would be SO much better.

[rickaddict]

Another example:

[incubus2432]

Has anyone ever tried the bridge without the adjusting screws/springs installed? That would allow the the saddles to drop down flush and once the strings are tuned the saddles shouldn't move. I realize it may take a little goofing around to get the intonation set since the saddles may want to slide some when tuning but with a little trial and error and maybe some creative holding of the saddles it should be doable. I may be wrong and they might shift too much during tuning for it to work......I don't have a 4003 handy to test it out on.

Another thought would also be to intonate the bass properly, mark the saddle locations, remove the screws/springs and just krazy glue the saddles in position. They wouldn't have to be smothered in glue......just enough to hold 'em in place. Again, not a perfect solution but it would at least allow the bass to be usable and is nothing a quick bath in some nail polish remover won't reverse. I never found the need to tweak my intonation much once it was initially set anyway.....even with frequent string changes it pretty much stays dead on.

[beatlefreak]

I would think the shims under the saddles as Paul mentioned would be he easiest fix, and allow the greatest flexibility.

[johnallg]

But it shouldn't take all this to have it work....

[wints]

"But it shouldn't take all this to have it work...."

Ever the correct observation from JA there....

Answer= H-I-P-S-H-O-T