Floating bridge help

[RussL30]

Can someone help me or give me some guidelines with an arch top style floating bridge? I changed strings on my semi hollow yesterday and did not realize it did not have a set bridge like my Sheraton and now I have the intonation all off even after the strings have settled. Where does the bridge need to be located in relation to the tail piece and the pickup? I'm hoping I can loosen the string and make the adjustment.

Here's a photo of how it sits now. Thanks for any help

[blue]

Well, start by establishing the scale length, and tweak from there. Look up how to check harmonic vs. open string.

You've learned the most valuable lesson of all. Strings are best changed one at a time

[JeffreyAK]

Common mandolin mistake too, as I discovered the first time I changed strings on my first mando. You are just going to have to get there by trial and error.

What I would do is, use masking tape squares to locate where your bridge is now, then loosen all the strings except the outer two, then loosen those two just enough to move the bridge to a new location, then tune up the outer two strings only and check intonation at the 12th fret. Fretted note higher than the harmonic, and you have to move the bridge away from the neck, so move it a little bit relative to the tape squares and then move the tape squares to the new position and check again. Since your saddles are individually adjustable, you don't have to get it absolutely perfect, just close enough that you can finish the job by moving the saddles.

[RussL30]

Thanks for the advice. I'll go play around with it and see how it goes. I'm used to taking the strings completely off my other guitars so I can clrsh them. This is definitely a hard lesson learned.

[ras1500]

Measure the distance from the nut to the twelfth fret. The bridge should be that distance from the twelfth fret. You may have to tweak a bit from there.

[blue]

Originally Posted by RussL30

Thanks for the advice. I'll go play around with it and see how it goes. I'm used to taking the strings completely off my other guitars so I can clrsh them. This is definitely a hard lesson learned.

I hear you. I've been trained by my Resonator guitars. The best sounding resonator guitar is one that NEVER has the strings off it. Hence all the gunk on my fingerboards Every 5 or so years I will unstring a reso and clean the fretboard, and give a good polish to the understring area. But even then the tailpiece on a national style reso has to be restrung just ever so, maintaining as close as possible to even tension on the bass and treble side or they can snap.

As a result the one sting at a time thing has carried over to all my guitars. When I was looking for a hollow/semi-hollow, key words in my search were "pinned bridge"

[Steve DeRosa]

Lifelong archtop player here:

As with the members of the violin family, start by using the inside "points" at the center of the f-holes as your initial guide (a couple inches higher than where you've got the bridge set right now). You'll need to center the bridge so that you can draw a straight line between both points, that intersects the height-adjustment wheel shafts (doing this by "eye" is OK, as you'll be moving the entire bridge assembly shortly); making sure the bridge base is perpendicular to the center seam of the top (don't "slant" the bridge base - you'll be using the TOM saddles to set intonation) use an electronic tuner to check the 12th-fret harmonic against the fingered note on both the low- and high-E strings. If you've done this correctly (and the luthier was respectful enough of tradition) you should be fairly close - at this point it simply becomes a matter of fine-tuning by moving the entire bridge assembly closer to/farther from the tailpiece (remembering to keep it square to the center seam), and adjusting the individual saddles as necessary. While I agree 100% with the idea of restringing one-at-a-time (you want to keep as constant a tension as possible on the string path in the interest of structural stability), should you need to perform structural/electronic repairs or wish to give your guitar a thorough cleaning it'll be easy to reset the bridge again using this method...


Hope this helps...

[redir]

Originally Posted by ras1500

Measure the distance from the nut to the twelfth fret. The bridge should be that distance from the twelfth fret. You may have to tweak a bit from there.

Add .1 or about 3/32nd inch to that for compensation and you will be pretty spot on.

[The Old Gaffer]

Originally Posted by redir

Add .1 or about 3/32nd inch to that for compensation and you will be pretty spot on.

This is so elegant! Better than what I do, which is to make a small pencil mark on the top where the bridge was.

[RussL30]

Thanks everyone for the great and informative replies. I learned a ton from reading them and found them very helpful.

Originally Posted by ras1500

Measure the distance from the nut to the twelfth fret. The bridge should be that distance from the twelfth fret. You may have to tweak a bit from there.

I ended up starting with this suggestion, and then I used redir's suggestion of adding a .1 inch of compensation and it seems to have done the trick. It sounds in tune up and down the neck now. Thanks again, I was afraid I wasn't going to get this awesome sounding guitar's intonation right again.

[redir]

Originally Posted by The Old Gaffer

This is so elegant! Better than what I do, which is to make a small pencil mark on the top where the bridge was.

Actually that's a great idea then you don't need to pull out the ruler every time it happens.

BTW to the OP that's a cool looking guitar I like the pearl mastic inlay. What kind of guitar is it?

[RussL30]

Originally Posted by redir

Actually that's a great idea then you don't need to pull out the ruler every time it happens.

BTW to the OP that's a cool looking guitar I like the pearl mastic inlay. What kind of guitar is it?

Thanks! It was handmade by a luthier named Julius Bennett. It was made for a family friend of mine that worked with Elvis in the 50's and 60's, but never played guitar and was graciously gifted to me last Christmas.

Here's a thread about it I posted a while back.

http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...d.php?t=454829

[The Old Gaffer]

Originally Posted by redir

Actually that's a great idea then you don't need to pull out the ruler every time it happens.

BTW to the OP that's a cool looking guitar I like the pearl mastic inlay. What kind of guitar is it?

With floating bridges, I also find it even easier to change just one string at a time.

[redir]

Originally Posted by RussL30

Thanks! It was handmade by a luthier named Julius Bennett. It was made for a family friend of mine that worked with Elvis in the 50's and 60's, but never played guitar and was graciously gifted to me last Christmas.

Here's a thread about it I posted a while back.

http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...d.php?t=454829

Oh yeah I remember that, I even commented on it. That is a very cool guitar, must be a joy to play.

Originally Posted by The Old Gaffer

With floating bridges, I also find it even easier to change just one string at a time.

That's probably the best practice, if aint broke...

[DupleMeter]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

Lifelong archtop player here:

As with the members of the violin family, start by using the inside "points" at the center of the f-holes as your initial guide (a couple inches higher than where you've got the bridge set right now). You'll need to center the bridge so that you can draw a straight line between both points, that intersects the height-adjustment wheel shafts (doing this by "eye" is OK, as you'll be moving the entire bridge assembly shortly); making sure the bridge base is perpendicular to the center seam of the top (don't "slant" the bridge base - you'll be using the TOM saddles to set intonation) use an electronic tuner to check the 12th-fret harmonic against the fingered note on both the low- and high-E strings. If you've done this correctly (and the luthier was respectful enough of tradition) you should be fairly close - at this point it simply becomes a matter of fine-tuning by moving the entire bridge assembly closer to/farther from the tailpiece (remembering to keep it square to the center seam), and adjusting the individual saddles as necessary. While I agree 100% with the idea of restringing one-at-a-time (you want to keep as constant a tension as possible on the string path in the interest of structural stability), should you need to perform structural/electronic repairs or wish to give your guitar a thorough cleaning it'll be easy to reset the bridge again using this method...


Hope this helps...

^
This is exactly right. It may take some fiddling (heh heh), but this is the process.