Greetings -
I just received a B4CE and it is quite a bit of fun. There are a couple of issues with it and I would be grateful for any guidance you might have:
The 2 significant issues: The bridge is lifting and the piezo has a hum. This is an auction item and the seller is being really cooperative and will rectify the issue to my liking.
First question: What is the likelihood that the bridge lift and the hum are related? (the bridge is up only at the area with the pins, and lifted roughly the thickness of a credit card (scant). The saddle appears to be slightly pulled forward - off square with the bridge - in the direction of the string tension. The piezo is silenced by touching the end pin/jack. The action is somewhere around 3mm at the 12th. I have never played a bass before but it seems playable and has good acoustic volume. Hard to say what the effect of resetting the bridge would be on the action, but I expect it would be minor.
Second question: what would be a typical height for the E at the 12th? I imagine there is a range.
Third question: With the seller paying, does resetting the bridge seem like a big deal to any of you? I like older guitars and I have become accustomed to view some work to be like maintenance. First thing out of the box is a bit of a rub, however.
I will be recording with this instrument and the hum in the fishman would be a fatal flaw. It was undeclared by the seller and I have no experience with these at all.
At this point, I am tending toward keeping it, the seller thinks it might have happened in transit - the strings were at full tension, and the packing between the case and the box was pretty light. The seller is eager to make it right for me.
And besides if I keep it, I am only 97 behind Grot.
I would be grateful for any thoughts you might have. My tech will weigh in too.
thank you,
Ned
I just received a B4CE and it is quite a bit of fun. There are a couple of issues with it and I would be grateful for any guidance you might have:
The 2 significant issues: The bridge is lifting and the piezo has a hum. This is an auction item and the seller is being really cooperative and will rectify the issue to my liking.
First question: What is the likelihood that the bridge lift and the hum are related? (the bridge is up only at the area with the pins, and lifted roughly the thickness of a credit card (scant). The saddle appears to be slightly pulled forward - off square with the bridge - in the direction of the string tension. The piezo is silenced by touching the end pin/jack. The action is somewhere around 3mm at the 12th. I have never played a bass before but it seems playable and has good acoustic volume. Hard to say what the effect of resetting the bridge would be on the action, but I expect it would be minor.
Second question: what would be a typical height for the E at the 12th? I imagine there is a range.
Third question: With the seller paying, does resetting the bridge seem like a big deal to any of you? I like older guitars and I have become accustomed to view some work to be like maintenance. First thing out of the box is a bit of a rub, however.
I will be recording with this instrument and the hum in the fishman would be a fatal flaw. It was undeclared by the seller and I have no experience with these at all.
At this point, I am tending toward keeping it, the seller thinks it might have happened in transit - the strings were at full tension, and the packing between the case and the box was pretty light. The seller is eager to make it right for me.
And besides if I keep it, I am only 97 behind Grot.
I would be grateful for any thoughts you might have. My tech will weigh in too.
thank you,
Ned