Questions about Novaks and Hipshots
- Thread starter thornev
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thornev
Junior Member
Mmm, it's not really red. It's between red and brown, I'd say more toward brown. Phone cameras don't always capture color accurately.
mellowgerman
Senior Member
Interesting. I think certain Starfire basses may of course work better than others with wood or aluminum, but the Hipshot on my Starfire is much lighter in weight and mass and there is absolutely 0 lack in sustain or big lows. I have been tempted by the idea of getting a Newark Street bridge, redrilling the filled holes of the original bridge, and just seeing what it sounds like on this bass, with these pickups and electronics. Currently unlikely to happen though, I love it as is
lungimsam
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I would never go back to a harp bridge after having your hipshot on the bass.
Just tonight, it was a lotta tailpiece back and forth and side to side between the two action grub screws and two rear tailpiece screws to achieve my desired action of 8/64 on low E side and 5/64 on g side at 17th fret. You gotta find the right compromise on the front and back of tailpiece to get it low enough on the one side yet high enough in the other side aaaand maintain a reasonable break angle and still keep both grub screws from lifting off face plate cuz sometimes when you tighten or loosen rear mounting screws it liftes the front off the face plate. And sometimes the grub screws get jammed if you tighten the back screws down too much.
Why go thru all that when , with your hipshot, all you have to do is go adjust the saddle screws. Easy peasy. Why go back.
Just tonight, it was a lotta tailpiece back and forth and side to side between the two action grub screws and two rear tailpiece screws to achieve my desired action of 8/64 on low E side and 5/64 on g side at 17th fret. You gotta find the right compromise on the front and back of tailpiece to get it low enough on the one side yet high enough in the other side aaaand maintain a reasonable break angle and still keep both grub screws from lifting off face plate cuz sometimes when you tighten or loosen rear mounting screws it liftes the front off the face plate. And sometimes the grub screws get jammed if you tighten the back screws down too much.
Why go thru all that when , with your hipshot, all you have to do is go adjust the saddle screws. Easy peasy. Why go back.
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fronobulax
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Why am I reminded that those who don't study history are bound to repeat it?
mellowgerman
Senior Member
I suppose I've just never experienced any real frustration with my harp bridges. I might also have a wider range of what is acceptable in terms of action satisfaction. I've always liked my basses to have what I consider "medium-low", but I've never bothered measuring. I just set it until it feels right and where I can really dig in without the string vibration choking out on nearby frets. Compared to the upright basses I used to play, even a Starfire with medium-high action would still feel relatively easy to play. My criteria are basically just no notable fret-buzz/string-choking and of course it has to be low enough to where the intonation doesn't get thrown off by fretting. I've only ever had one other bassist play one of mine and tell me that the action was too high for him. That said, he plays a very nice German-made Warwick Thumb bass with a light touch, round wounds, with slappy/tappy stuff mixed in, and his action is crazy low (I believe the bass was Plek'd as well). Pretty much all my other bass-playing compadres remark on how comfy my Starfires and other basses are to play.
Sidenote, for fine-tuning action on your harp bridge, you can also file the slots on your saddles deeper as needed, much like setting the action on an acoustic guitar saddle. I've done this, mostly on the outside saddles, when you want it a touch lower there, but the string next to it fine as is. Of course, you just want to avoid going too deep, because then you're either stuck with it, have to shim the saddle, or get a new set.
Sidenote, for fine-tuning action on your harp bridge, you can also file the slots on your saddles deeper as needed, much like setting the action on an acoustic guitar saddle. I've done this, mostly on the outside saddles, when you want it a touch lower there, but the string next to it fine as is. Of course, you just want to avoid going too deep, because then you're either stuck with it, have to shim the saddle, or get a new set.
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hieronymous
Member
"Action satisfaction" - great term! My tolerance is definitely high for higher action - it has to be noticeably bad for me to try and make adjustments beyond saddle height.
thornev
Junior Member
And on the other side of the discussion is me who likes "as low as possible" without any major buzzing. Of course, that means an absolute straight neck is mandatory and is one of the first things I check when I buy a guitar. If it's not perfectly straight, I ensure there's a refund policy in case I can't make it straight at home. I use extra light strings, so my action HAS TO BE low so that fretting the strings doesn't cause intonation issues. I do all my own setups. Store guitar techs have claimed my action requirements are ridiculous. I love that !