Help. Bridge probs.

lungimsam

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1. I cannot get the G side lower than the E side. Usually have 7/64 on the E side and 5/64 on the G side.

G side action adjustment screw doesn’t make contact with bridge plate once you get down to 6/64. Any ideas? If I remove that grub screw the action stays at 6/64.

2. Strings have also become too close again to the pick up housing at my usual preferred height as described above. I have to lower the pole pieces below the housing so it’s not over driven. Can I just remove that black mounting ring and leave the pick up flush to the face?
 

lungimsam

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PS to no. 1: ...and the E side is at 6/64 and I dont want that lower.
 

Nuuska

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Hello from Finland

Since I do not know you - I assume you are talkin about electric bass guitar - what you describe leads me to think, that either the neck is not straight or it needs reset. First one is easy and costs nothing - second ....
 

lungimsam

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NS Starfire bass.
Straight neck with about a business card of relief at 9 fret with 1st fret clamped and last fret held down.
 

Happy Face

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I am surprised you've gotten the action that low and can still intonate it. Well done. I'd leave it be! Or, god forbid, push up the E string to match?
 

lungimsam

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?!?!
Is 7/64 on the E side and 5/64 on the G side at 17th fret (no press, top of fret to underside of string) considered low for a Starfire? Intonates fine. Same for me Pbass and Ricky.

What’r you cats running your action at?
 
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mellowgerman

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I removed the mounting ring from under the bisonic on my 1970 SFB-I because it made the face of the pickup almost level with the fretboard. With more dynamic playing, the strings were then bouncing off of the face of the pickup and clanking. My old '66 starfire already had the mounting ring removed when I got it. In both cases though the pole pieces just had to come up a bit and all was well.
***sidenote to save you some time: the ring should be able slip over the pickup without any unsoldering. Just remove the four screws that mount the pickup itself to the body of the bass, turn it sideways and it should fit right through the hole in the mounting ring (like a car exiting a 1-car garage, if that makes sense)
As for the bridge tilt, try loosening (only a tiny bit) the two phillips head screws at the back of the bridge. They are supposed to be a pivoting point for the bridge to function properly, so they aren't supposed to be fully tightened down. I imagine whoever put your bass together in the factory probably just tightened them a bit too much
 
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lungimsam

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Ok. Thanks alot. I will try and report back. I was thinking that backing off the big screws a touch might allow more tilt of the bridge.

I also have been getting some clanking. I play with a heavy stroke. I’m not sure where comes from. Perhaps removing the ring will help eliminate.

Does it look wierd without ring?
I am guessing it won’t lay flat since the face is curved.
 

lungimsam

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Thanks. It will be interesting to see what it sounds like with some space between the housing and strings.
 

mellowgerman

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I'm pretty sure I read in an interview with Rick Turner(?) that he thinks it important for the coil itself to be close to the string to also sense the string's vibrations to add extra richness to the tone... obviously he's one of the top dogs when it comes to understanding the electronics and sound, but to my ears, the only difference I heard before and after the removing the mounting ring and raising the pole pieces accordingly was that the clank of the string butting up against the face of the pickup was gone.
To my ears and for my purposes the ol' Starfire sounds plenty lush and rich:
https://soundcloud.com/mellowgerman/mixst004-1wav
 

lungimsam

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UPDATE:

Bassis now at : E7/64 and G at 6/64. So that is tolerable. Neck straight but still feels high. Probably because I have a high tension set on the bass.

Removed Pup ring. Strings are now over the pup face at: E side-10/32, G side 9/32. Pole pieces flush with pup top.
Bass sounds way better. Now it talks. It was too overdriven (in a bad way) being so close to the strings before.
Nice fundamental, and the fret clank is toned down nicely.

I will start a new thread of NS Starfire pup cavity and pup shots i took while I was at it. Also, you will be able to see that the pup flange sits virtually flat on the bass face now. I only tightened the screws with three fingers on the screwdriver to be sure I didn't put much pressure of the wood face. Also, note the pup bobbin looks melted on one side. Is this normal?

Next project will be pup shielding.
 

lungimsam

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So is that one of those rotary switches with all the caps on it that you can click through? I have seen those before. Sounds gorgeous. Hard to chose which tone I like best. Decision paralysis!

Your bass has that vintage tone. It’s that vocal tone and the way the attack sounds. Hard to describe. Mine has a neutral sounding tone. A lot of it has to do with hands for sure.
 

mellowgerman

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So is that one of those rotary switches with all the caps on it that you can click through? I have seen those before. Sounds gorgeous. Hard to chose which tone I like best. Decision paralysis!

Your bass has that vintage tone. It’s that vocal tone and the way the attack sounds. Hard to describe. Mine has a neutral sounding tone. A lot of it has to do with hands for sure.

Thanks for the kind words!
And yes, the switch has 12 positions. The first is a direct bypass, the other 11 are various capacitors, resistors, and an inductor that they all run through. The neat thing about this circuit is that the switch works in conjunction with the "tone" knob. Most traditional tone knobs have a single capacitor that from a certain cut-off in the frequency spectrum send highs/treble to the ground, creating a gradual fade to a darker sound. This switch essentially lets you customize your tone control on the fly by picking between the 11 different combinations of capacitor, resistor, and inductor.
 
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