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Hipshot "a" Bass Bridge Users


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Hey guys - I have the dimension charts of the HS bridges from their site of course, however I do not have (and cannot find) information on the saddle height adjustment ranges. It looks like HS use the same saddle block design on most bridges, like the A, D (I love that one), Rickenbacker replacement and the Supertone, etc.

If anybody could fill me in on the minimum base-to-breakpoint size and either the length of the height adjustment grubs or maximum "lift" I would be very grateful!

Cheers all.

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  • 5 years later...

Alright, they are in! Here's what I've measured. Keep in mind this is for the four string version of the A-style Hipshot bridge. This is key, because as you'll see below, the middle two saddles are on a higher plane when bottomed out than the outside two saddles. Measurements are from bottom of bridge (touching body) to the saddles top where the string touches.

Middle two saddles: .420-.688" for a range of .298"

Outside two saddles: .394-.618" for a range of .224"

Looks like the two saddles have different ranges... which would make sense if you notice that they're on different planes. I guess they're also included slightly different length grub screws as they assume radii get more extreme than their saddle-height-offsets, not frequently less? Makes sense to me since a lot of people use these bridges as Fender (tight radius) replacements. This means the middle saddles need more range.

One thing to keep in mind is that the max heights listed above are the max the set screws will extend before coming out of the bottom of the saddle. This does not mean I would suggest using them that tall. This angles the saddle and I image you'd gain less height as you intonated the saddle backwards since the intonation screw pulls it slightly down when set this tall.

Best,

Chris

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I did some quick calculations and I'm thinking that for a 34" scale base with a 9.5" radius and 2-2.5mm action at the 17th (Fender spec), a projection off the neck (fretted) of .4" sounds nice.

This is right in line with tradition because if you took a standard fender neck (1" thick + .050" of fretwire) and sunk it their recommended 5/8" into the body with 0-degree angle you would get a projection of about .425" which comes off a tad too high to me. But in the grand scheme of things what really is a difference of .025" in this case. Even going up to .425" of projection you'd still have .118" of travel up left on your middle saddles. This should do fine.

Chris

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Hipshot make an A-style bridge specifically for Fenders, which I reckon has compensation built into the baseplate for that reason. The saddles are used across a wide range of products which makes sense from a production standpoint. That can be the only difference.

The 5-string A style bridge on my 5-string '51 was perfect for intonation and string balancing purposes. It really has more range than is required, making it very friendly for builders who couldn't hit a barn door with a shotgun.

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  • 3 months later...

So I'm going to amend what I have above. 0.4" is a tad too little! It's always fun how the real world doesn't always match up to calculations and models... And then add onto this somehow I set the necks deeper than desired and didn't notice... They're at 0.385" projected. The high G string, at it's lowest setting, is 1/64" too high, and the low E string is about 1/32" too high. This is on a 9.5" radius FYI. So one should aim for a little over 0.4" actually. I say this because 1/32" is .03125". So 0.385+.03125= 0.41625". So yeah... the canonical .425 probably was smart to aim for after all...

Yay, now I get to figure out how to go about dealing with this... this should be a joy...

Chris

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That's good info, Chris. Is there anything you think might be useful feeding back to Hipshot? The issue over the (US Contour?) model's intonation points and placement resulted in Hipshot re-making the schematic. Real-world feedback is useful, and they're hands-on enough to have an open ear. I like dealing with Hipshot, both in an official and personal capacity. What I mean is, would their official schematics benefit from this additional information? They'd certainly publish things as they measure from an engineering standpoint if that was useful, which I am sure it would be.

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As with all schematics I see from every company it'd really be helpful to know their intended "scale" point. And then a measure from that to any anchor points (like screw or post centers). I do also think knowing the diameter of the rounded saddle pieces would be great so that you could factor that into your intonation calculations in the event they're not inclined to publish my previous suggestion.

As for the projection... they say they're Fender replacements... I should have just gone with that .425" Fender projection standard and just not questioned it. Sometimes I screw myself over thinking through things TOO much and trying to get too exacting...

But after a couple hour's work, all is fixed! Just glad I put them together in the white before sending them off for finishing!

Chris

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I suspect that many errors occur simply because on one hand you have the instrument builder, whose reference points are the minimum intonation adjustment line and string paths. Then you have the machinist who has to produce a product from billet economically timewise and in terms of efficient toolpaths. Totally different approaches, especially when producing schematics meaningful for purpose. The product drawing suitable for the machinist does not necessarily factor in the needs of the luthier and vice versa.

I could make bawdy anecdote about moulding draft angles, adult toy manufacturers and "end users", however that might be crossing the line. Still.

Where was the bottom of the barrel again? I'm sure an engineer might have a different view. :D

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  • 6 months later...

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