Pearl Export bass

[Freuds_Cat]

I have reversed the order of the saddles and it seems to have made a positive difference.
I need more time to play about with bridge tilt adjustment. Will have more time tomorrow.

[Freuds_Cat]

I guess this must be the latest incarnation of this shape

[Basvarken]

I like it.
Especially the waxing and waning moon inlays.
Not too sure about those colours though...

[Basvarken]

Hey Bret, I made a mistake about the angle of the bridge. It should be slightly lower on the bass side

I finally found the time to take some pictures of the Pearl bridge.
It isn't easy to catch it on camera, but I hope it helps.



It may look a bit awkward with the G string saddle being so much lower but it does work alright


The action on all strings is pretty even.

[Freuds_Cat]

Thanks Rob, I need to get on of those string bars for this bridge but have a look at how much more acute the bend on mine is compared to yours.

[Basvarken]

Geez man, that looks like someone bent it on his bench or something.
I have never seen such a severe arch on a thee pointer!
I bet the holes for the saddle screws are cracked, aren't they?

Because of that huge arch the slots for the strings on the tail end are widened so far the ball ends almost slip through!
You should definitely get a new bridge to solve the problem. You'd only need the baseplate. Place the original saddles and you're saved.

[Freuds_Cat]

I have no idea what they were thinking. There are no stress marks on the chrome or near the holes and the slots on the sides marry up perfectly to the 3 bolts. Unfortunatley I'm pretty sure it was made like that 

The 3 point bridges I have here are not as wide as this one so I cant swap one on to it. 

I do have a brand new Badass 1 bridge lying around looking for a home 

[Freuds_Cat]

I took the bass into My luthier (Brian) and got him to take a look. He reckons that the bridge is made of a light alloy and that the arch has been caused by the string tension over a long period of time. He checked the measurements between the poles and confirmed that standard Gibson 3 point bridge with fit fine.

AllParts have them for $75 and basspartsresource.com has them for $64.79. Same part number so I'm guessing its the same bridge. Interestingly the cheaper one comes with the studs and the AllParts one without.

Anyone have any other suggestions?

Also, any of you wood experts out there know what kind of wood it is? The neck is made from the same stuff.
 I will try and take a few better pics of the wood and grain. It is definitely not Maple although it is about the same weight as Maple.
To me it looks like a few pieces of Mahogany (Which it obviously is not) but in a white or blonde colour. The grain and texture is quite similar to Mahogany.

[Basvarken]

I always assumed it was maple. Because of the weight and the more "snappy" character of the high tones and the "booming" character of the lows.
But I'm not a carpenter

Beware, the aftermarket All Parts three point bridges wil NOT fit a Gibson stud spacing. I know that for a fact.
I'm not sure if the Pearl has Gibson stud spacing. But I just want to point it out to you that they're not interchangeable.


About the arch: I don't understand how string tension can make a bridge bend in a cross direction?? Makes no sense to me.
To me it looks like someone bent it on a bench. Especially because it is not bent like perfect curve. But rather trapezoid shaped.

[Freuds_Cat]

Thanks for that info regarding the fitting of the bridge Rob. Must be a small but obviously relevant difference between them.  The Allparts/Bassresource one is listed as 3-11/32" which I translate to 83.566mm. The stud spacing on the Pearl is the same but I will take your word for it. I realise that that there wouldn't have to be too much difference for it not to work.

Any suggestions of what replacement to use?

[Basvarken]

It might very well just fit. The Pearl three pointer is no Gibson after all.

I bought a non Gibson three pointer for my Gibson Triumph a while ago. But it just did not fit. I couldn't slide it between the two studs and make the third stud fit. I wound up using the non Gibson saddles on my Gibson brigde. It cured the problem. So I'm not complaining.

Come to think of it I still have the non Gibson (made in Japan?) three point baseplate. Maybe it fits the Pearl?
I'll check that tonight for you.

[Basvarken]

Bret, I just checked the spare Made In Japan stamped three pointer I have. It doesn't fit.

First: the slots on the sides that hook behind the studs are wider than the slots of the original Pearl three pointer. They allow for too much play.
Second: the slot for the middle stud is isn't deep enough. The bridge keeps wobbling against that middle stud, never allowing the outer slots to fully hook behind their studs.

[Freuds_Cat]

Thanks for that Rob, I wonder if the studs that come with the bridge from basspartsresource.com have the same thread as the Pearl ones.



http://www.basspartsresource.com/bridge_aftermarketgib.htm

As a last resort I guess I could dig out the Stud inserts from the Pearl bridge and replace the whole kit and kaboodle.

[Freuds_Cat]

Or put one of these on it

[TBird1958]

  I hadn't noticed this thread until just now but I can definately say an Allparts 3 point will fit on a Gibson or an Epi with only minimal filing on the bottom of the two outside post  mounts, the spacing should be fine. My purple 'Bird had an Allparts on it when I first got it, I later replaced it with a new chrome Gibson part. The stud inserts from Allparts and those on Epi's are eh, no so good, they don't countersink into the body and have a "lip" that raises the bridge up as well, I'd look for some Gibson parts here if the originals don't fit your new mounting posts. Don't know if this helps too much but........