Arch top bridge fitting guide
To fit a bridge to an arch top/jazz guitar you
will need :
- Felt pen
- Coarse sandpaper
- Fine sandpaper
- Blue tack
- Something to support the guitar’s neck (block of polystyrene
with hollow is good, if all else fails a pillow or cushion)
- An old towel to protect guitar’s finish
- A flat surface to work on big enough to lay guitar down on
with neck supported (work bench or kitchen surface or table)
- Piece of A4 paper
- Set of small files
Clear work area and lay old towel down, with neck
support ready, lay guitar on top. Ensure that the guitar is stable
and not ‘wobbly’ It might be advisable if the back is very arched
to put second towel down one side to stop any wobble
Remove strings
Mark position of and then remove old bridge.
Blue tack a sheet of A4 paper over the area to protect the finish,
put coarse sandpaper into the position where bridge will sit and
hold down firmly
Cover underside of bridge with felt tip. Then hold bridge in
perfectly vertical position or as close to as possible.
Rub base of bridge forward and back. This is to copy the contour
of the body. By looking at the base of bridge you will see by the
sanding marks & how much felt tip is left on base which will
indicate any un-sanded area. When you are satisfied that the curve
is right, offer it up to the guitar.
The exact position of the bridge is determined by taking a
measurement from the centre of the zero fret or fingerboard side
of the nut to the centre of the twelfth fret. Duplicate this
measurement from centre of twelfth fret to centre of the bridge
saddle or contact point, on the treble side. (e.g. fret wire
insert).
Further compensation of intonation can be achieved by sliding the
bridge back slightly to get correct intonation at twelfth fret due
to the physics of the strings.
Height reduction may be required. This can be taken off the under
side of the top of the bridge or the top of the lower part of the
bridge (or both). In the low position you really want the strings
almost touching the fingerboard and in the higher position to suit
your your playing style. Adjust using the wheels.
The actual spacing for the strings, looking down, is usually
spaced by eye. The easiest way is to evenly space top & bottom
E stings across saddle or inserts, (you may have to move inserts).
Mark positions with pencil and cut with appropriate file.
When filing angle the file at about 20 degrees towards the
tailpiece, this is to stop the strings ‘fizzing’ or ‘sitaring’.
Don’t forget you don't have to cut the grooves in bridge that deep
- just enough to hold the string.
We have replacement
bridges to fit most archtops on our Hofner parts page.
If you have any doubts about any
adjustments to your instrument then do seek professional advice.
Scratch Plate Fitting Guide
To fit scratch plate, push the pin, which is
attached to the block, into the hole on the side of the neck.
Position the scratch plate to make sure everything is in line,
particularly making sure that the scratch plate edge is parallel
to the first string.
Depending on how the pick guard sits, some adjustment or bending
to the bracket may be required.
Do NOT bend bracket while attached to pick guard as this may cause
damage.
To make the bracket more secure to the bracket holder some white
tack (or similar) may be used.
Please note the fixing underneath the s/plate is for a bracket
that is 1.5mm thick. please do NOT force.
To fit a pin at bridge end, insert pin into the bridge, but you
must roughen areas to be glued with some sand paper first to key
surfaces. If using a fast setting glue e.g. Superglue, be VERY
careful NOT to get any on the scratch plate surface as it will
ruin the surface finish and also you MUST do a dry run first. To
clamp, use a clothes peg inside a polythene sandwich bag, (Super
glue will not stick to polythene). If in doubt use slower setting
glue.
To cut pick up apertures on your scratch plate
first get a fine bladed fret or coping saw (with the teeth facing
down).
Then make your card template (the more accurate you are here the
better it will turn out).
Try not to cut your pick up holes too deep make sure that the edge
of the s/plate runs parallel to the first string on your guitar.
Sellotape/masking tape your pattern to the s/plate.
Then cut with the fret or coping saw only using downward cuts
finish off with sandpaper.
Finally polish with fine sandpaper.
N.B. take care to support scratch plate when
cutting, support in a cloth in a vice, as it will break if
stressed. Take care not to scratch finish – especially
around the logo!
For fitting of clear pick guards, screw bracket to body,
Push pin into hole on side of neck, Line up center of bracket with
hole on pick guard make sure that edge of pick guard is parallel
with first string,
Mark position on bracket, remove bracket & drill hole,
carefully.
Fix with nut & bolt or screw, be careful not to split pick
guard (do NOT over tighten).
Find the right scratch plate for your vintage Hofner
here and scratch plates for all jazz and
archtop guitars, Watkins Rapier and Eko Ranger batwing plus
custom made pick guards and scratch plates here.
How to apply a water slide transfer
Usage:
Soak in a saucer of luke warm water until
transfer becomes ‘slidable’ off the backing paper
(Do not soak for too long, as glue will dissolve)
Put a smear of water on to where it is to be positioned
Put transfer in place and dab off excess water with tissue
DO NOT SLIDE TRANSFER AROUND TOO MUCH
AS YOU WILL REMOVE GLUE.
Hofner
transfers are available on our Hofner parts page.
If you have any doubts
about any adjustments to your instrument then do seek
professional advice.
Fixing Noisy ‘Strat’ switches
Due to oxidisation in the air sometimes the
contacts develop a film, so when you flick from one position to
the other it can crackle and even cut out. It's quite possible the
switch has lots of ‘gig’ life still in it. You could ‘pop’ it to
your local guitar tech and have a new switch fitted, only to be in
the same position in a few months down the line. Switch cleaner
can be a bit hit and miss, so, take the advise of a professional
repairer: Spray some switch cleaner onto the contacts, or if it is
sealed, down the switch slot. Get hold of the switch tip with
thumb and index finger and go from one end to the other quickly
(about 10 – 15 times). This should do the trick, and even with no
switch cleaner this often works. See? That’s twenty quid I just
saved for you!!
Obviously don’t be too ham-fisted. I've done this many times and
have never broken a switch, but remember if the switch breaks it
was going to anyway and probably in the middle of a gig. This is
also a fix for pots, where the wiper and the pad sometimes
oxidise. Spraying with switch cleaner and rotating back and forth
often does the trick again. There's another Tenner!
TO CHECK & ADJUST THE TRUSS ROD & THE
RELIEF OF YOUR GUITAR NECK
Measuring neck relief
Sit down with the guitar in playing position. Put
the index finger of your left hand on the first fret then put the
index finger of your right hand on the 15th fret. Stretch your
left hand out and put the little finger over the 5th fret, push
the string down on to the fret & notice how much distance or
gap there is. This is using the string as a straight edge. It
should, for a nice low action, be about 10 to 15 thousandths of an
inch.
This measurement is the relief of the neck, and does vary. After
all, some people like a low action and are not bothered by any
buzzing or don't strum very hard; others may like no buzzing at
all and this would vary according to personal taste. Basically, if
you stick to this measurement as an average and adjust the action
at the saddle end to suit, you won’t be far off the mark.
Adjusting the truss rod to increase or decrease
neck relief
To adjust the truss rod. If you are looking at
the truss rod and have the adjuster in place, turn clockwise to
tighten. This is to crown the neck or straighten it. Anticlockwise
to loosen or dip the neck. You should adjust the
truss by no more than 1/8 th of a turn at a time.
Just remember that when tightening the truss rod it can ‘creep’
slightly, so, what this means is that you might think that you
have it in the right place and after playing it may straighten a
bit more due to ‘creep’. ‘Creep’ can also happen due to
temperature and vibration. (That’s another £10 I saved you!)
Using the right tools for the job can
make all the difference. We have a quality Hofner truss rod wrench for sale
on our Hofner Parts page.
If you have any doubts
about any adjustments to your instrument then do seek
professional advice.
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