Vintage Kay Bass Bridge Replacement

This vintage Kay bass was brought in for a restoration. The customer wanted the bridge replaced to allow precise adjustments of the action and the intonation over the old bridge. 
The metal cover for the old bridge was long gone, showing the crude design that normally was hidden away.
Sourcing a replacement bridge was a tough challenge as the bass was a short scale with a very narrow neck.
As it turned out the only suitable replacement without spending a huge amount was a bridge suited for a Danoelectric bass.

The first step was marking out the position of the old bridge and checking that the replacement would fit. As it was a different shape, some hole filling and careful positioning was required.
Next job was checking the position of the new bridge, adjsutments were made to line up the string spacing with the neck, as well as checking the scale length position.
The bridge needed all its screws and grub screws replacing, to allow the bridge to sit properly on the slimline body, and have the action set so the strings weren't resting on the fretboard.
The bass was then restrung and setup with the correct intonation. You can see how much it was out before with the positions of the saddles. The bridge placement meant that only one of the plugged holes was visible.

The last job on the list was changing an old screw that was being used as a strap button.
A vintage style button replaced the old screw, then after the bass had a full detail clean, it was ready for it's customer to collect