Bridge popped off

Got a nasty surprise today. When taking my Cordoba 24T-CE out of the case, I discovered the bridge had popped off. This despite plenty of humidification, and being tuned down to Bb, although I did have a wound Fremont Soloist low-G string on there. The 2 wires on the ends appear to be a continuous braided wire, probably the pickup itself, which travels through the bottom of the nut slot; it looks to be still intact, and not broken. The 2 skinnier white ones in the middle, which also appear to be wires, are snapped off. Anyone know about this type of pickup, and my prospects for repair?

I've never seen two wires for the pickup, the ones I've installed are all one wire. My guess is that you'll probably have to replace the pickup.

I also suggest that you do string-through instead of tie-off of the strings. Glue down the bridge, drill holes down through it and the top. Add a stop, like a bead or small button to the ends of the strings, then feed each string up through the bridge holes. This way the tension of the strings and the stop holds the bridge to the top. Pepe Romero does that, as do some other manufacturers.

---

8 tenor cutaway ukes, 5 acoustic bass ukes, 10 solid body bass ukes, 7 mini electric bass guitars

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children's hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video

The white posts look like they are there to hold the bridge in position while being glued. Is that a piece of thin wood on the bottom of the bridge? If so it is just a transition surface to achieve a stronger bond between the bridge and the sound board that didn't work. Send it back as it is a manufacturing defect. If you are fixing it yourself, I'd test the under saddle pick up by taping the bridge smartly with a good dowel while plugged in, you should get something. if not you will have to replace the pickup or just go acoustical.

Ukecaster said:

Thanks! Yes, that is a very thin piece of wood glued to the bottom of the bridgeplate. It was a used uke, so I probably can't send it back, and don't feel like dropping more dough on a tech. I tested the pickup, and it works, so I'll just glue the bridge down with some Titebond, and convert to string-thru with beads on the string ends inside, to avoid this problem in the future, even though it's kinda a PIA when changing strings. And yes, that braided cable, which travels through the bottom of the saddle slot, then down through the saddle and top on both ends is the pickup itself. I've never seen one like that.

Click to expand...

What kind of pickup is it? I believe that MiSi comes up across and back down through.

Ukecaster said:

Not sure, just the OEM Cordoba pickup system, with barn door controls on the side.

Click to expand...

When I look for preamps on AliExpress (China's Amazon), I see that one all the time. The Chinese manufacturer just prints whatever name on it that the buyer wants. That Cordoba 24T-CE is a good lookin' uke.

---

8 tenor cutaway ukes, 5 acoustic bass ukes, 10 solid body bass ukes, 7 mini electric bass guitars

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children's hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video

Just by looking at the picture posted of the saddle leaning forward in the bridge, it is obvious that the saddle is too thin for the bridge slot. I would suggest getting thicker saddle stock and making a new saddle so it sits properly and snug.

I agree, the saddle should be snug in the slot. You may want to try a shim first.

---

8 tenor cutaway ukes, 5 acoustic bass ukes, 10 solid body bass ukes, 7 mini electric bass guitars

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children's hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video

John, get a new saddle. I have a couple of Cordoba and they use a generic "compensated" saddle. Obviously, in this case, it was not a good match (or maybe the previous owner changed the original saddle). Also, you might want to try, first, with a regular, straight, saddle and study what kind of compensation you need. With a low G, that might not be the right compensation for the 4th string.

Well, it only took me a year to do something! I'm not an amateur-crastinator...I'm a pro-crastinator!

Re saddle which was was tilting badly, I had also previously drilled that bridge to be a string-thru bridge. This increased the string angle behind the saddle so much, I think it put extra pressure on the saddle, pulling it to tilt even more. In fact, it was so steep, the strings were contacting the wood on the back of the saddle, and starting to wear grooves into the ebony. The saddle tilt also lowered the action, down to only about 1.75mm at 12th fret. So I took off the strings, and added some plastic shims about .40mm in front of the saddle, to make it stand up straighter, which also raised the action a bit up to just over 2mm. It ain't pretty, but gets the job done, the saddle now stands much straighter, more flush against the back side of the nut slot. I also had those String-Tie beads in my drawer, which I had never used, so put them on, which decreased the string angle after the saddle. Plays better with the slightly higher action, although I may also add a shim under the saddle to get the action up to about 2.5mm, Of course, I should (and will) get a properly thick new saddle for it, but it was fun trying some of these things and getting favorable results.

Before:


After:

Reno Dave said:

Just by looking at the picture posted of the saddle leaning forward in the bridge, it is obvious that the saddle is too thin for the bridge slot. I would suggest getting thicker saddle stock and making a new saddle so it sits properly and snug.

Click to expand...

First you were "lucky" in that this was likely a glue failure as the bridge came off fairly clean. I once had a guitar bridge come off due to lack of hydration which was very messy as chunks of the dried top wood came out including finish around the bridge. As Reno Dave mentioned, this saddle is too small so you definitely need a new saddle, or as alternative glue the saddle in maybe with some filler material as support. With a poor saddle like this I assume intonation is also way off, so if you get a new saddle or fix this saddle, you will need some adjustments for intonation. Installing a thicker saddle may give you more to work with for this. A strip of ebony may be a good option to shape if you can't get a pre-cut one.

Edit: just noticed the new post after I posted, so congrats on the progress of your work.