Bridge problem

[belbein]

I'm about to change the strings on my Octave Mandolin. It's a Weber (Old Hippies) Octave, only a few years old. I've been concentrating on Mandola and Tenor Guitar, so I didn't really notice this before, but it looks like it may have a bridge problem:

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I put a little square magnet on both sides of the bridge to give an index. (Sorry about the confusing background and the 90 degree skew ...)

The base of the bridge hasn't moved. There doesn't look like there's a problem with the footing or a ding in the top. I think it might be the pins, if this is a problem at all.

[Doug Brock]

Adjustable bridges will tend to do that if you aren't paying attention. You should be able to loosen your strings, then straighten that top part. Whenever I have to take all the strings off (to change tailpiece, bridge, or tuners), I watch the top of the bridge for lean as I'm putting strings on and then check straightness one more time before I tighten the strings to full tension.

[Skip Kelley]

When I fit a bridge to a top, I always have a slight lean towards the tailpiece. That way over time and after string changes, it won’t move.

[AlanN]

Maybe hard to see, but here's the slight backwards tilt that Skip is talking about on a 2015 F-9 fitted with a Bruce Weber full-footed trad bridge. It's perfect, all the way around.