Is it causing a playing problem, such as a buzzing string?. If not, I wouldn't worry about it.

Bobby

Is the 1/64" diff measured from the tops of the respective strings, or the bottoms?  [Askin' for a friend.   ]

Mine sags in middle. Tried shimming middle foot but it just raised the other feet off the head. Doesnt affect my playing so i just leave as is

... not advice, but ^^ causes my friend to wonder if 1/64" under the high "g" and 1/128" under the middle would "level things out."

I also play guitar with a radiused fretboard, so I dislike saggy banjo bridges. I’ve tried all the common fixes, such as shimming the middle foot, or buying a larger bridge, and sanding the feet into a dished shape.

Deering’s Smile bridges fix this nicely, but that’s besides the point, since you want to save your existing bridge. Of my three banjos, two have the smile bridges.

But my third banjo has a bridge, that I wanted to keep on the banjo. However, it was sagging noticeably. I used welding tip cleaners to deepen the outer slots, until all the strings were exactly where I wanted them. Then I carefully sanded the top of the bridge level, to make it look better. Walla, looks good, sounds good, and my new favorite way to revitalize an old saggy bridge.

If and when you do buy a bridge, buy several. It’ll help on shipping plus it’s always good to have a variety of bridges on hand . I seem to swap em so much they don’t have time to sag. Best of luck

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Originally posted by Owen

Is the 1/64" diff measured from the tops of the respective strings, or the bottoms?  [Askin' for a friend.   ]

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Bottoms! Measuring 8/64" high D clearance at 12th fret, 7/64" low D. 

I'll just stop by to say that, on my '28 archtop TB4 conversion, I've found that a Scorpion bridge by Silvio Ferretti sounds better than a Snuffy bridge. Same size, direct comparison. I just like the Scorpion sound better. Certainly that's very subjective. But maybe since they're made in Italy the shipping would be easier for you if you had to get a new one.

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Originally posted by tomd7

I'll just stop by to say that, on my '28 archtop TB4 conversion, I've found that a Scorpion bridge by Silvio Ferretti sounds better than a Snuffy bridge. Same size, direct comparison. I just like the Scorpion sound better. Certainly that's very subjective. But maybe since they're made in Italy the shipping would be easier for you if you had to get a new one.

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I find when I tune my archtop to head to g# it requires less tension than tuning my flathead to g#. As a result I tend to get more sag on the archtop. Plays okay with the uneven string height, but I do notice it swapping between banjos. Any sagging issues with the scorpion?

Deering actually only charge $10 shipping to NZ, so maybe a smile is worth trying?

Herringboned I have my head fairly loose too so I get some sag in the head. I think it sounds great that way. I haven't noticed any sagging issues with either of the two Scorpion bridges I've used (5/8 and 11/16). I can't guarantee that I'd notice the amounts you're mentioning but it's not something I can see or feel so I'm gonna say there's no sag.

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Originally posted by Herringboned

Deering actually only charge $10 shipping to NZ, so maybe a smile is worth trying?

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I'd say yes. I liked one enough, I got another for my other banjo. I can't say they are earth shattering or anything, but they sound nice, and even tone, right from the start. I've had premium bridges in the past that seemed to need a break in period, or maybe my ears just needed to adjust to them. The smile sounds good right away. 

1/64" = o.39 mm. Yup, something your eyes se see and process. However, your fingers won't be capable of appreciate/notice the diff when it comes to height off the head. The easiest way is to let that sink in, appreciate and start playing with that banjo as-is.

The hard way is to use a welding tip cleaner (available in hardware stores) and smoothen all string slot om the bridge. After that you put a piece of green painters tape on both sides of the 4th string slot, fill the gap with baking soda, splash a drop of crazy glue, wait 2 minutes for it to dry and harden, sand it smooth, use the same tip cleaner to re-slot that 4th string slot and you're back in bizz.

Off the cuff I'd say: don't let 1/64" ruin your life!  Banjos are all about having fun, it's quite OK to go and have some already!

Resistance is futile, allow yourself to be assumulated :)

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Originally posted by Bart Veerman

1/64" = o.39 mm. Yup, something your eyes se see and process. However, your fingers won't be capable of appreciate/notice the diff when it comes to height off the head. The easiest way is to let that sink in, appreciate and start playing with that banjo as-is.

The hard way is to use a welding tip cleaner (available in hardware stores) and smoothen all string slot om the bridge. After that you put a piece of green painters tape on both sides of the 4th string slot, fill the gap with baking soda, splash a drop of crazy glue, wait 2 minutes for it to dry and harden, sand it smooth, use the same tip cleaner to re-slot that 4th string slot and you're back in bizz.

Off the cuff I'd say: don't let 1/64" ruin your life!  Banjos are all about having fun, it's quite OK to go and have some already!

Resistance is futile, allow yourself to be assumulated :)

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Thanks man. As a primarily guitar player, you very used to how the strings feel under your fingers, particularly when chording. For all guitars the action is higher on the bass side by at least 1/64", so just an odd sensation feeling the treble strings higher! All good though :)