BadAss II bridge: Worth the bread?

[SteveC]

To answer the question, in my opinion, yes.

[BillisCool]

This thread is craziness...

If you spend friggin' $50 on having your bass set-up, it's only going to be wasted money. That MIM fender bridge is the biggest piece of crap EVER. Everything your luthier would do to your bass would be undone after about an hour of playing.

All those MIM bridges do are move side-to-side, in-and-out, and up-and-down... unless some of you actually like that?!

A BAII will not move EVER. Hell, pretty much any of the replacements suggested are better than the stock MIM bridge.

The whole tone thing is most certainly a personal preference, and to each their own... but if anyone argues that an MIM Fender bridge is good enough, is completely wrong.

[Turock]

Originally Posted by SMASH

How can you possibly tell? You swapped the *entire bass* !! Of course it'll sound different.

I've done clear A/B recording on the same bass with same strings, etc. and there's been no audible difference. I'd like to see someone go to a proper lab and do some A/B/X testing and then claim they can tell a difference.

I'd like to see that too.

[whamonkey]

I'm no scientist but the instrument vibrates differently. Maybe it's the strings, maybe it's the neck, maybe the bridge....whatever. The question was should he drop the $50 on a set-up or a new bridge. In my experience, the money would be better spent on the bridge or on some new tuning machines. You think the stock stuff is ok....fine...then buy the one he takes off his bass. It'll be cheap.

[whamonkey]

Originally Posted by SMASH

As for the actual topic of the thread, I'd suggest pocketing the $50 and learning to do the setup oneself. Several comprehensive threads on TB will show you how to, step-by-step. It's a great way to bond with your bass and learn about it, and no one can do setups for you better than you can once you learn how.

Definitely! Excellent advice. No offense intended or received in prior posts. All good.....

[Beefbass]

Well, on two of my MIM Fenders, I did change the bridges. Here were the reasons;

2000 MIM fretted jazz-the bridge worked ok, but it turned green! Never had that happen on a bass before. Yes, when I clean my basses, I wipe down the tuners and bridge. Admittedly, it worked well, and didn't make the bass sound bad. I just wanted something that wouldn't turn green.

2002 MIM fretles jazz-the A string saddle stripped out. About a week after getting it, the A string started dropping to the board during gigs. That sucks. The dealer didn't want to hear about it, so I bought a Gotoh 201 from warmoth for 23 bucks. Never had that problem again.


I tried a Gotoh 201 briefly on my 1999 MIM pbass deluxe. In truth, the vintage style bridge it comes with works very well(much better than the stock MIM bridge IMHO) Besides, there was no sound difference between the two, so the vintage Fender bridge went back on. IMHO, if you are going to replace your stock MIM bridge, I would suggest the vintage bridge. It's relatively cheap, bolts right on, and functions very well.

Somebody said once that the Gotoh 201 saddles are larger than the Fender ones, and they're right. That is the only thing to keep in mind with one of those-could be a factor if you like your action very low.

I've never used a badass, so I can't comment about those, although I'm sure they are a nice bridge. I would agree with JimmyM though-unless it's a matter of a malfunctioning bridge, you're probably gonna be ok with the stock one(or at least the vintage bridge)

[Arthur U. Poon]

My '76 Rick has an original Badass, which IMO I think is an improvement to the stock Rick bridge because it's much easier to intonate and height adjustments can be a lot more precise. Some of my Fenders' have Badass-II bridges, others are stock, I even have a brass bridge made by DiMarzio on a Warmoth fretless J-style bass.

I can't really say if the Badass-II or the DiMarzio bridges make any huge tonal improvements over the old stock Fender bridge, but the added weight of them seems to lessen neckdive at the expense of overall added weight.

I really like my MIA Standard P-Bass' stock 'strings through body' bridge. I don't notice any lack of sustain compared to the basses I own that have aftermarket bridges, and the strings running through the body somehow make the bass sound more resonant, at least to my ears.

Just my uneducated opinion.
- Art

[eric atkinson]

I got one for a fender i had one time and it was great except the black wore off of the entire thing! It was probably a lemon but istill kept the ugly thing on there because i liked it so much!

[The Golden Boy]

I've replaced bridges on two basses. Once it made a difference, once it didn't.

I replaced the old one piece tune-o-matic with nylon saddles on an EB-0. That made a difference, most anything would have been an improvement.

I replaced the stock bridge on my 65 Jazz with a BAII because I had lost one of the saddle height screws. I really wanted to hear a difference, but I didn't. Short of having a legitimate problem with your bridge- I wouldn't recommend it.

[SeanE]

Very interesting thread. I bought my first new bass in 15 years over the summer (fernandez japanese j-bass). I replaced the original bridge with a ba2. It makes a HUGE difference. After the job was done, I a/b'ed it against an identical bass in the store. The bridge gave it much more sustain and the strings responsed a little better. To me, this bass with a ba-2 blows away stock MIM j's.

Perhaps others upgrade bridges are better. I can't speak to that. It may well be true, but the BA is some of the best money I've every spent on gear.

[jake_tim]

the bad ass 2 bridge is a stock replacment fro a fender bridge right?

-Jake

[The Crusader]

Originally Posted by skewh

Hello all. My MIA Fender Jazz bass and I must soon part ways, as my dad decided to take it back and give me a MIM with the same active PU's. I was looking to replace the bridge with a BadAss II on my MIA because of some issues with the saddles, and was wondering if replacing it on the MIM would be worth the $50 I would have to pay for the bridge. On the one hand, I would like to have a reliable bridge to compliment my new axe, but on the other hand, I could spend my $50 on having my local guitar repairman set it up real nice-like (this guy works wonders with basses). The question is: should I replace the bridge or keep the stock Fender bridge? Would replacing the bridge have any benefits (aside from the nice chrome finish)? Any input is appreciated.

P.S. - Sorry about the exceptional lengthiness of this post, but I'm feeling quite rant-ish at the moment.

get the hipshot bridge (A or B) or a gotoh 201 or 206, skip the BAII as I feel, in my opinion, they're a P.I.T.A to work with. you gotta cut your own saddles and as stated b4, they are zinc when brass is preferable. I'm not sure what the Gotoh is, but they work great and cost less than a Hipshot.

Take your setup money and buy a book called American Basses and learn to do set ups yourself. You'll save bundles in the long run and the book is only like 30$.