Badass in the neighborhood gets ass kicked

Billy K · #1 10-22-2010, 08:11 AM

There was a Badass ruling the neigborhood or years then this new kid Babicz moved in the hood and kicked the Badass butt.I have 2 Fenders with each bridge on them for comparision and the new kid rules.It was almost sounds like I changed pickups to Quarter pounders.Almost, this a bit of a stretch but really the sound is much improved and some said that that is not possible but ......well happened here.I love the new bridge.I posted above about the issue I had with the space void under the old bridge and used alumminum foil folded several times to fill the routed out area the old bridge sat in. (2 mm) deep and it compressed well and conducts and good ground.The intonation and string highth adjustment is superior to any bridge and each has a lock feature that is really cool.Babicz you rock!

fu22ba55 · #2 10-22-2010, 08:22 AM

Holy cow, that's a cool lookin' bridge.

http://www.fullcontacthardware.com/4-bass-bridge.htm

I likes me the badass II sound (sometimes) but the looks of that brick leave something to be desired.

It's nice to see an alternative to the hipshot stuff.

Hmm.... what's my paypal balance again...?

CrashClint · #3 10-22-2010, 10:01 AM

Nice chunk of metal, how much did it increase the sustain of your bass?

John Wentzien · #4 10-22-2010, 10:19 AM

WOW! I like the design. Eseciallly the rounded corners...NICE!

odin70 · #5 10-22-2010, 10:27 AM

Looks nice. Not exactly cheap.

fu22ba55 · #6 10-22-2010, 10:42 AM

Only $90 at MusiciansFriend.

http://accessories.musiciansfriend.c...dge?sku=584430

Prices on manufacturer's website are list.

neurotictim · #7 10-22-2010, 10:46 AM

Gonna have to keep this in mind next time I'm tempted to go mod-crazy, or if I ever do more than start a "first build"...

Metal Mitch · #8 10-22-2010, 11:12 AM

http://www.fullcontacthardware.com/fch-4-bass-specs.htm

at first it appears not to allow much room for saddle travel. then I noticed those 4 holes in the drawing... option mounts for the lock screw? interesting idea.

still has the standard short distance to the tailpiece. I'd prefer if the tailpiece was set back at least another half inch, but I do like the way it hides the ball end of the string.

joeyl · #9 10-22-2010, 11:29 AM

does it allow you to lower the strings, or does it make the strings high enough to require a shim?

thanks

fu22ba55 · #10 10-22-2010, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joeyl

does it allow you to lower the strings, or does it make the strings high enough to require a shim

From the looks of the pic on their website, it looks like you adjust height via allen screws on the rear of the saddles:

ericw · #11 10-22-2010, 12:00 PM

That looks awesome. But I don't think I'll ever want to spend enough to buy one new...

Billy K · #12 10-22-2010, 06:31 PM

the bridge allows you to set intonation and lock it as well as raise or lower strings and lock it.allen screws are used for both adjustments. Sustain was much better than stock Fender bridge.

joeyl · #13 10-22-2010, 08:51 PM

the reason I was asking is that I can't tell how thick the saddles would be at the lowest position, my main gripe with gotoh and badass is that the saddles are too thick, and need neck shimming to allow the saddles to be raised and not bottomed out.

::::BASSIST:::: · #14 10-22-2010, 09:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joeyl

the reason I was asking is that I can't tell how thick the saddles would be at the lowest position, my main gripe with gotoh and badass is that the saddles are too thick, and need neck shimming to allow the saddles to be raised and not bottomed out.

Agreed. The BA does not allow for super low action.

One thing I dont like about this new bridge is all that logo print. Looks a bit corporate and tacky.

Does this new bridge allow for String Thru Body basses?

Billy K · #15 10-22-2010, 10:10 PM

also the cam system allows for super low adjustment of strings.And a shim in the neck is no big deal 4 screws neck off put business card in screw back together.Do a search for step by step instructions.I had a American Standard Delux with a Jack of spades in the neck pocket.I personally like 3 of hearts but that's another story that almost got a man shot.

chunger · #16 10-23-2010, 06:01 AM

Awesome. . . I just picked up 4 of these for testing. They were on back order at the distributor for ~4 months. I'm hoping they go low enough to run because most of my builds are already shimmed, and I would not be willing to double shim.

Billy K · #17 10-23-2010, 07:18 AM

yeah dude you will like them for sure the action can get super low infact you know by bass I found that after shimming the bridge pocket for the new one that I had to raise the strings because of my style of play created that clacking sound but Jazzy could play is down like it was.By the way the plex is awsome and with the new bridge my sound is lower,fat,deeper than before.

Tusec · #18 10-23-2010, 09:07 AM

Okay I get it. The allen screw pushes on the cam which rotates it, and since the string sits on the cam it gets raised or lowered. The saddle doesn't move at all. It always sits flat against the baseplate. Only the cam moves. Pretty clever design.

I guess the basic concept of this bridge is that it gives "full contact" by having the saddles sit flat against the baseplate and by having the curved cam bear against a curved bore. The idea is that vibration likes to travel through broad areas of contact better than through concentrated points of contact (like where the tips of the height adjustment screws press on the baseplate in a conventional bridge).

But how about where the string sits on the cam? That's still a tiny point of contact isn't it? If so, then this bridge doesn't solve the problem it claims to solve since it does nothing about the vibrational choke point between string and cam. Right?

Except that this is beside the point, since the problem it claims to solve doesn't actually exist. Sound is perfectly happy to travel through narrow points of contact so long as the materials involved are rigid. As long as there is no local elastic deformation at the point of contact no vibrational energy is lost. Steel (or really any metal) is easily hard and strong enough for this, and since most bridges are made of steel, most bridges do a fine job of transmitting string energy.

So while this bridge's cam method of height adjustment is pretty cool and innovative, I don't see any reason to think it would sound any better than any other bridge.

mongo2 · #19 10-23-2010, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tusec

But how about where the string sits on the cam? That's still a tiny point of contact isn't it? If so, then this bridge doesn't solve the problem it claims to solve since it does nothing about the vibrational choke point between string and cam. Right?

The part of the string that touches the saddle is a node of the vibrating string and as such there's not supposed to be string vibration there.

Tusec · #20 10-23-2010, 10:39 AM

Quote:

The part of the string that touches the saddle is a node of the vibrating string and as such there's not supposed to be string vibration there.

True if the goal is pure sustain. In that case the bridge should be a fixed node that reflects string energy back into the string. The extreme case would be a bridge screwed into a cast iron anvil or something.

But most people aren't interested in pure sustain. Most people also like tone. And tone requires that some of the string energy be transmitted into the body. For this to happen, the bridge can't be a fixed node. It has to move. The extreme case here would be an acoustic guitar. If the bridge didn't vibrate, the top wouldn't vibrate.

An electric instrument lies somewhere between an anvil and an acoustic guitar. The energy relationship between the strings and the body is complex and involves both reflection and transmission.

The bridge's role in all of this is very simple: it is to allow the body and strings to interact with each other without itself dissipating any energy. The ideal bridge is a transparent, lossless energy channel.

Babicz claims its Full Contact bridge does this better than other bridges since it allows broad areas of contact between its parts. I'm arguing that 1) this isn't true since the string still contacts the cam at a small point, and 2) it doesn't matter anyway since vibration readily passes through small points of contact so long as the parts involved are made of hard materials like steel.