Bridge upgrade options? MIM P.

[cameltoe]

Fed up with looking at the bent piece of bean tin at the back end of my MIM P. Luckily, a decent replacement bridge doesn't cost enough for me not to do something about it.

I would like an improvement in tone, not overly bothered about sustain, as alot of what we play requires me to be quite punchy with the bass. Which i'd also like to improve upon.

I had settled in my own head for a Gotoh 201. But then i read about all the action problems, shimming etc, to get the strings low enough. I play with a reasonably low action (just high enough to avoid fret buzz, and the outside edges of my E string and G string saddle are about 2mm off the deck as it is. I don't want to mess around with neck shimming, and I would like to keep a low action. What other options are there for me? Figured I'd have the same problem with a BADASS.

I had looked at the Gotoh 203, but I can't tell if that is going to be any heavier than the standard mexican bridge. It looks a little thicker, but not sure.

any options?

[Mr. Ray]

Have a look at the Hipshot B or Vintage Bridge. I have the Hipshot B aluminum on a Modulus jazz and it is easy to change strings and adjust. Check their website

[McHack]

Get a Gotoh 201... the cheaper alternative to a Leo Quan. Whats interesting is, you can see a number of these bridges sold on some higher end basses that are rebadged....

[cameltoe]

Originally Posted by McHack

Get a Gotoh 201... the cheaper alternative to a Leo Quan. Whats interesting is, you can see a number of these bridges sold on some higher end basses that are rebadged....

But the action, dude.... i'm not up for shimming my neck at all.

I want a bridge i can get a low action on without messing around. I don't mind drilling an extra couple holes to fit the thing (as is the case on the 203) but I don't want to mess around with the neck

[cameltoe]

The hipshot vintage looks nice, and seems to be a standard swap.

Can you set the action low enough on these? and are they a fair bit weightier than the stock mexican ones?

[Philbiker]

If you expect a drastic "improvement in tone" I predict you will be dissapointed with a new bridge. IME the tone changes are extremely subtle with a bridge, it's more of a change in the "feel" of the bass, and even then extremely subtle. If you're looking for a zingy high-mass feel, then the Gotoh 201 is tough to beat, and cheap to boot.

The Hipsot Vintage bridge is used by some high end builders like Mike Lull and Valenti when customers request a low-mass fender style bridge. It will give you the ability to change strings without having to pull the string through a hole. I don't think that's worth the $50+ that the bridge costs. If you're looking for different tone and have $50 to spend you'll be much better off with a pickup change.

But the action, dude.... i'm not up for shimming my neck at all.

I want a bridge i can get a low action on without messing around. I don't mind drilling an extra couple holes to fit the thing (as is the case on the 203) but I don't want to mess around with the neck

I don't mean to offend you but this post suggests that you don't really know what you're doing. It's fine to not know, and a MIM Fender is a good platform for learning - switching out the bridge or pickup or whatever on a bass you own is a great way to learn exactly what these changes mean.

Shimming a neck is substantially less intrusive to the bass than changing the bridge, especially if you're willing to drill into your body. If you're not willing to learn how to do a proper setup on a bolt-on bass I predict that no matter how many mods you go through you'll never be happy with what you have.

Take that as you will.

My suggestion is to go through the tutorials online and here at talkbass and learn how to do a proper setup on your bass before considering any mods.

[PSPookie]

Phil, you just said all of the things I was thinking.

[bassbully]

Hate to say it but that bent piece of tin you are tired of looking at is not effecting your tone one bit. That bridge has stood the test of time with fender and is fine. If you want a good bridge to allow low action and get rid of it add a USA Fender vintage bridge. Its the same one used on the classics, MIAs etc with the threaded saddles. It is a drop it and a quick fix $30.00.

Tone to me comes from the and player his style and hands. Strings can also can add tone changes as well as some pups and EQ to a degree. Bridges to change tone IMO is a crock. I have 2 P basses with string thru bridges and one string thru body. You would think the string thru body would have better tone than thru bridge...nope. BTW the string thru bridges on my 2 P basses are those bent Fender ones

[rollcall]

hipshot ultralight with fender hole spacing is an easy retro fit. you should shim the neck though. it brings a better neck angle happiness and piece of mind.

[Orpheus55]

Originally Posted by bassbully

Hate to say it but that bent piece of tin you are tired of looking at is not effecting your tone one bit. That bridge has stood the test of time with fender and is fine. If you want a good bridge to allow low action and get rid of it add a USA Fender vintage bridge. Its the same one used on the classics, MIAs etc with the threaded saddles. It is a drop it and a quick fix $30.00.

Tone to me comes from the and player his style and hands. Strings can also can add tone changes as well as some pups and EQ to a degree. Bridges to change tone IMO is a crock. I have 2 P basses with string thru bridges and one string thru body. You would think the string thru body would have better tone than thru bridge...nope. BTW the string thru bridges on my 2 P basses are those bent Fender ones

I've tried every bridge there is, and the vintage "original" with the slotted saddles is the best one out there for P-basses. It's a better piece of metal, and works fine. I like the Hipshot Vintage, but there is peculiarity to the P-bass that likes the old bridges; I've tried the Gotoh, and it takes the action a tad high and lacks the zing on the high end IMHO.