Changing the bridge on my old bass

[bigou]

I got an old 60's Kent bass. It's not a J-Bass neither a P-Bass but a weird shape bass. I want to add wight to th body an upgrade the intonation too.

Besides of the original holes what do I have to check when I install a new bridge? Can I install any bridge??

[Pilgrim]

Pix would help. You don't say whether the bass is solid body or hollow, violin or what...not enough info!

If the bridge fits, the other things you would check are string spacing and make sure that the scale length stays the same.

[bigou]

It's a solid body.

[Pilgrim]

Then most bridges for solid body basses that match the screw pattern will work, provided you can adjust string spacing (distance between strings).

Given that the bass is that old, there may be non-standard aspects about it, so do your homework and don't be surprised if you end up having to re-drill holes to mount it.

The most pertinent question is: what's wrong with the existing bridge? If it has failed mechanically, then of course it's worth repairing or replacing. If not, why replace it?

[blendermassacre]

without pics, it's hard to say what the best thing is.

[bigou]

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

Then most bridges for solid body basses that match the screw pattern will work, provided you can adjust string spacing (distance between strings).

Given that the bass is that old, there may be non-standard aspects about it, so do your homework and don't be surprised if you end up having to re-drill holes to mount it.

The most pertinent question is: what's wrong with the existing bridge? If it has failed mechanically, then of course it's worth repairing or replacing. If not, why replace it?

The bridge has 2 saddles and really hard to get the intonation right. I also want to add more weight to the body to have a bit more sustain... and of course it's always fun to do little mods on an instrument

[jastacey]

If you don't want to spend a lot of money for a bridge, I'd check out www.choppersmusic.com, they have many bridges that have some mass to them and they are affordable ... I've bought a few of them over the years

[AltGrendel]

Originally Posted by bigou

The bridge has 2 saddles and really hard to get the intonation right. I also want to add more weight to the body to have a bit more sustain... and of course it's always fun to do little mods on an instrument

Sounds like an old P-bass or Tele bass style bridge. If that's the case you have a lot of choices.

But pics would really help, cell phone pics are good enough.

[Pilgrim]

Originally Posted by bigou

The bridge has 2 saddles and really hard to get the intonation right. I also want to add more weight to the body to have a bit more sustain... and of course it's always fun to do little mods on an instrument

Two saddles?? Is that an old Fender bridge? Would you PLEASE take a photo, even with a cell phone camera, and post it? You are not giving us much information and as a result we have no idea what in the heck you are talking about!

If you want information from a forum, it is polite to provide enough information that people can respond intelligently.

[bigou]

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

Two saddles?? Is that an old Fender bridge? Would you PLEASE take a photo, even with a cell phone camera, and post it? You are not giving us much information and as a result we have no idea what in the heck you are talking about!

If you want information from a forum, it is polite to provide enough information that people can respond intelligently.

I'm gonna take pictures probably tonight or tomorrow. Sorry everybody for not providing picutres at first.

[Pilgrim]

Cool! I'm getting real curious to see if I've guessed what kind of bridge this is!