installed a gotoh 201 bridge on my vintage modified 70's jazz tonight

xaosbass · #1 07-29-2008, 09:56 PM

had some tone balance problems w/ my Squier vintage mod 70's jazz. the E string sounded whoolly no matter what strings i put on it. i use nickel rounds and the E string always sounded like it was wrapped in felt compared to the other strings. i changed out the stock bridge for a gotoh 201 from Warmouth and the sound is very balanced and quite bright! having to use the tone pot seems alien to me but it is nice to need it. this thing has tons of growl not just on the A, D & G strings but now the E string matches it. setup was a little tricky but i'm getting there. just wanted to let you guys know.

therex · #2 07-30-2008, 08:25 AM

it was a great improvement for what you say, i may purchase one for my VM p bass

gonzorob · #3 07-30-2008, 08:30 AM

I have been thinking about putting the exact same bridge on both my VMs. Can you post a pic?

xaosbass · #4 07-30-2008, 05:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gonzorob

I have been thinking about putting the exact same bridge on both my VMs. Can you post a pic?

Sorry G-rob but i lost my cam in a fire about a year ago and have had to juggle the desire for a new bass or a new cam. Bass won hands down!

Warmouth has these bridges for 30.00 in chrome and yes, the difference was amazing! It looks so much better as well. Hope that helps. If I get a cam soon, I'll post a few pics for ya.

gonzorob · #5 07-30-2008, 05:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xaosbass

Sorry G-rob but i lost my cam in a fire about a year ago and have had to juggle the desire for a new bass or a new cam. Bass won hands down!

Warmouth has these bridges for 30.00 in chrome and yes, the difference was amazing! It looks so much better as well. Hope that helps. If I get a cam soon, I'll post a few pics for ya.

No problem man. It seems like for the price you can't go wrong with these bridges, and they are basically the bridges that are on the new fenders and the Squier classic vibe series.

I can't wait to hear the difference myself.

xaosbass · #6 07-30-2008, 05:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by therex

it was a great improvement for what you say, i may purchase one for my VM p bass

For 30.00 what have ya got to lose? The sustain is much better but the upper mids came out much more as i said in the original post, i'm having to use my tone pot for the first time in my life. looks so much better than the bent steel bridge that came off of it. (hope i didn't offend any original design fans)

xaosbass · #7 07-30-2008, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gonzorob

No problem man. It seems like for the price you can't go wrong with these bridges, and they are basically the bridges that are on the new fenders and the Squier classic vibe series.

I can't wait to hear the difference myself.

I thought about putting a BA II on instead but I like the traditional look that the Gotoh adds while adding some serious MASS to the overall sound, literally, this thing has great upper end bark now and is very balanced. someday i'll try some flats and see how that works.

DavePlaysBass · #8 07-30-2008, 07:24 PM

I put one on my 50's P looking for more defintion. I found it. Flats and the high mass bridge sound great. I had to shim the neck to get the action where I like it.

TMacATK · #9 07-30-2008, 07:30 PM

I'm adding a black Gotoh to my Squier Affinity soon. Order from Warmoth's in the mail!

I settled on it because of price, finish (matching tuners on the way, too), and number of holes. The BadAss II is one badass bridge but it's more than twice as much as the Gotoh.

xaosbass · #10 07-30-2008, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavePlaysBass

I put one on my 50's P looking for more defintion. I found it. Flats and the high mass bridge sound great. I had to shim the neck to get the action where I like it.

I had some issues w/ the larger saddles and i may change some of them out from the old bridge but overall, i'll keep tweaking until i get what i like from this bass.

when i learned how to do my own setup, i was amazed at how little you really need to get the job done. use the 'Sticky's' at the front page of the bass forum and follow them closely. if your bass is serviceable you should have no problem getting a good setup and you get to say, " i did it myself."

Pilgrim · #11 07-31-2008, 09:19 AM

Here's a link to one at Warmoth:

http://www.warmoth.com/catalog/produ...ducts_id=12262

Looks like a bolt-on replacement for a Fender 5-screw.

praisegig · #12 07-31-2008, 12:10 PM

All of my basses have either a Gotoh 201 or 204 bridges, and have had good luck with them.

GlennW · #13 07-31-2008, 01:53 PM

These are cool too if you want more of a Fender look with Gotoh quality. For less than $30 in your mailbox you can't go wrong.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Gotoh-203-Chrome...QQcmdZViewItem

therex · #14 07-31-2008, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlennW

These are cool too if you want more of a Fender look with Gotoh quality. For less than $30 in your mailbox you can't go wrong.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Gotoh-203-Chrome...QQcmdZViewItem

those one look nice but i think they cant defeat the purpose of the 201, higher mass, improved sustain and stability

oldrocker · #15 08-02-2008, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlennW

These are cool too if you want more of a Fender look with Gotoh quality. For less than $30 in your mailbox you can't go wrong.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Gotoh-203-Chrome...QQcmdZViewItem

I've owned both. I would recommend the 201 over the 203. It's worth the extra $.$$