Installing a Badass Bridge on a Jazz Bass

Baird6869 · #1 09-26-2007, 07:12 PM

I took off my stock Fender bridge and replaced it with a $50 eBay special BAII today.

Duration from start to finish? <5 minutes. 10 maybe with saddle adjustments.

If anyone is afraid to do this modification but wants a BA bridge (on a Fender anyways), grab your screwdriver and get to it.

Amazing how easy it is!

lowendgenerator · #2 09-26-2007, 08:02 PM

LOL! I put a BAII on today also. Total time...4 hours.

Not that I'm a noob with the workbench, far from it. It just took a lot of adjusting and modifications to work on my P-bass. Like drilling out the string hole for the low E to squeeze the .130 cable through. Or notching the saddles properly for said cable. Then came the tweaks of the truss rod to make up for the increased bridge height. Once I got the low E (D) where I wanted it I had to bring the rest of the saddles up to eliminate buzz, and then set intonation.

All said and done, my P-bass plays and sounds like sexual chocolate!

colorblindbass · #3 09-26-2007, 08:05 PM

do you normally have to notch all BAII's?

if there new in box?

shawn-o · #4 09-26-2007, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lowendgenerator

LOL! I put a BAII on today also. Total time...4 hours.

Not that I'm a noob with the workbench, far from it. It just took a lot of adjusting and modifications to work on my P-bass. Like drilling out the string hole for the low E to squeeze the .130 cable through. Or notching the saddles properly for said cable. Then came the tweaks of the truss rod to make up for the increased bridge height. Once I got the low E (D) where I wanted it I had to bring the rest of the saddles up to eliminate buzz, and then set intonation.

All said and done, my P-bass plays and sounds like sexual chocolate!

x2.

I actually paid to have mine done though. A luthier in the city did it (saddles) properly and restrung/setup my bass for 50 bucks.

Glad i got it done. im looking to get another one for my jazz bass now.

lowendgenerator · #5 09-26-2007, 08:09 PM

I bought it used from a TB'er, and while they had a slight 'witness mark' in them, I wanted to space them a little wider, and my notches are big, but done right. There's a long standing division on whether notching them is necessary. More so on flats than rounds seems to be the general consensus.

MysticMichael · #6 09-26-2007, 08:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by colorblindbass

do you normally have to notch all BAII's?

if there new in box?

Yes!

(Why isn't this thread in the Setup & Repair forum?)

MM

GreyBeard · #7 09-26-2007, 08:16 PM

How would you describe the changes in the sound of your basses?

tanslacks · #8 09-26-2007, 08:21 PM

I was wondering, were you able to get the action low enough? The badass seems so much higher than the fender bridge.

lowendgenerator · #9 09-26-2007, 08:27 PM

Sexual Chocolate.

(see above)

Honestly, they just seem more responsive, a little tighter and punchier. This could be because of the wicked complicated micro-tuned setup I did on it as well, but I think what makes the biggest difference was between the round barrel type saddles and the nice smooth break of the BA saddles.

I ended up taking almost almost a half turn on the truss rod to bring the action down. Keep in mind, my neck is already shimmed, and the saddles are almost as low as they can go. No relief in the neck. NONE. But that's the way, wee wee, I like it.

NKUSigEp · #10 09-26-2007, 08:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by colorblindbass

do you normally have to notch all BAII's?

if there new in box?

Most people will say "yes, you have to slot the saddles".

But I disagree, you don't HAVE to. As long as their is good solid contact between the string and the bridge, it WILL NOT affect your sound. The string will move around a little only if you hit hard and even then it's not noticeable, at least in my opinion which is the only one that matters around here.

jabella · #11 09-26-2007, 09:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by colorblindbass

do you normally have to notch all BAII's?

if there new in box?

No need to put the notch on the BAIII's. They come with grooves.

phatduckk · #12 09-26-2007, 10:26 PM

i have a badass 2 on 2 different basses... a franken j and a franken pj. i did NOT slot the saddles on either and the work just fine. i dont notice movement etc and the basses sound great to me.

so you dont HAVE TO.

or as someone said... get a badass 3 which comes with the preslotted saddles (i think ive seen BA2s come with em now too but im not sure)

Crabby · #13 09-26-2007, 11:16 PM

I did my research when I installed one on my MIM Jazz, then bought a 3 dollar set of round files, and notched the bridge myself.

I loved it as i could set the string spacing exactly where i wanted it and so far it has been a huge improvement over the crappy Mexican bridge which rattled and constantly went out of adjustment.

alfredpunkjazz · #14 09-26-2007, 11:19 PM

I remember playing a highway jazz recently... I had played a lot of jazz basses that day on the stores, but that one jumped in the middle, and the only substantial variation was the Badass bridge. I mean, the bass unplugged felt somehow very different. Don't know if it was better, but it felt different.

Baird6869 · #15 09-27-2007, 07:37 AM

The action IS a bit higher now (even with the saddles fully lowered) but a quick truss adjustment will fix that when I get around to it.

Bass Emo · #16 10-03-2007, 10:58 PM

Where is a good place to find the files I need to do this installation?

22w1st3d · #17 10-12-2007, 12:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baird6869

I took off my stock Fender bridge and replaced it with a $50 eBay special BAII today.

Duration from start to finish? <5 minutes. 10 maybe with saddle adjustments.

If anyone is afraid to do this modification but wants a BA bridge (on a Fender anyways), grab your screwdriver and get to it.

Amazing how easy it is!

can sum1 provide instructions on this? i know u just gotta swap them around and file out the string positions, but im not sure on how to go about filing positions for the strings.

any help greatly appreciated.

rodl2005 · #18 10-12-2007, 01:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 22w1st3d

can sum1 provide instructions on this? i know u just gotta swap them around and file out the string positions, but im not sure on how to go about filing positions for the strings.

any help greatly appreciated.

Lookout

another who spells like I do!!!!!!

Watch out or the 'english teachers' on TB & MODS will nab ya!!!!

BTW.....keep it up. I like ppl's quirks & differences & find reading posts with U/you, w/ with, sum1 someone, entertaining AND EZ 2 Read!

22w1st3d · #19 10-12-2007, 05:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rodl2005

Lookout

another who spells like I do!!!!!!

Watch out or the 'english teachers' on TB & MODS will nab ya!!!!

BTW.....keep it up. I like ppl's quirks & differences & find reading posts with U/you, w/ with, sum1 someone, entertaining AND EZ 2 Read!

thats fantastic and all, but what's that going to do for the badass II bridge in my room waiting to work its magic on my 82 MIJ Jazz?

rodl2005 · #20 10-14-2007, 11:15 PM

Well on the Fender Jazz I had I didn't file any slots & the bridge worked FINE!!! If U wanna file slots I'd suggest, putting on the strings, marking where they naturally go over the saddles-or some other place if U like. Small triangular files can be bought at hardware stores pretty cheap-or if U want round slots- small 'rat tail' or round files -same.