My Fav Bridge - you'll never guess

[Davo-London]

I've tried Badass and Hipshot and Babicz bridges but you know the one that really impressed me.

The pre-CBS Fender bridge. See below:

Why? Because it's simple, it works and best of all you can move the string laterally and you can always slot it into a groove on the saddle so that the string stays where it is. AFAIK it's the only bridge that allows lateral movement. I like to be able to adjust the spacing of the string from the edge of the fretboard depending on the tension and type of string.

This is the only bridge that enables this.

I must be wrong, so I'm sure you'll have pleasure in telling me.

Davo

[NYCbassist]

Yeah Threaded Saddles are great The first Generation MIJ Jaguars have them also. One of the many super cool things about Jaguars.

[JoeWPgh]

They've become a fascination for me too. I really don't care for them, in the slightest, with round wounds. But with flats? I'm down with it!

[Low Main]

A few years ago, I was determined to avoid the plain old Fender style bridge.

But I changed my mind because they work. And I'm convinced that there are situations where having the thinner bent metal base plate is a benefit to the sound.

I've worked on a few basses where I tried several aftermarket bridges with the Fender 5 hole mounting pattern and found that the bass sounded best with the simple Fender bent metal bridge.

However, not all bridges are created equal. There are some versions of the basic Fender bridge that are not well made. Such as on the Indonesian Squier VM series for example.

Then there are versions that I think are much better than average, such as on various basses in the Yamaha BB series.

If you're going to use a basic Fender-style bridge, having a well made one makes a noticeable difference.

[g4string]

The Schaller roller bridge is the only bridge that allows for lateral movement.

[66Atlas]

I've had strings pop out of position on the "threaded" saddles when playing hard with rounds, but I think they work better with flats.

If you like having lateral movement you should check out the Kahler fixed bridge (2400 series). You can actually convert the bridges from 5 to 4 string too.

[g4string]

For reference, my post above was wrong. I meant to write "one of the few that offer true movement". I know there are others aside from the Schaller that offer lateral movement.

[soflbass]

I bought a cheap one via eBay. Figured id take a chance since it was under $30 shipped. The saddles are similar to the new fender vintage high mass bridge and allow some lateral movement. It's solid and sounds good. http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI...ectorid=229466

[rockinrayduke]

I use them on all my Fender basses that have a bent metal bridge, just for the reasons you stated.

Never had a problem with sustain. Lots of nicer bridges out there but this one is simple, works fine and doesn't cost $100 bucks.

[bassclef112]

Originally Posted by g4string

The Schaller roller bridge is the only bridge that allows for lateral movement.

So does the Hipshot A.

[walterw]

Originally Posted by Davo-London

I've tried Badass and Hipshot and Babicz bridges but you know the one that really impressed me.

The pre-CBS Fender bridge.

welcome home!

ol' leo knew what he was doing; you not only got correct spacing between the pickup magnets, but the spreading of the outer strings pulls the outer saddles in towards the middle, holding them all together for increased sustain and no rattle or movement.

this is an american standard jazz, but the same principle applies:

[abemo]

Generally I do like these style bridges, but for two things. First off, I much prefer a quick release style, saves about a minute per string to change, and that 1-4 min has saved my a$$ a few times. But secondly, on mine (its an offbrand pulled from a johnson beater) there is nothing to stop the saddles from moving side to side on the bottom plate, and they tend to slowly spread as you play. Its easily fixed by pinching them back together, and they don't spread so much to be a big pain or anything, just annoying and makes me paranoid about it holding a tune. Any way around this?

[walterw]

Originally Posted by abemo

...on mine (its an offbrand pulled from a johnson beater) there is nothing to stop the saddles from moving side to side on the bottom plate, and they tend to slowly spread as you play.

those are the single-grooved saddles, right? not the same thing at all.

like i said, with the threaded saddles you spread the strings a little wider than the saddle spacing, which pulls the saddles together instead of apart.

[FronTowardEnemy]

My BadAss II came with grooved saddles that allows for lateral movement also.

[mjac28]

Hooray for Fender Bridges ! Take that Badass !!!

[michael_l]

The threaded saddles are great, I have them on my RW jazz. But I like the new Fender bridges better (high mass). They allow lateral movement of the string on the saddle while preventing the lateral movement of the saddles.

[Beano_z]

So true, I don't get it with people always trying to fix things which ain't broken in the first place...

[bostonasphalt2]

Warwick also allows for lateral movement...

[funnyfingers]

I have the schaller 3-d on my Kramer Duke and like it a lot. It looks very nice as well.