Replacing Wilkinson bridge with Badass?

[DaveCustomMade]

If I replaced my Wilkinson bridge (on my Peavey) with a Badass, what would I expect to find afterwards?

I'm purposefully being vague so I don't bate the question. So, beyond "you'll have a different looking bridge than before", what difference should there be?

[DaveCustomMade]

Bump. . . . any thoughts?

Should this be moved to a different place on talkbass.com for more chances at it being addressed?

[Hoover]

Well, it'll be harder to change strings, and your bass will be incrementally heavier.

I couldn't speak to the performance/behavior differences though.

[DaveCustomMade]

Why would it be harder to change the strings the the badass?

I was wondering if it would be sonically better since it would be much more metal to it than the Wilkenson. But yeah, if it wouldn't be much better, I'd just as soon leave the Wilkenson on it.

[danomite64]

Yeah, seriously. I had a '93 Carvin with a Wilkenson bridge, and it was the most difficult bridge to intonate, and while it was top loading, they managed to even make changing strings harder than normal. My guess is that you'll have an increase in sustain, and maybe a bit more brightness by changing the bridge, not to mention much easier intonation and setups.

[Hoover]

Originally Posted by DaveCustomMade

Why would it be harder to change the strings the the badass?

Badass is back-loaded; you have to thread the entire string through a hole in the back of the bridge. Wilkenson is top-loaded; you only need to loosen the string tension to pop the ball ends off the little string-holding pegs.

Unless something's changed in recent years? Admittedly the last time I looked closely at a Badass was when Ronald Reagan was in office.

[Baird6869]

I have no issue with restringing a BA bridge. It is as easy as any other bass I have owned.

Pros?
- I THINK it sounds better. Likely, I WANT it to sound better, but I am happy with the tone difference in my 1993 MIM P bass with a new BAII.
- More sustain? Maybe. Not enough for most humans to notice.
- It is solid and feels much better than most stock bridges.

Cons?

- Heavy as hell. Almost 1/2lb
- Higher profile than most stock bridges. Lots of adjustments to get the string action low (expecially on Fenders). Truss rod adjustments were the only way I could get my action playable. I though I was going to have to route out a few MM under the bridge.

Hope that helps...

[DaveCustomMade]

Thank you!

[RUDEONTOUR]

All I had to do on my P-bass after installin a BADAS I was shiv the neck and minor truss adjustments, 8 years later still love it!