tell me about your Badass Bridge!

[sammyp]

or similar product ........looking into Badass for my Sx hotrodding.......what are we talking? 25% tone improvement? more - less?

Thanks

[ksandvik]

Everyone has a relative view about badass bridges. More tight sound, or not, more sustain, or not... It certainly makes the bass sound a little bit more modern. But might steal some of the authentic Fender sound away.

[fourstringdrums]

This should be in Setup & Hardware. Also, do a search, this has been discussed to death.

[Nev375]

The amount of improvement depends entirely on the quality of the tonewood it is screwed into.

[sammyp]

Originally Posted by fourstringdrums

This should be in Setup & Hardware. Also, do a search, this has been discussed to death.

i'll do a search ...a bit lazy i guess, i felt maybe the responses in a less frequented forum might slow the feedback.

[sammyp]

interesting read of the search ...seems the concensus is they are well over rated!

[Nev375]

You remember that quote from Pulp Fiction in the '50's club where John Travolta's character Vincent told Marcellus' wife:

That's a pretty f***ing good milkshake. I don't know if it's worth five dollars but it's pretty f***ing good.

They are kinda like that.

[tekdiver500ft]

Yup. They make the bass sound more modern, brighter, somewhat tighter. Whether this is a good thing is up to you. I don't care for the one that came on my bass, and I'll be replacing it as soon as I figure out what to put in it's place.

[BarkerBass]

I have badasses on my 2 jazz basses and it does brighten/tighten the tone slightly but no where near as much as say a pickup or neck swap. I have them on an alder and RW alnico single coiled jazz and an alder and maple ceramic stacked humbuckered bass and the tonal difference between the two is miles because of the different woods and pickups but the badass will contribute to the tightness of both those basses I'm sure. (I should also say that going form a rw fretboard neck to a maple neck on the same bass as I did about a year ago made far more of a difference to the tightness and brightness of the tone than having the badass on it)

I only have them on because they came stock other wise I'd either stick with whatever came on it or buy a cheaper version like the gotoh, but then again ti is cool to have badass written on your bass... cool to some people at least

[dmusic148]

Bridge-swapping makes hardly any, IF any difference at all. I'm prepared for the flames, which will be brought by those who spent money on something that they are SURE really made a difference......

It's a bit like folks who say "I just put on a set of ______ _____ strings, and WOW, what a difference!!! These strings are AWESOME!!! My new favorite string!!! ".........they almost always fail to include (or don't realize) the fact that their old strings were OLD..........

[jmattbassplaya]

I've never noticed that much improvement by 'upgrading' a stock bridge to a BA. Personally, I don't like them, and at the prices they're going for these days I'd pass on one.

[James L]

I have a Badass on my jazz and it made the sustain better, that's about all it did. That's all I can say about it really since it's been on there for like 10 years. I'm having another bass built that will have the badass put on it and according to the builder he told me that this bridge is the last five string chrome badass left. It took him a while to locate one. If you want one, get it now, for some reason leo quan isn't turning them out like they used to and big companies like fender get them first for thier basses.

[electracoyote]

Originally Posted by sammyp

or similar product ........looking into Badass for my Sx hotrodding.......what are we talking? 25% tone improvement? more - less?

Thanks

On the vast majority of basses I have had a Badass on, no improvement in tone or playability. In fact, it usually resulted in set up difficulties such as dialing in low action.

[lug]

I have 4 BadAss Bridges. It made a distinct tone difference on only one bass, a very light 70's Pbass. Didn't notice a big difference on my others.

[Ric5]

I prefer the Schaller to the Leo Quan bridge

[202dy]

Originally Posted by sammyp

or similar product

It's a big chunk of metal with some little pieces of metal sort of attached by screws. The little pieces of metal can be moved back and forth with a screw driver and up and down with a hex wrench. The big piece of metal doesn't move at all. It's way bigger and heavier than the one that comes on a traditional Fender bass.

........looking into Badass for my Sx hotrodding.......what are we talking? 25% tone improvement? more - less?

Thanks

Improvement? That is subjective. One mans trash...

Different? In a quiet room, maybe a little different. Depending on the room, the amp, the guitar, and the ears. Passing trailer truck or school bus will negate the effect. Live or in the mix? Not at all.

Also being discussed rationally here.

[Metaldood19]

Looked into putting one on my six but ended up settling on triple lockdowns from hipshot. BA's just don't give back for the price they ask for.

[DiabolusInMusic]

I put one my Fender P and I find it does give some more sustain to the bass, I absolutely love it. It is a rosewood fretboard, which they say is better for whatever reason, but I'd highly recommend one. They're pretty heavy if that's a factor for you though. Your not going to get a definite answer though, you have to try it for yourself for an answer.
Although as somebody said earlier changing a bridge isn't going to give drastic results like different pickups would.

[96tbird]

Both my P & J have dead spots on the 5th fret on the G. Not related to the bridge, but you can't hear the dead spots when playing with other instruments. Sustain therefore, IMHO, is a fruitless chase for anything other than your own satisfaction; it just disappears into the mix. If you want it for looks, fine, but the sustain thing is a red herring, not really measurably worth the money; a I said visual mojo is great if you want to drop the cash. My .02, YMMV, enjoy!

[chalie]

My badass II on Geedy Lee does looks like an ironer to me but sounding is good. They should release a version with quick strings remove too.