Has Anyone Ever Used These For A Bridge??

[speak2planets]

So I am n need of a new bridge on my bass and have been talking with some friends about using these Hipshot individual saddles. Has anyone ever used these before on a build or replacement? Any pros or cons? I've seen these on Dingwall's before and thought they looked pretty cool. I attached a pic of the ones I am talking about. If these things suck, tell what bridge you might reccommend. I am looking to do a thru-body stringing nd my bass is probably about 1" to 1 1/2" thick. Thanks

[JoeWPgh]

I've been curious about these as well. When they were first introduced, there was to be a piezo element to follow shortly. I never understood how that would be wired. Maybe that's why they dropped it.

[Snort]

I am about to instal a set on the 5 string I am building, they do in my opinion look good, had to come up with a novel idea to ground them all though.

[dalahorse]

It looks a lot like the Schecter S-Tek bridge. I wonder if Schecter rebrands their bridge or something. They ground the individual pieces by running a copper ribbon under them.

One thing I don't like about the S-Tek is how intonation is set. Rather than a convenient screw to move the saddle back and forth, there is a small hex screw that is loosened and the saddle has to be pushed/pulled into position with your fingers. It requires a careful touch. Otherwise, I think it's nice and clean looking, and seems to work well.

[MrArose13]

I use them and think they're sweet!



The only bad thing I came across, was on my body's which are 1 1/2" the string through tubes were too long with not enough threads, so i had to cut them down and add some threads. In the end it all worked out. I bought my first batch before Hipshot got there patine, I think they offer 2 lengths on the down tubes now

What I like most is it's a nut and bolt concept, so contact with the body is solid.

With a neck through, you can drill a hole through the body portion of the neck (before gluing on the bass wing) to run a ground wire either across the down tube holes or the (can't think of what to call it at the moment) location nub on the base of the bridge it self (i put a pic in for you and circled it in blue)



you also have to make holes to accommodate these nubs, that can be a bit of a con as well.

All the best to you

[suraj]

Just an idea to ground the bridges - If the bass has a brass nut, or a zero fret, then you need only ground one bridge. Even if the bass doesnt have these, you can install a steel rod that acts like a string tree for all strings after the nut. That would electrically connect all strings and hence all bridges.

An other idea altogether. If the bass has a top, before the top is glued, a small plate of metal can be inlayed, and all bridges can bolt into that, instead of screwing. Also before this top is glued, a wiring channel from that plate to the cavity can be routed.

[Geoff St. Germaine]

I've used these. They're very nice bridges, though the amount of routing required to install them can be a bit of hassle. You can see here what's required for these ones:



I didn't need a string ground on the instrument I put these on, so I had no issue to deal with, but the suggestions already brought up would work.

[MrArose13]

Originally Posted by MrArose13

I use them and think they're sweet!

you also have to make holes to accommodate these nubs, that can be a bit of a con as well.

All the best to you

Originally Posted by Geoff St. Germaine

I've used these. They're very nice bridges, though the amount of routing required to install them can be a bit of hassle. You can see here what's required for these ones:



I didn't need a string ground on the instrument I put these on, so I had no issue to deal with, but the suggestions already brought up would work.

That's what I was trying to say .. Thanks for making that more clear Geoff St. Germaine! BTW, I saw that build thread, truly a lovely instrument ..

[speak2planets]

By seeing all this, I wonder if using these will be too much of a pain in the ass (especially the floating saddles and intonation). I'm not the greatest woodworker and I thought it would have just been drilling a hole per bridge piece. So what traditional bridges would anyone reccommend? That Babicz bridge looks interesting and Badass' and Hipshots I feel are the norm. Any advice?

[speak2planets]

Awesome build, BTW!!