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Aluminium vs Brass bridge

soulbrother

soulbrother

Dec 30, 2001
256
8
Rotterdam area, Netherlands
#1
Hi,

My Mike Lull modern 5V bass has a Hipshot A type bridge made of aluminium. It's very light and solid but if you ask me, it "sounds" not OK to me. It sounds like any other ordinary bridge when played soft but when I really dig in, I think I hear a sound I just don't like. I can't really describe that sound. Is that possible or am I being a total FREAK? I am thinking of replacing it by the same bridge made of brass or maybe a Badass 5. Have you had a similar experience?

Best regards, Werner.
 
#4
mis dos centavos..( my .02)
i have played many a bass with aluminum bridges and never a problem- i had one bass with a brass bridge and i dont know if that had anything to do with it , but i didnt like the sound of the bass.... by that crteria- i will stick with aluminum- but of course, just like Brad, i could be wrong...
 
#6
as i stated in another post, i've owned 2 lull's and both had this hipshot aluminum bridge he speaks of.

the vintage 4 i had was ash/maple and i thought that the hipshot gave it extra snap which was cool. on the MV5 which was alder/rosewood i would have prefered a brass bridge. i felt like there was a certain clunkiness to the tone introduced by the bridge which didn't sit well with me. i suppose i was looking to hear that classic alder/rosewood jazz tone, and it was almost there except for the clank in the tone from the bridge.. it was almost hollow sounding or something. could be me and my wacky ears though. :eek:

i have a feeling that soulbrother was just looking for the smooth sheen of a sadowsky as opposed the raw tone of the lull. its like the lull is voiced to make you wanna play rawk with a pick or something. :)
 
#7
Originally posted by adrian garcia
mis dos centavos..( my .02)
i have played many a bass with aluminum bridges and never a problem- i had one bass with a brass bridge and i dont know if that had anything to do with it , but i didnt like the sound of the bass.... by that crteria- i will stick with aluminum- but of course, just like Brad, i could be wrong...
Click to expand...

Hey Adrian, does than mean that George and Mike use aluminium B bridges from Hipshot? I thought they used brass!


Peace, JP
 
#9
Originally posted by jokerjkny
i like brass over aluminium. on my Mike Lull, it has an aluminium hipshot bridge, but i prefer my parts j bass' brass Badass II.

just sounds deeper, punchier; while the aluminium sounds more airy and more "hollow" like.
Click to expand...

What makes you say that the difference in coming from the bridge?

Peace, JP
 
#10
Here is what the Hipshot website says about the difference between brass and aluminum in their FAQ section.

"Aluminum bridges are lighter in weight so if you are concerned about your instruments over all weight than aluminum is the way to go. Aluminum tends to deliver more mids and highs while brass accentuates the low end tones."

Dave
 
#11
Originally posted by JP Basses


What makes you say that the difference in coming from the bridge?

Peace, JP
Click to expand...

i swapped out the bridges on the parts.

its been soo long, but i had a hipshot aluminium on the parts, but switched over to the Leo Quan, after researching TB. also, funny, but i like the slightly added weight that balances my jbass better.

couple the BadAss II with a brass nut on the headstock, and WOW, talk about low, clean, punchie tone!
 
#13
Originally posted by emjazz
JP, I you don't already I suggest that you try brass bridges on you basses. With the wood combonations that you use I'm sure it would make your instruments sound huge! Brass bridges really work well on instruments with denser woods like wenge and ebony as well as maples and mahoganys.
Click to expand...

I've only used brass for the moment but i'm tempted to give a try at aluminium.

here's what I ave in mind. I believe that if there could be a difference in sound between using alu or brass, it shold come from difference in mass (weight).

I actually use two types of brass bridges from abm. Solid bridges or individual bridges. The latests are way lighter than the solid and they sound awesome...period. I don't even really hear a big difference between the two.

If I was ti use an alu hipshot A bridge I guess the weight could be similar to the individual ABM brass bridges. So no problem?

Is the one on your nordstrand brass? I don't know if Carey always use brass.

Peace, JP
 
#14
My bridge is actually an aluminum one. With the new fingerboard that Carey is putting on being changed from ebony to pao ferro, I believe that the aluminum bridge is the right choice. It was definately too much with the ebony board though. I actually don't know what Carey uses as his standard. I'll ask him and let you know.
 
#15
Andrew's bridge is aluminum.
I generally recommend aluminum to my customers just for weight savings, and I like the way all my basses have sounded so far. Mike's bridge is brass though, so I will have more information about what I like as soon as it's done. Of course it's different woods than I'm used to, so how much I learn is really debatable.
 
#18
two more cents.. maybe it had nothing to do with the brodge , but..
i owned quite a few MTD's and now i play an F bass- always with aluminum bridges, except for one MTD 535 that had an alder body and walnut top and brass bridge, it just didn't clik with me- the sound wasnt to my liking at all, very harsh, so away it went...
 
#19
I have two aluminum Hipshots. One Schaller that I'm not sure about. I think it's aluminum, but could be brass. I used to have a Kahler bass trem which I'm pretty sure was brass, but that's an entirely different animal and useless for this comparison.

I've always been under the impression that brass bridges were superior. But I never gave much thought to "why." Just something I heard and it stuck in my cranium. Maybe something about the greater mass improving sustain, or something along that line of thinking. I've never been able to compare two similar basses with brass and aluminum bridges.

So I guess I really have nothing to contribute to this and don't really know why I'm typing. I just strarted and couldn't stop, ya know? :o

But it's a subject I'm interested in, so I'm reading and learning. I'll shut up now. :)
 

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