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Babicz 5 string on a Fender

fishstix

fishstix

Feb 28, 2006
679
523
Wisconsin
#1
It appears the string spacing on the Babicz 5 string bridge is larger than MIA Fender Jazz spacing. Has anyone installed one of these on a MIA Fender 5 string and can comment on if the spacing worked out?

Also, one of the reasons I'm looking to change out the bridge is to overcome the need to use tapered strings (the action can never seem to get low enough with non-tapered on my bridge). Can anyone comment on their experience with string height with these bridges?

Thanks
 
#2
string height is not a factor with any bridge, and is no reason to change bridges. any proper bridge can allow for any string height. if the saddles are bottoming out on the plate, your problem lies elsewhere.

i'm surprised the babicz is wider than the USA fender; i thought it was a little narrower, as the USA jazz V with the string-through is one of the widest out there.

and there's no "need" to use tapered strings; the stock bridge will adjust for regular strings just fine.
 
#4
From what I saw on the web, the Babicz is 19 mm spacing and the Fender 5 is 18 mm. I ran into this problem when replacing the pickups and getting the pole pieces to line up with the strings as well.

The string height can be setup fine with tapered strings but I have issues bottoming out the saddles on the E and B with non-tapered. I was thinking that the depth of the saddle was not adequate for non-tapered and I didn't want to permanently alter original hardware by filing it in case I ever want to sell it. I was under the assumption that Fender just intended for their 5's to use tapered and thus set up the bridges to work that way. Maybe a shim for the entire neck pocket is needed instead to raise the plane of the neck.

As far as going string through, thats not a biggie as none of my other basses are string through.

My other reason for changing out the bridge is in effort to "liven" it up closer to where my 4 string jazz is with the BAII installed.
 
#5
fishstix said:
From what I saw on the web, the Babicz is 19 mm spacing and the Fender 5 is 18 mm. I ran into this problem when replacing the pickups and getting the pole pieces to line up with the strings as well.

As far as going string through, thats not a biggie as none of my other basses are string through.
Click to expand...
wait, is this a USA or a mexi 5?

the american bridges have adjustable spacing (so can go wider than even 19mm), and are already string-through. if you're bottoming out the saddles (tapered ends or not), then other aspects of your setup are off.
 
#6
Yeah it's an American with the adjustable bridge. However, the pickup pole pieces don't line up well with wider spacing IME.

Maybe I'll take it in for a second opinion in case there's something weird going on but it just seems like the saddle isn't deep enough. However, it may also be that the plane of the finger board is too low.

It just seems odd as I have no trouble with the setups on any of my other basses.
 
#7
I know this thread is old but I thought I would chime in here. My P5 MIA also has issues with non tapered strings. The saddle grooves are nowhere near wide enough for the E or low B. So running flats with the string essentially siting on top of the saddle grooves instead of in them, means that the action cant go low enough on those strings. This bridge is definitely designed for very light strings or tapered strings.

I am going to file the saddles and if that doesn't work out functionally and cosmetically I am going to try a hipshot.
 
#8
sting7777 said:
I know this thread is old but I thought I would chime in here. My P5 MIA also has issues with non tapered strings. The saddle grooves are nowhere near wide enough for the E or low B. So running flats with the string essentially siting on top of the saddle grooves instead of in them, means that the action cant go low enough on those strings. This bridge is definitely designed for very light strings or tapered strings.

I am going to file the saddles and if that doesn't work out functionally and cosmetically I am going to try a hipshot.
Click to expand...

Thanks for chiming in. It's interesting to hear someone else views the bridge the same way I do. I've ended up using a set with a tapered B and non tapered E. Thus the E isn't quite where I want it but close and the B gets the help from the taper. Fortunately I really like the new brand of strings I'm using and I can get them quickly from baasstringsonline.

Thanks again for sharing your views.
 
#10
what would you use to shim up? To shim door hinges I've used non-corrugated cardboard (like cereal box cardboard), putting a narrow strip on the edge you want to raise. Works well in that application, but you wouldn't get continuous contact between the neck and cutout.

I can't think of anything with that fine and flat a taper, short of fitting a filler and planing it true in place
 
#11
something's not right here;

i've setup lots and lots of USA fender 5-strings with non-tapered strings without running into this problem. the saddles have enough range to put the action anywhere i want it if the rest of the setup is right.

the fat B and E strings also sit just fine on the grooves, no need to go hacking on them with a file.

in any case, a thin shim under the highest fret would fix any bottoming-out problems if they really exist here.

changing that very good bridge because you can't get the setup right is like changing out your windshield because you can't figure out how to adjust the rear-view mirror!
 
#12
I may just have a skewed view as I would expect the action to be able to match my Sadowsky, Modulus, and Musicman basses. None of them have had any issues getting the action just how I wanted it. Could be just something odd with this particular bass. However, I've found a string set now that gets me pretty close to where I want to be anyhow.
Thanks for the input.
 
#14
The grooves are nowhere near wide enough to handle a .130 B or even the low E. The string ends up riding on top of multiple ridges instead of in the groove as the other strings do. With flats it actually starts to cut into the surface of the string. I was able to file a groove appropriate for a .130 B and now can setup the bass perfectly. With the tapered strings that were on there the bass was also easy to setup. The bridge is very nice - easily as nice as any hipshot, but the grooved saddles don't really work on the bottom two strings.

Just to be clear, while the action is affected (the string sits about 3/64ths higher than if I used tapered strings) the real issue is that the string is not sitting in a groove, but on two narrow ridges. That design does not make sense to me.

If I had to shim, I would just pull the neck and fix the angle. I never liked shims. I would rather fix the issue and have nice wood to wood contact through the whole pocket.

This is all on a latest gen Am Std. P5


walterw said:
something's not right here;

i've setup lots and lots of USA fender 5-strings with non-tapered strings without running into this problem. the saddles have enough range to put the action anywhere i want it if the rest of the setup is right.

the fat B and E strings also sit just fine on the grooves, no need to go hacking on them with a file.

in any case, a thin shim under the highest fret would fix any bottoming-out problems if they really exist here.

changing that very good bridge because you can't get the setup right is like changing out your windshield because you can't figure out how to adjust the rear-view mirror!
Click to expand...
 

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