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Badass Bridge Stories
- Thread starter eneye
- Start date
4001 said:
You forget another big "fan" which is Marcus Miller. Not trying to make a point but these 2 are really big. There could be money involved but I'm sure at very beginning was a techical choice.
I just swapped my BAII that was on my custom P with the L bridge on my 75AVRI J and I actually think I can tell the difference on the J but the P stayed the same. The J sound like it has deeper lows. Might be my imagination too though.
My only reason for swapping is because the G string moved around too much when the L bridge was on the AVRI since I had to extend the intonation screw out so far. With the L bridge on the P, the intonation screw is only extended about half as much as it was when on the J. It's perfect on the P.
My only reason for swapping is because the G string moved around too much when the L bridge was on the AVRI since I had to extend the intonation screw out so far. With the L bridge on the P, the intonation screw is only extended about half as much as it was when on the J. It's perfect on the P.
that's the problem with the single-groove vintage bridges, the saddles slide around since the string spacing pulls them apart instead of together (plus, the spacing is too narrow for jazz pickups).
the real vintage fender bridges with the threaded-rod saddles don't have these problems.
one more thing CBS screwed up when they bought fender.
the real vintage fender bridges with the threaded-rod saddles don't have these problems.
one more thing CBS screwed up when they bought fender.
That's something I may (emphasis in MAY) do, is swap out the saddles on my VM J's bridge for threaded ones for purely aesthetic reasons re:string/pole alignment. Forunately the saddles on it's companion VM P have perfect string/pole alignment, so it's not necessary. But I refuse to even consider replacing the entire bridge, Badass or any other kind, for that matter, neither one needs it.
ok badassII story.
maybe 94 , 95ish bought a brand new Mexican Jazz Bass.
Went from factory strings to Rotosound, awesome, tried RotoSound Flats, my young ears thought it sounded great, but lacked sustain.
Tried the Leo Quan bridge, spent some time doing the setup myself, dialed in the neck ruler flat, perfect action.
The saddles did not have grooves in them, and i did not have to mod them to work.
The tone of the bass changed alot i could instantly notice a difference. still lacked in any magic sustain.
Had a feeling the Rotosound flats were a bad batch.
After new strings the bass had way better tone...and much better sustain, not amazing sustain...(its a Fender) but alot more...much more, even better than the round wound strings and the factory bridge.
Bought a American P Bass in 98 ish changed the bridge to Badass, again no grooves in saddles, no mods to make it work.
Did nothing, same bass= bigger bridge, took it off to add a bridge cover and had to use the smaller factory bridge.
maybe 94 , 95ish bought a brand new Mexican Jazz Bass.
Went from factory strings to Rotosound, awesome, tried RotoSound Flats, my young ears thought it sounded great, but lacked sustain.
Tried the Leo Quan bridge, spent some time doing the setup myself, dialed in the neck ruler flat, perfect action.
The saddles did not have grooves in them, and i did not have to mod them to work.
The tone of the bass changed alot i could instantly notice a difference. still lacked in any magic sustain.
Had a feeling the Rotosound flats were a bad batch.
After new strings the bass had way better tone...and much better sustain, not amazing sustain...(its a Fender) but alot more...much more, even better than the round wound strings and the factory bridge.
Bought a American P Bass in 98 ish changed the bridge to Badass, again no grooves in saddles, no mods to make it work.
Did nothing, same bass= bigger bridge, took it off to add a bridge cover and had to use the smaller factory bridge.
Is it possible that, due to variations in original bridge, other materials, construction, etc, from bass to bass, as well as player tendencies, strings, etc., that a BA bridge may have a pronounced effect for one player and yet a marginal effect for another?
I think so.
It's also possible they are just marketing hype, like all the zillions of other magic potions. There is one on my bass, it came stock. I don't know what it would sound like without it.
I think so.
It's also possible they are just marketing hype, like all the zillions of other magic potions. There is one on my bass, it came stock. I don't know what it would sound like without it.
Didn't know Marcus was a big fan.
I have Badass bridges on some of my basses. I'm glad I replaced my original Ric bridge with a Badass I. Makes setup so much easier. Geddy Lee has one on his Rickenbacker as well. Dosen't mean that I have one because he does...more like they were pretty much my only choice at the time when I wanted to replace the stock bridge and if it was good enough for Geddy, then it was good enough for me.
Just to add to what others have said: I have one on my highway 1 pbass and one on my geddy lee jazz. They sound fine. I don't think much would change if they were switched for L-plates or any other top-load bridges.
That being said, I like the way they look. I know some find them garish, but I think they work on a Fender. I wouldn't want one on a Gibson IMO. It is nice to feel that substantial hunk of metal under my right hand if I anchor it to mute/pick.
I would not go out of my way to put one on a bass, but I'm not going to take it off either one of my fenders to try and sell it on ebay.
I will say that i have always been of the opinion that zinc was chosen for its relative low cost and ease of casting over any real tonal qualities. I think once zinc was chosen as a material, the marketing part was figuring out a way to justify that choice on tonal merits rather than the real reason- ease of manufacture/lower cost
That being said, I like the way they look. I know some find them garish, but I think they work on a Fender. I wouldn't want one on a Gibson IMO. It is nice to feel that substantial hunk of metal under my right hand if I anchor it to mute/pick.
I would not go out of my way to put one on a bass, but I'm not going to take it off either one of my fenders to try and sell it on ebay.
I will say that i have always been of the opinion that zinc was chosen for its relative low cost and ease of casting over any real tonal qualities. I think once zinc was chosen as a material, the marketing part was figuring out a way to justify that choice on tonal merits rather than the real reason- ease of manufacture/lower cost
I don't want anything on my instruments that adds sustain. I get more sustain than I want from the stock Fender bridge. Basses used to come with mutes.
Me too.
IME, the Badass has not delivered the promised qualities on a regular basis. On most basses I've tried it, I ended up removing it because the stock bridge was just as good or better.
But every once in awhile, the planets align. I have a P Bass that I bought used with a Badass installed, and I'm pretty sure the BA is making a major contribution to the ballsy tone and sustain.
Or maybe it's all in my head
There is also the issue of impeding the action and set-up. If your bolt-on bass happens to have a slightly deeper neck pocket, good luck getting the BA saddles low enough. You'll find yourself trying all kinds of workarounds like filing slots in the saddles or even routing the body under the bridge plate to get the saddles low enough for low action.
I have an October Guitars Annihilator 5 string Bass ordered. (First One, By the way.
)I specified a HipShot Bridge for it.
I had a Rich Warlock that I put a BA on and I couldnt tell any difference in the performance of it versus the stock Rich Bridge.
I chose the HipShot for aesthetics more than anhything else. They are massive, maybe more so than a BA, but I agree with the aspect of their look.
Put me down for not blown away.
I tried BA II's on several basses and never really got the WOW factor out of them
I'd rather just have the bridge that came on the bass or if I needed to buy one, I'd get the Gotoh bridge. Never been a gimmicky bridge fan.
I tried BA II's on several basses and never really got the WOW factor out of them
I'd rather just have the bridge that came on the bass or if I needed to buy one, I'd get the Gotoh bridge. Never been a gimmicky bridge fan.
Here's my story:
Once upon a time, I bought a Badass II for my P bass even though I hated the way they looked. I took it home, installed it, slotted it, set the bass up, plugged it in and played....
5 minutes later, I unplugged my bass, took off the Badass and put back the original bridge.
5 days later, it had been sold on Ebay.
Any time I have bought a bass that had one, I gave it a shot.... but they always end up being sold.
I hate those things.
The original is ok.
Once upon a time, I bought a Badass II for my P bass even though I hated the way they looked. I took it home, installed it, slotted it, set the bass up, plugged it in and played....
5 minutes later, I unplugged my bass, took off the Badass and put back the original bridge.
5 days later, it had been sold on Ebay.
Any time I have bought a bass that had one, I gave it a shot.... but they always end up being sold.
I hate those things.
The original is ok.
How much sustain is needed? At 100 bpm, a quarter note lasts .6 seconds, a whole note lasts 2.4 seconds. A metal player slamming sixteenths, etc. Fascinating 
says Spock.
I'm won't knock a guy for liking them, go ahead, spend your money and enjoy.
BTW this is a bump because I like reading stories by folk who use them, great fun.
says Spock.I'm won't knock a guy for liking them, go ahead, spend your money and enjoy.
BTW this is a bump because I like reading stories by folk who use them, great fun.
