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Badass Bridge Stories

#81
96tbird said:
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 :eyebrow: says Spock.

I'm won't knock a guy for liking them, go ahead, spend your money and enjoy. :cool:

BTW this is a bump because I like reading stories by folk who use them, great fun.:D
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Some of those basses that need them won't sustain well for 4-5 seconds , which is a common hold on songs. If there is a 1 second gain in good solid sustain is that worth the cost? I think it would be in some casses but not in others. Personally I'd build it for bear and worry about it later lol. But that's a different story.
 
#83
Just curious. I have an '08 MIA Jazz with a Fender HMV bridge. Has anyone had opportunity to compare the Fender HMV directly with a Badass? Not looking for a qualitative opinion (i.e. which is better) just what the differences are between them, tone and sustain-wise, if any.
 
#84
C.Linton said:
Just curious. I have an '08 MIA Jazz with a Fender HMV bridge. Has anyone had opportunity to compare the Fender HMV directly with a Badass? Not looking for a qualitative opinion (i.e. which is better) just what the differences are between them, tone and sustain-wise, if any.
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My .02 cents:

The Fender HMV bridge is a response to the "high mass bridge" craze and the brisk sales of not only Badass but Gotoh and Hipshot variations on the theme. If you think high mass bridges work wonders on your bass, you'll probably think the Fender version is just boobies. However, if you're one of the skeptics, it won't get much regard. It's just another high mass bridge, nothing more, nothing less, even in a comparative sense.
 
#86
I have one on my geddy, one p w/ one and one p w/o one. The geddy has always had one so I wouldn't know what it sounded like without one, that being said I use very heavy strings on it (130 to 65 I believe, roto drop zones) and my tech (who is also a luthier, I say that to give him some credibility, he not only has worked on a lot of stuff but builds his own) said that he would never have been able to set it up well w/ a stock fender bridge because of 1) the height the saddles needed to be and 2) the larger saddle travel distance for intonation. That alone is enough to justify it for me. As far as tone goes, I can't quantify a difference. I feel like the instrument resonates better overall, it feels more "open", but nothing that couldn't have been done w/o eq. That being said, I also didn't buy it expecting it to change my basses tone. I plan on trying a babicz on my new p just to see what it's like.
 
#87
C.Linton said:
That's kinda what I figured.
I'm a skeptic on the benefits of HM bridges in general, so I'm neither here nor there on the Fender HMV, it's just there, and it is what it is, IMO nothing special. It do look nice, tho.
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This is true, they do look cool. If my Fender came with a HMV and it was easy to work with and get a good set-up, I'd leave it. But I wouldn't buy a HMV to install on my Fender that came without it.
 
#88
electracoyote said:
This is true, they do look cool. If my Fender came with a HMV and it was easy to work with and get a good set-up, I'd leave it. But I wouldn't buy a HMV to install on my Fender that came without it.
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Same here. Not gonna change out the HMV on my Jazz, but neither am I gonna change out the bent metal bridges on my Squiers, either, none of the three need it. Really don't believe it's gonna radically improve things to the point that it would be worth the time, money and effort.
 
#90
After listening to some samples of the BA II, it didn't sound much different from a Gotoh 201, but I noticed a definite increase in mid-range and highs compared to a lesser bridge. This is not a bad thing IMO, because I like that aggressive sort of sound. I might invest in one of these for my precision.
 
#93
BassBen said:
If you guys are at it I'll use this thread to ask a question:
I'll start by saying I'm about to buy a Badass II bridge just not sure about two things:
Is the Badass II the one I need for a Fender Jazz Bass 73'?
Is there any diffrence in the tone between the colors? (Edit: Saw some black and on the website of Leo Quan they said something about different tones)
And I've seen that some of them are Grooved and some aren't
What does it mean?
Thanks!
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Ben don't.
I bought a Precision in 1976. A year later when a couple of saddles dropped I changed the bridge for a Badass II. It stayed like that till around 2000 when I did an A/B comparison with the two bridges. Yes I kept it all that time!!! I found that I preferred the sound of the Fender bridge and in the meantime I learnt on a similar forum just to wind PTFE tape around the screws and it stops the saddles dropping.

So I had 24 years playing with an inferior bridge. So do yourself a favour and don't do it.

Davo : )
 
#94
weelll...

i'd take a badass over the '70s bridge with the single-grooved saddles at least! (isn't that when the badass came out?)

you can correct the spacing and the saddles don't slide around because of the gaps between them.

i'd sooner take a threaded-saddle '60s bridge over either, though.
 
#95
My experience is that it sounds better on some basses and worse on others. This is admittedly based on only two basses I tested. Back in the 90s I had an '83 MIJ Fender Jazz. I put a BA on it and it seemed to make it sound beefier and punchier. It also turned an 11 lbs bass into a 12 lbs. bass and made it a pain to play for any extended period of time. But I was young and liked the sound better than the stock bridge.

The when I sold the bass I took the BA off and sold it with the original bent L bridge so I could put the BA on a different bass. It was a cheap basswood Yamaha RBX-250. It made a difference all right - it sounded worse than the original, with unpleasant overtones. I took it off.

My feeling is that on a heavy bass like the Jazz it sounds pretty good, but on a light bass like basswood it doesn't.

So my answer is that it improves your tone on some basses, but makes it worse on others. Not worth $100 to see if it works on a particular bass or not. YMMV.
 
#96
I have the badass on both my Fenders. the main advantage I have seen is less movement of the saddles under heavy finger picking or slapping/popping. The BA is also great for maintaining intonation and I have found that the set screws that adjust saddle height hold well and the string height doesn't seem to fall gradually over time like some other standard saddles might.

here's my one complaint: the badass bridge is a little taller than standard fender style bridges, thus, some basses need a shim in the neck to achieve proper action. really no big deal, it's an easy fix but I understand this might deter some players.

My advice: don't buy one unless the particular bridge on the bass is really giving you problems: ie staying in tune or maintaining proper string height.

the only reason both my basses have them is because I bought them that way.
 
#97
I have a Badass II on two of my basses (MIM Jazz and an SX Jaguar style) and in both cases it made a profound difference in tone, sustain and overall resonance. Definitely not a slight, perceived improvement or "placebo effect" as detractors might claim. Both of these basses sounded ok with the stock bridges (though the bridge on the SX rattled and buzzed like crazy) but the Badass really made them come alive. It was more than just a difference you could hear, but a difference you could (and can) feel. More so on the SX than the Jazz, which I attribute to the Jazz being 2 pounds heaver with a thicker body than the SX.

Now, having said that, I am not a Leo Quan fanboy and I don't doubt it when people say the addition of a BAII made no difference at all, or actually had a negative effect on their tone. I think that's mostly due to the inconsistent nature of wood and variances in construction, wood species, etc. It just seems to be a crap shoot as to whether the bridge will mechanically work to your advantage or not. I also don't buy all the "harmonically tuned" BS in their literature. I can't recall ANYBODY (besides Leo Quan) praising the tonal or harmonic characteristics of pot metal.

There's also the claim that the angled saddles provide a stronger witness point for the string than cylindrical saddles, which may be true, but how much that realistically affects tone seems like a matter of splitting hairs.

But my two biggest beefs with the Badass are:

1) They've gotten CRAZY expensive over the last couple of years. For the longest time the new price for the chrome-plated BAII hovered around $70-$80, which is pretty expensive to begin with, but now it seems the standard retail price is about $120! There has to be a point where you draw the line.

2) They have ZERO customer service... I've tried contacting them numerous times about getting replacement saddles for a third BAII that I bought used off of eBay a couple of years ago (turned out one of the height adjustment screws was frozen) and I've never gotten a response from them. From what I've heard, NOBODY ever gets a response from them (unless you're Fender). I don't even know why they publish their phone number and email address.

So, if you want to buy a super expensive bridge that may or may not improve the tone of your bass, which you can't get replacement parts for, that's up to you. As for me, I'm putting a Gotoh 201 on my next project (I still believe in the high-mass effect). I may even make A/B recordings comparing the Gotoh and the BAII. I don't expect there to be much difference besides the price ($40 vs $120).
 
#98
eneye said:
It's hard to believe that this innocent little piece of hardware that hasn't changed much in nearly 40 years can make such an impact on tone, sustain and playability.

I have a Carvin 50th Aniversary 5 string fretless and about 10 years ago, I replaced the bridge to a badass 5 and replaced the electronics as well. To say that I had a new bass on my hands would be an understatement. It was as though the craftsmanship of that Carvin was in solitary confinement and those mods released it from prison. I'll put that Carvin to the blindfold test against basses that cost 10 times as much. I've played enough 10K+ basses and few to none sing the same way.

Last week, while refinishing my long forgotten '90 Squire Bullet P-Bass, I decided to purchase a Badass II for the bridge replacement. It was as though I went to my local shop and bought a new American P-Bass. Sustain for days and perfect action right out of the clamshell. It's the best $82 I ever spent.

Glen Quan, you are a genius. If anyone else has a story like this, do tell. Peace -E
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I did the opposite & replaced bridge w a 2-saddle bridge, & didn't use string ferrules whatever they're called. My goal was to lighten the bass/use the least amt of mass as possible. Sounds good still. No issues w sustain & bass body resonates more similar to a semi hollow. Not pissing your chips just jumping in the conversation.
 
#100
My American P came with a high-mass, string through body bridge. Wonderful sustain and resonance through the instrument. Feels and sounds much more "alive" to me then P's I have played with an "L" plate. Obviously the wood plays a role as well.
 

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