I play a '06 Fender jazz MIM, and am interested in installing BadAss II bridge on it. It was a mod that came highly suggest by a local bassist that I respect, but I'm curious what other have to say. Give me your thoughts. Thanks.
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BadAss II bridge opinions...
- Thread starter JimmyKickButt
- Start date
I have the BAII on Geddy Lee Jazz and Gotoh 201s on an SX Jazz and a Squire PJ. I prefer the Gotoh. The Geddy is already a bright bass and I feel the BAII is a little much. The Gotoh on the other hand doesn't seem to brighten up the bass any more but still feels sturdier. I also think the Gotoh looks nicer.
I upgraded my Squier P with the BAII. I dont think it affected the tone at all but the sustain is outstanding.
BAII is a well made unit, sounds great, intonation is a breeze, nice looking, sounds great on some basses.. other basses, not so much, I put one on my export Aerodyne huge improvement in tone(basswood body)
tried them on a few older alder jazz basses and the sound of the
the original Fender bridge was much better to my 3 ears............................what?
tried them on a few older alder jazz basses and the sound of the
the original Fender bridge was much better to my 3 ears............................what?
Usually improves the sustain and focus a bass. however, they also make low action harder to dial in due to their thickness.
Okay, so I've done a little research on the Gotoh 201, I definitely like the price difference. What kind of tone difference, as minor as it may be, are you going to find between the BAII and the 201? What other important differences are there that I may be missing?
I found the Gotoh to be significantly warmer and more round on my Warmoth P/J Bass. I thought the BAII was a lot brighter. It does have more sustain but that affects the shape of the note, it just sort of sits there. I'm not saying one is better than the other, I just thought the Gotoh was a little more vintage sounding but sturdier with a more complex tone than the Fender bridge. If you want brighter with more sustain, then definitely get the BAII, in fact buy mine.
No tone difference I would say, I cant even see how it would be possible. I have the BA2 on my jazz and the Gotoh on my P. Both are excellent, but equally so, so the Gotoh wins for me as the BA prices have shot up to over double the Gotoh here.
The two reasons I really like both is the increased tension feel of the strings (there is of course no more tensions, just the saddles are held firm so it feels like there is), and also the saddles cant move. Which thinking about it is really the same reason! The action problem with the BA2 can be easily alleviated with a shim under the neck.
As to differences, there arent really that many which would make a difference. The BA is bigger compared to the Gotoh, so this could be a plus or minus point for you. The BA2 often comes with ungrooved saddles, but you can get grooved ones (the Gotoh is always groove I think). Other than that I cant think of any major diffrences, or any reason to spend the extra on the BA other than looks and the name.
I can't comment on the Gotoh, but I've used a Badass II bridge on my Jazz bass for years, and it's a big improvement from the Fender bridge.
The only beef with aftermarket BAIIs is the fact that they do not come with a saddle groove, and must be machined.
I just switched out a BAII for a Gotoh on my Warmoth and I contend that the tone differences are significant. I don't know why it happens but it was noticeable by me and members of my band, which surprised me.
I upgraded to the Gotoh 201 on my SX Jazz. The action was consequently raised too high for me, but that was solved by swapping the saddles from the stock SX Jazz with the saddles on the Gotoh (perfect fit). I do notice a warmer, more rounded sound, as opposed to the 'tinny' sound that was produced with the stock bridge. So yeah, add me to the list of Gotoh lovers.
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