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Bass Bridge Question

B

BassGod2013

Jan 14, 2012
42
0
#1
Im upgrading the good ol Squier Classic vibe to be more to my liking. my question is, what kind of brdges would make a good replacement. I only want the best for this upgrade, second, I was curious if a Rickenbacker 4003 bridge would work, i may come off as a noob, but its just curiosity
 
#4
BassGod2013 said:
Im upgrading the good ol Squier Classic vibe to be more to my liking. my question is, what kind of brdges would make a good replacement. I only want the best for this upgrade, second, I was curious if a Rickenbacker 4003 bridge would work, i may come off as a noob, but its just curiosity
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It already has a high mass bridge, I think anything you could put on it would just be a lateral move.

A Hipshot A retrofit, is a top load bridge or Babicz adjustibility could possibly be an upgrade feature wise, but I doubt you would notice anything different sonically.
 
#6
The Ric 4003 bridge is cool looking but very poorly designed and difficult to use. Look in to Hipshot bridges, they make drop-in (no wood routing, just unscrew the old and screw in the new) replacements for Fender standard sized bridges and are of very high quality.

www.stewmac.com and click Bridges for more options.
 
#7
Rocky McDougall said:
We have beat this horse to death. Probably 100 threads pertaining to this subject. Do a little search and you will find a lot of opinions. I said opinions. Opinions, etc.
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It keeps getting brought up because its a popular subject. I don't really know why it bothers anybody, you can choose to participate in the thread or just pass it buy.
 
#8
CORBS said:
The Ric 4003 bridge is cool looking but very poorly designed and difficult to use. Look in to Hipshot bridges, they make drop-in (no wood routing, just unscrew the old and screw in the new) replacements for Fender standard sized bridges and are of very high quality. Another route would be a Leo Quan Badass Bridge, in your case I would recommend the III model (Badass Bridge III) which has saddles pre-filed and is essentially a drop-in replacement. It will change the feel and sound of your bass though, and add weight.

www.stewmac.com and click Bridges for more options.
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The BA II is what would fit, the III is the three bolt for the newer USA basses.
 
#10
96tbird said:
Nope. CV bridge is not standard screw pattern.
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Its a standard 5 hole pattern, I think you have it confused with the Fender High Mass bridges.

The stock bridge is basically a Gotoh 201. A new bridge wouldn't really be an upgrade unless it offered features like a top load design.

5735044763_ca2ddd9ff0.jpg

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#11
Only reason to change it being a high mass allready, would be either color change or top load wanted. If you change your strings a lot or if you rotate string sets, top load would be good idea imo. No need to feed the curled up tuner end thru back of bridge hole with top load.
 
#12
Which Squier CV bass are you modifying (different CV's come with different stock bridges)?:help:

Changing the bridge will affect the overall sound and feel of your bass in many subtle ways and each bridge will have its own unique character. The first question you need to address is "Why are you changing the bridge?" Is the change due to mechanical problems with the old bridge? Do you want a brighter tone, more sustain or just a different look? Answer the WHY questions and you'll be a lot closer to answering what replacement bridge to purchase.
You can start your information gathering here:
Tricked Out Squier Club or Tricked Out Squier Club Part 2
and
Squier Owner's Club or Squier Owner's Club (Part 2)
This is a good opportunity to learn about the search function here at TB

Regarding the Rick bridge on a Fender / Squier type bass...... sure it can be made to work but it won't be an easy direct replacement, user installed change.:crying:
 
#16
let go of the ric bridge idea; it won't fit without a bunch of routing, is way too narrow, and is a POS anyway. i had to recently replace a bridge on an '80s ric 8-string because the back had bent up over the years to where it looked like the spoiler on a formula one car! (rics are awesome, but not because of their solid, well-designed,easy-to-adjust hardware :rolleyes:)

i was just looking at a new CV jazz hanging in the store today and noticed that the stock bridge (thick chromed plate, brass saddles) was a bit wider-spaced than typical fender bridges, such that even though it had a single groove per saddle, it lined the strings up perfectly between the jazz pickup magnet pairs!

very cool, and something you want to keep.
 

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