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Crossing That Bridge

#41
My experience is that when designed as a part of a whole bass they work. Just slapped on a Fender, slight to no improvement. It won’t make a poor bass sound better.

I modded a ‘70s Telebass. It got farther and farther from it’s original perfection. The Badass bridge did nothing. If anything it lost it’s ring.

Because I was newer in my understanding and tone making abilities I didn’t know that I should have done everything to have that bass free to ring freely and then dial the limitations out of my preamp and crank the amp so the whole rig would be let loose.
 
#42
My engineer explained to me that if you have a nice resonant body on your bass, a high-mass bridge will actually damp out that natural resonance and take away some of that from your sound. He actually designed a super-light, but very rigid bridge to eliminate this problem. He showed me how you can clearly hear the sound of different wood by rapping on it with your knuckles. If your bass sounds nice, don't change the bridge!

I believe that Fender and others are installing the high-mass bridges for uniformity, so that all the instruments will sound similar, since the stock of really good, dry, aged wood has diminished and gotten really expensive.
 
#43
lowendblues said:
You know its only a piece of bent metal, but those original Fender bridges are tough to beat. I'd save my money.

Sometimes less is more.
Click to expand...

I've said I believe the pinnacle of four string bass guitar bridge design was reached by Leo Fender in 1958 and expressed my skepticism about high mass bridges; enough times to apparently piss some people off. (shrugging emoji goes here)

I put my money into pickups; Fralin and Lollar.
 
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#44
If you like how your bass sounds and feels then don't do it. A high mass bridge will change it, and not necessarily in a way that you'll like. It might sound a little different, you might have to play harder to get the same intensity out of the notes, there might be a change in audibility when playing with a band, etc. These are all things I've found when swapping bridges on my basses, and it applies to a lot of other mods that people do. The basic, baked-in EQ and responsiveness of the instrument changes. A high mass bridge might be beneficial to one bass design and detrimental to another. The benefit that a component lends to an instrument depends on the rest of the design.

I do feel that Fender basses sound and feel best with the regular old bent plate bridge. High mass bridges seem to have a subtractive effect on them. FWIW I've done some modding and swapping around of parts and my main takeaway is that manufacturers know what they're doing more than we give them credit for. Typically the stock stuff is what's right for an instrument.
 
#45
bogie1519 said:
Fender High Mass Wide 4-String Bass Bridge. 53.89
If I replace my stock MIM bridge with the above bridge
will I notice any improvement in sustain resonance or improved attack?
Is it a direct drop-in replacement?

Or just a waste of time and money.
Click to expand...

Many people can't hear the difference even if a new bridge does make a difference. You might notice a difference in tone, sustain or attack or you might not, depends on whether your current bridge is underperforming.

IMO if I thought a high mass bridge would make a difference I'd probably be looking at upgrading the whole bass.

It's your choice to spend your money how you want. Whether you chose wisely or not . . . only you can tell.
 
#47
Great thread. But don't think any bridge will do a substantial diference mounted over a 1/32 thick urethane finish. The pickups didn't do any diference, the strings surely do. I like Gotoh 203 ideea. Never bought one but all my standard bridges got 2 extra screws in front and never regrets (I don't care about resale value)
 
#49
It is not possible to make it more intimate with the body over a thick soft urethane finish. The thick polyurethane layer act as a filter and damp the wood resonance. Try to make it tight and get deep print which compromise the plane surface. It is possible to get better resonance transfer with the screws as Gotoh 203 and some Music Man did. Then different materials or mass will do a diference, otherwise will be another string hook.
 
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#50
My PB and JB have the sound I want with all the sustain I can use with the Fender vintage type bridges--the kind with threaded barrel saddles.

To that end, setting the bolt on neck as well set in the neck pocket as possible helps.

When I set or reseat the necks on my guitars I snug the screws in a rotating crossing pattern--a pretty common or standard thing to do. Next, I string the bass guitar, bring the strings pitch and get the setup very near or fully complete--string action and intonation--and play it some so everything is pretty well settled in.

Then I do one last step to make sure the neck is as tightly backed into the pocket as possible; with the strings to correct pitch/tension, I loosen the back 2 necks, closest to the bridge, just 1/4 turn. Next, the same with the 2 forward neck strews, closest to the nut/low end. You may hear a single sharp pop sound, signifying the sting tension has drawn the neck back into the pocket a tiny bit more. Finally, re-snug the screws in the same order they were loosened.

Of course YMMV. With my jazz bass the effect happens to be the most dramatic or noticeable. When it's done the sustain is great.
 
#54
There is one little "problem" with standard Fender bridge. The string saddles are marked 19mm apart whilst the string holes more like 20mm. That means for a determined position the saddles will be lined spot on. Moving the saddles back- eg. for intonation reason- the string line will determine the saddles to move outside due the bigger distance between strings leaving space in between. I.m not to sure if that is a issue or not or influence the saddle stability when playing? Or may be possible to compensate with some paper washers in between. Anyhow a threaded saddle will do the possibility to raise the space between strings whilst the saddle position will be consistent 19mm aligned.Whilst a grooved plate will force the saddle to stay in place forcing the string to bend by misalignment from straight position between plate holes and nut. Don't really know how much is matter and what solution is best as any strings are convergent and any bridge sadles run parallel...Think best is to drill the string holes centered at same 19mm as well, but not possible to fix it on standard bent bridge.
 
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#55
The only time I’ve ever had a bridge make a tonal difference Was when I used aluminum. Otherwise I think it’s a sales job. I do like the technology of the saddles on a lot of heavy bridges, but I do just fine with bent plates. I recently changed all my Fender basses to bent plates and it didn’t make a lick of difference in the sound.
 
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#56
This is how I solved in one of mine. I wish to find a standard plate with 57 mm string holes, not over 60 as this original it is.

20211015_045120.jpg
 
#57
I’ve been slowly replacing all my bridges with Hipshot As, mainly because of the adjustable string spacings. I like a very specific string space at the bridge, and the Hipshot is the only bridge that lets me get it
 
#59
72.75.jpg
Found a pic on the net.This is a 72 and a 75 one. It clearly shows different bridge position they changed for a reason in '70. In consequence the intonation is settled further away from strings holes making the saddles to be closer in touch. Any thoughts ?
 
#60
catalin gramada said:
View attachment 4442045
Found a pic on the net.This is a 72 and a 75 one. It clearly shows different bridge position they changed for a reason in '70. In consequence the intonation is settled further away from strings holes making the saddles to be closer in touch. Any thoughts ?
Click to expand...
If they both have proper intonation, doesn’t matter.
 
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