• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Epiphone Jack Casady Replacement Tuners and/or Bridge

#21
Since no one has actually offered a clear and objective description I keep wondering *** you guys who are saying the Hipshot bridge "improves" the tone are talking about. I've had well over a dozen hollow bodies and ABGs over the years and know from experience adding mass to the bridge on an instrument with a very acoustic voice like the Casady is only going to dampen the acoustic qualities of that voice and quite likely make it sound more electric. If that's an improvement in tone why not just go for a solidbody and really improve the tone? No question the Hipshot is better built and much more adjustable but instead of saying "better" tone it would be a hell of a lot more informative to talk about how it changed the tone and why you like it better. That way the information becomes useful to people who might not share your vision of "good" tone.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bruce Felgen, chris merrill and 96tbird
#22
Jeff Bonny said:
Since no one has actually offered a clear and objective description I keep wondering *** you guys who are saying the Hipshot bridge "improves" the tone are talking about. I've had well over a dozen hollow bodies and ABGs over the years and know from experience adding mass to the bridge on an instrument with a very acoustic voice like the Casady is only going to dampen the acoustic qualities of that voice and quite likely make it sound more electric. If that's an improvement in tone why not just go for a solidbody and really improve the tone? No question the Hipshot is better built and much more adjustable but instead of saying "better" tone it would be a hell of a lot more informative to talk about how it changed the tone and why you like it better. That way the information becomes useful to people who might not share your vision of "good" tone.
Click to expand...
Well, that really it, isn't it? Everyone has their own 'vision' of what sound they want and it's almost impossible to communicate that accurately in words. My experience with the JC and HipShot bridge is that it hasn't lost any of it's 'acoustic quality', but rather that quality is somewhat enhanced by the higher mass bridge. I get a 'snarl', or 'raspy' quality when playing with the Varitone set to 50K, keeping that 'woody' sound. Hope this helps.
 
#24
I am indeed considering going the "Tuxedo" route with my incoming Alpine White Jack Casady. A black Hipshot Supertone bridge with black Ultralite tuners sounds like a great plan! This is going to be a Christmas present for myself (the best kind!), so I won't be doing any of these mods until after December 25. I will post a "NBD" thread with pics after I do these upgrades.
 
#26
eldoryder said:
I am indeed considering going the "Tuxedo" route with my incoming Alpine White Jack Casady. A black Hipshot Supertone bridge with black Ultralite tuners sounds like a great plan! This is going to be a Christmas present for myself (the best kind!), so I won't be doing any of these mods until after December 25. I will post a "NBD" thread with pics after I do these upgrades.
Click to expand...


Brought my tuxedoed JC home from the luthier last week. The Hipshot requires a felt spacer in order to fit the archtop so we opted to use the black 3-point I had left over from having my my T-Bird upgraded with a Babicz.

I had to order black anchors from Epiphone to replace the stock chrome anchors. I also used the chrome saddles from the stock chrome bridge. The chrome saddles are a small detail but they look really nice with the other small chrome bits like the pickguard brace, Epiphone logo, and even the pick guard and pickup screws The new black anchors were also glued in instead of just pressed.

Here's a pic from another post I made but it doesn't do it justice in the least.

jc-tux-full-monty-jpg.jpg



Jeff Bonny said:
... and know from experience adding mass to the bridge on an instrument with a very acoustic voice like the Casady is only going to dampen the acoustic qualities of that voice ...
Click to expand...

This is similar to the conversation I had with the luthier that led to using the 3-point bridge as designed. It's difficult for folks to understand perhaps because of the physics involved. In this particular instance, the Hipshot bridge requires felt spacers. Those spacers act to absorb energy that would not be lost with the three pointer because the three point bridge is directly attached to the body at... three points, with no material in between to disrupt transfer of energy.

It's a crude drawing but it does illustrate what the luthier was talking about regarding transfer of energy:

IMG_20151116_0001.jpg


Energy is transferred from the vibrating strings via two pathways, one via the nut, through the neck, to the neck joint (assuming a solid joint), to the body, two, via the bridge to the body's archtop. Adding a pliable, absorptive, material like felt or rubber that makes contact between the bridge and archtop disperses some energy that would otherwise make it to the body.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Ductapeman, Jeff Bonny and 1stnamebassist
#27
I would think that the mass of the Hipshot bridge overall would absorb some of that energy also. That's what I like about my Casady is the feedback I feel by how hard or where I pluck or pick the string, as well as the growly woody tone it achieves. The variatone between the 50 and 250 settings doesn't to my ears do much but change the volume a bit, but the 500 setting cuts some highs and adds a nice bit of midrange growly boost. Loving how mine sounds with Ernie Ball Cobalt flats. My next favorite string would be Jack's recommended Blue Steels. Beautiful bas by the way. Kinda cool with the chrome saddles! Adds a nice touch of class to the bass! My Silverburst is still all stock. Maybe I'll change the tuners some day but they don't seem to be an issue for me at this point.
 
#28
1stnamebassist said:
I would think that the mass of the Hipshot bridge overall would absorb some of that energy also.
Click to expand...

That's an interesting supposition about bridge mass that could well apply to a hollow or semi-hollow body in particular where the top wood vibrates more freely; certainly more so than something solid like my thru-neck T-Bird where the Babicz bridge's mass is fully coupled to the neck and body. Even without felt spacers, using a high mass bridge without full contact due to the arched top does seem like a recipe for energy loss. On the JC the stock 3-point bridge's low mass probably contributes to efficient energy transfer even with what some would consider limited contact, "only" three points.

With the T-Bird's thru neck I wonder if a higher mass bridge that is fully coupled to the solid wood, like the Babicz 3-point replacement or the Hipshot Supertone, might actually transfer energy more efficiently than the lower mass of the stock 3-point.
 
Last edited:
#29
I decided to try a Hipshot bridge. It's beautifully made.
Having said that, I played it for a month, and have taken it off. It changed the tone of my instrument. It was like placing your hand around the three point bridge, resting on the top of the bass. The instrument lost some of it's acoustic, airy tone that drew it to me. I should have known better. When I was playing Django Reinhardt music on gypsy guitars, I made custom ebony bridges to produce the "driest" tone by lightening the bridges by hollowing them out. Gypsy guitarists prefer this kind of tone with their acoustic guitars.
The same principles apply to the Jack bass. The heavier bridge dampens the acoustic response making it sound more like a solid body instrument.
The original 3 point bridge requires that you adjust only 2 or three large screws when making set ups due to weather/humidity changes. The Hipshot bridge takes more fiddling with a tiny hex wrench with two screws to each string.
Still some may like the Hipshot bridge, it's a matter of what sound you like better.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bruce Felgen and 1stnamebassist
#30
So the question then becomes, How do we "type-improve" the three-point bridge, or is there a different, lower-mass option? This question is enormously relevant to my interests, and I happen to work with a bunch of accomplished machinists-- I'll be looking into it independently, once my new/old JCS arrives Tuesday (thanks, Big Joe!)-- we are going to be doing Science to this poor thing!
 
#31
Ductapeman said:
So the question then becomes, How do we "type-improve" the three-point bridge, or is there a different, lower-mass option? This question is enormously relevant to my interests, and I happen to work with a bunch of accomplished machinists-- I'll be looking into it independently, once my new/old JCS arrives Tuesday (thanks, Big Joe!)-- we are going to be doing Science to this poor thing!
Click to expand...
I've never had any issues with the 3 point bridge other than the string silk on the saddle problem. Maybe design a 3 pointer with a bit of length at the back to pull the strings back a bit, sort of like a permanent mod bar, but it allows you to remove strings one at a time, which is difficult if not impossible with the mod bar. And then make the saddles with set screws to adjust individual string height.
 
#32
My first "real" bass was a 1970 EB-3 with a three-point bridge, and I can live with it all right, though will probably try to find a Gibson unit-- but what about the Babicz bridges?? Never even heard of these until I started hanging out here a few weeks ago (yes, I've been out of the loop)-- do these offer any sort of tonal improvement, and at what trade-off? I should explain that among numerous other things, I plan to change all the metal to gold (have a Thang for black basses with gold hardware, sue me) and have found some of the old "Keystone" bass keys that look like they are carved out of pearl. After that, who knows--
 
#35
mongo2 said:
I've used knurled brass nuts or nylon spacers from the local hardware store for that.

They only cost a couple of bucks or so.
Click to expand...
I did that myself at first but for some reason my mind said the modbar would be a better solution. While it works great it was rather expensive for what it is. If you have a hacksaw and drill press and drills and a couple
files it would be pretty easy to make one yourself.
 
#38
The dilemma with the Hipshot/felt spacer made me rethink what I did to my Alpine White Jack Casady. What I ended up doing was using the black Hipshot as planned, but I ended up using steel washers underneath which were exactly the same size as the metal base studs for the original bridge. It's barely noticeable...........

DSCN3083.jpg


.......and it got the job done! I cannot notice any change in tone from what it sounded like originally, and now. I do get the advantage of much easier intonation and the good looks of the Hipshot (IMHO). I also ended up installing the Ultralite tuners:

DSCN3081.jpg


I also strung it up with TI Jazz Flats, and I think that's about all this JC needed to be my perfect semi-hollowbody bass!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Alex5280, roswell1965 and JohnnyBottom
#39
IMG_0151.JPG
IMG_0153.JPG
IMG_0154.JPG
IMG_0155.JPG
IMG_0154.JPG
IMG_0155.JPG
I just got this Epiphone Les Paul Standard bass,Heritage Cherry Sunburst. I noticed one of my friends Epiphone Les Paul Standard 6 strings,with the same finish,with gold hardware. Like the looks,so I decided to go with gold hardware,on my bass. Replaced the chrome hardware,and got the grover tuners,and got the Hipshot Supertone bridge. Easy switch,other than the anchors,when tightening the bridge down with the black bolts furnished,they were pulling out from the body,so had to put some Krazy glue,on the anchors,and taped them back in,and let it cure overnight,and now installed the bridge,and the glue worked. Restrung the bass,and set intonation,without even moving the saddles? It is setup the way I like them low,without buzzing.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: eldoryder and Ductapeman

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back