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i hate the bridge on fender jazz basses

#23
woolysock said:
The vintage bridge on my 62RI works great and provides wonderful snap.
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that's just it; the threaded rod version worked perfectly because it let you spread your string spacing out enough to line up with jazz bass magnets, at which point the strings tended to push the outer saddles in against the middle saddles, holding everything together for better tone and no rattling.

CBS ruined all that with the later versions that had one groove per saddle, because now the strings forced the saddles apart instead of together (not to mention no longer lining up perfectly between jazz pickup magnets).

mcm said:
IMO bridge importance is way over rated. Some of the best recordings ever were done with the 2 saddle bridge that doesnt even intonate correctly.
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hey, don't knock those original through-body bridges, either. they've got a more solid design than lots of new stuff.
 
#25
IMO those stock fender bridges are kinda crappy, but if you can find one off of a '62, '75 jazz/precision, or get one Link Removed (top left), you would retain the look of your current setup but it would be a lot more effective. My saddles don't move at all on me, though they did on my old Ibby GSR200.

Or you could go modern and get a High Mass style like the BA, hipshot A, B, etc.
 
#28
They look cheap, but on my 62 RI they work well.
I also think a light stamped-frame bridge makes the bass sound a bit more woody and resonant, with more attack. Heavy bridges may give more sustain, but they take away some of the organic-ness of the sound. I used to like that, but these days I like the stamped-frame sound. I've even contemplated putting an old Fender-style bridge on my Sadowsky.
 
#29
Pilgrim said:
I rather like the new style Fender bridges - they're a bit more substantial. I haven't had occasion to look for one, but I would think they'd be available.
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oh yeah, me too. especially the first generation American standard bridges, which sort of combined the threaded rod saddle idea with the string through of the original P bass. They don't retrofit without surgery, though.
 
#31
\m/cliffB\m/ said:
the standard Fender bridge are flimsy and the saddles tended to drift like from left to right some times and it changed the action on me alot. i need alternatives then that POS one that comes standerd on it any ideas?...i looked at BAII but i think they are out of business rigth? if they are what happend to them
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Leo Quan is still in business. They just shipped a huge order to AllParts (their main distributor) last month. If you want a BAII, they're available once again.
 
#32
There's something about the Fender stock (and others like it) that I hate too. Gotoh managed to keep the traditional appearance but fix the two major flaws of it. The 201 is remarkably cheap but ingeniously nails the saddles in place with two very precise and deep grooves in the base for each saddle. They also reinforce the back of the bridge where the strings pass through. AND, the screw holes exactly match the original holes.
It's a no-brainer. Some folks (myself included) find that the string height gets raised too much by the thickness of the massive base. There are work-arounds for that, though.
 
#33
walterw said:
oh yeah, me too. especially the first generation American standard bridges, which sort of combined the threaded rod saddle idea with the string through of the original P bass. They don't retrofit without surgery, though.
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Thanks, Walter - good to know. I think that's an error by Fender - I'll bet they could sell a lot of bridge upgrades if no surgery was required.
 
#34
i started the bada!! two thread,,,i'm in the middle of aquiring two matsumoko built p's off of eBay,the first one has a nice thick`fender' like base and has the slots in it like the GOTOH shown(maybe that's what it is?),,after setting it up i end up with the saddles laying on the base(or very nearly so) on every saddle,,,of course i disasembled cleaned lubed and i AM worried about the screws coming out of the saddles now since they move nice(was worried they were seized)(so yes i found out a `dab' of `somthing' on them will fix that by reading here=awesome)

anyway,,how about the `up/down' adjustability of the BA gotoh hipshot etc.,,i got used to having`some' adjustability(maybe a thinner mount is for a reason?)

(sigh) i guess one just has to buy/try to find out,you can always jack the neck up an 8th inch and the pickups:D;)
 
#36
I'd rather not have to change the bridge, but my Highway 1 Jazz lost one of its intonation adjusting screws. The barrel was held in place by string tension and gave no indication that the screw was missing. I replaced it with a Gotoh style bridge from another bass so my son could use it at a college audition. Can the screw, alone, be found at a music store? I'd like that Gotoh back where it belongs. The stock Fender bridge was rather flimsy, though I guess it did its job alright. My MIA P had what was essentially the same bridge but beefier.
 
#39
walterw said:
here's an answer.

247961.jpg
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My all-time favorite bridge.
 

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