NEWB QUESTION ALERT!!! - How does the bridge affect sound?

[bassrique]

A new player's time is best spent on practice. GAS is fun, but stay focused.

 

[mongo2]

Affects!

Congrats, I was wondering who was going to catch that and point it out.

 

[RissKippery]

It affects the sound in that if it wasn't there, the strings would be hanging all nimbly pimbly off the tuners. Otherwise they're all essentially the same and not worth changing.

Nimbly pimbly. I haven't heard that before. I like it.

 

[Gorn]

Nimbly pimbly. I haven't heard that before. I like it.

 

[Lesfunk]

I have lots of experience swapping bridges out on fender style basses and I know without question that they do something.
Whether or not they improve or diminish the sound is subjective but they do make some difference

 

[Ric5]

Bridge does not affect the sound much, they are different mainly for weight, design and style.

I build frankensteined 5 string basses and the bridge can make a large difference in the tone … I swap out bridges, necks, pickups and electronics on basses a lot. Some bridges will sound similar to others ... some are better and a few are actually lame.

 

[Jay2U]

To my opinion the contact between the bridge and the body is far more important than the mass of the bridge.

 

[KJMO]

If you did a survey, probably half would say they make a difference, half would say they don't. I'll add my vote that they don't make any difference, just to be represented ;-) Of course, that's if they are working correctly. Like fender player series versus those big babicz things. Not to say some bridges might not have better features, but I don't think they make any difference in tone, sustain, etc.

I think some of the bigger ones look awful too, especially on vintage style basses, so there is that.

 

[40Hz]

I don't remember specifics...just that when i removed one of the strings, the saddle and spring just fell off. Something had been broken and was held together by the downward string pressure, once removed things just fell apart.

Yikes! Sounds like the intonation adjustment screw snapped for some odd reason. How rare is that?

Sorry it had to happen to you.

 

[levis76]

I’ve changed bridges on two different basses, for different reasons. First one, I simply wanted to swap the gold hardware for black. The second, the bridge on a Squier Vintage Modified Jazz, only because it didn't have any grooves in the plate to keep the saddles from sliding around and I dig in hard near the bridge sometimes, so swapped in a Badass and the only difference I noticed besides the saddles staying put was the heavier bridge helped alleviate some of the neck dive which made the bass easier to play. If I played with a lighter touch and really savored each note then maybe I would have noticed a difference in timbre or sustain, but I’m a heavy handed hack and noticed nothing. And I had a huge hunk of metal on the tail end that said BADASS in all caps.

 

[edro]

The same way as tonewoods and pickguards.

You forgot cream binding....sounds oh so warm.....

 

[SoonerBill]

I posted this when I did it but when I changed the bridge on my Yamaha it made a difference. Not huge but a difference. I changed the bridge and converted to through body stringing to make available flat-wounds work properly. With the change the bass sounds more “solid”. That might be a bad description but it’s the best I can think of. As an engineer I understand that the point of connection at the saddle didn’t change so everything should be the same. But it’s slightly different.

 

[basslicks]

It doesn’t change the sound at all, all this “organic” and “more natural” nonsense is just silly. It’s the same psychological effect that audiophiles experience, where in one experiment they thought a particular cable sounded much better than a really expensive “high end” cable and that cable that was so good turned out to be... a coat hanger.

Change my view.

 

[smtp4me]

It actually can change the sound quite a bit. Maybe not to a live audience, but that is a red herring anyway. People who can't tell the difference between sky blue and baby blue are wandering around art galleries as we speak, but the painter still chooses his colors carefully.

I like the analogy!

 

[onosson]

When it comes to bridges I consider three things, roughly in order of importance for me:

1. Adjustability. Can I fully adjust the bridge as needed to set up the intonation and string height, easily and with components that aren't going to wear out or fall out? Done.

2. Comfort/ergonomics. Sometimes I play a palm-mute kind of technique where I rest the right edge of my right hand on the bridge. Certain types dig in to the hand more than others.

3. Speed-loading for string changes. I don't change or replace strings very often, but when I do I really appreciate the fast-loading style of bridge.

xxx. Tone? Not even a factor.

 

[TyBo]

People have different opinions. My experience is that a different bridge can affect the tone noticeably. It's one factor of many, certainly ... but it's a factor. I actually notice the difference more markedly on guitars, but there's some with basses as well. For those who don't feel a difference, great, one less thing to fuss with.

 

[Ric5]

These bridges work really well for me

 

[cheechi]

At what point should a new bassist consider upgrading bridges?

at the point you can't adjust it to be played the way you want, and it remain in tune with good intonation.

 

[micguy]

The end conditions at both ends of the string will affect its vibration somewhat. At both ends of the string there is a chunk of metal. One of them already has about a hundred times the mass of the other. Increasing the mass of the little one (bigger frets) will have much more effect than making the bigger one even bigger.

 

[BassPilot]

I replaced a “stand at” MIM bridge on a PJ I with a slightly heavier bridge and it darkened the sound pretty dramatically. I was surprised with the result. It’s the only bridge I’ve swapped out.