Ok.. with a big “if” - if I’ve understood you correct, you are saying that in ideal conditions, with the same setup and strings, no bridge will change the sound coming out of the bass? Just to make sure we’re debating the same thing here.
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Ok.. with a big “if” - if I’ve understood you correct, you are saying that in ideal conditions, with the same setup and strings, no bridge will change the sound coming out of the bass? Just to make sure we’re debating the same thing here.
I’m purposely not using the word “better”, because I agree with previous posts that this is subjective. However in this case the word “different”(as in sound would/wouldn’t change) indicates the “better” that I personally hear in my case. Hope that makes sense.
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I said a new bridge won’t improve the sound of the bass. I didn’t say a new bridge won’t change the sound of the bass.
i agree, 'different' is the word i would use. i like the difference it's made on my jazz bass (mini review pg 7).
it's a different voice than the original bent plate/threaded saddle bridge used before. i've since changed string set to ti rounds and the combination of all the components compliment each other perfectly for me. it's a great time for bass players, gear wise.
it's a different voice than the original bent plate/threaded saddle bridge used before. i've since changed string set to ti rounds and the combination of all the components compliment each other perfectly for me. it's a great time for bass players, gear wise.
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Ok, thanks for the clarification. I’m happy to accept that whatever sounds “better” to my ears, doesn’t necessarily do so in other people’s ears.
A change doesn’t always have to be positive or negative but surely you’d agree how some people could see it as either?
Interesting to hear other opinions from people who’ve tried the bridge. In my experience it didn’t change the signature sound of neither my Lakland or Ken Smith, just opened up the frequencies and gave me more punch, volume and harmonics. Obviously if it opens up the frequencies and harmonics, that will affect the sound but in my case not to the point that I wouldn’t recognise the Smith as Smith if I hear it in a mix.
I have noticed a change in sound when swapping bridges. Improvement would be in the eye of the beholder (so to speak). I, for one, prefer the cheap Fender bent plate bridges.
Whatever it takes for each individual to find their groove.
This is just speculation on my part, but I think a lot of the time after someone installs their new bridge and plays the bass, they’re primed for a better sound. They’re waiting to hear it. They paid for it. So when they plug it in and start playing, they’re hearing different and telling themselves it’s better. Again, not a blanket statement of objective truth. Just my opinion of what’s probably happening most of the time.
I agree that this is very often the case, the reason I’m debating is because I was being very careful not to do exactly that when I did the Ray Ross comparison videos on my basses. I perceived the difference as a very positive one, and not because I was expecting anything particular to happen.
In the Ray Ross bridge case my ears made the same conclusion that could be seen being measured in the Bacchus videos so I’m pretty sure it’s no placebo. And I find the difference useful.
Therefore in my case, a bridge can make a bass sound better. I understand if in YOUR case it doesn’t - I’m not arguing against that. Just saying that if it doesn’t make it better for you, that doesn’t mean the same applies for the whole world.
In the Ray Ross bridge case my ears made the same conclusion that could be seen being measured in the Bacchus videos so I’m pretty sure it’s no placebo. And I find the difference useful.
Therefore in my case, a bridge can make a bass sound better. I understand if in YOUR case it doesn’t - I’m not arguing against that. Just saying that if it doesn’t make it better for you, that doesn’t mean the same applies for the whole world.
Better is subjective, It may sound worse to some people. Just like a Bada$$ Vs. a cheap Fender Bent plate bridge. Many many people prefer the Fender Bent plate.....
As you can see I’m not trying to convince anyone that they WILL sound better with that bridge. I am saying that MY sound is better with that bridge, to my ears, and trying to explain why. Everyone interested should try and see for themselves.
Well yeah, I’ve said that many times already in this thread. That’s why I’m stressing on “better to MY ears”.
You see this is my whole point here.
I’m glad that after many many pages of heated debate, we can all agree that the bridge sounds different.
Wether it’s better or worse, that’s for everyone to decide for themselves.
What I’m doing here is to show how exactly it does sound different than other quality bridges, and share my opinion of why I prefer it to the others. I’m sure there’ll be people who’d like that and others who’d dislike it for one reason or another. That’s fine.
If @Gorn has tried one and found that it doesn’t make his bass sound better, then that’s fair enough, we all have different ears.
No it's not.
What is a fact is that people will prefer what they perceive has a higher value even if it is the same item. This can be backed up with real science style double blind tests, not simple boasting.
No, you can't just make things true by stating it forcefully or using all caps. We don't all agree it sounds different.
Yeah sorry I forgot that usually people buy $5 garage made bridges to put on their basses because they’re better ...
Yes you will improve sound, durability, reliability and comfort if you upgrade crap bridge made of scrap metal to anything that’s proven to work well, but of course that’ll cost more. Or that’s not a fact? Wether your ears will hear a difference worth spending the extra money or not, that’s very individual, but it is a FACT that people spend money on Hipshot, Babicz, BadA$$, and other well proven brands, to upgrade their budget basses, and the results are there, if it was all a placebo I’m pretty sure they would have stopped shedding the cash a long time ago...
Yes you will improve sound, durability, reliability and comfort if you upgrade crap bridge made of scrap metal to anything that’s proven to work well, but of course that’ll cost more. Or that’s not a fact? Wether your ears will hear a difference worth spending the extra money or not, that’s very individual, but it is a FACT that people spend money on Hipshot, Babicz, BadA$$, and other well proven brands, to upgrade their budget basses, and the results are there, if it was all a placebo I’m pretty sure they would have stopped shedding the cash a long time ago...
@Gorn agreed. Do you disagree and state that this bridge doesn’t sound different? Sorry I did think that we all agreed that it does
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Maybe, but not necessarily.
It depends, so another case of 'not necessarily.'
Absolutely. Let's also factor in your brain telling you that you hear things that you actually don't. That doesn't become a value discussion though as even perceived differences that are actually non-existent can still provide a value to the user.
That's true, and no one is arguing that.
Highly debatable
You think far too highly of consumers. The world is full of people selling placebos for long periods of time and to great financial gain.
The theory of cognitive dissonance (also a great tune by Robert Fripp) agrees with this. Anything we believe will make a change, especially if it was expensive, will likely induce a perception of change. I could take any bass and post different clips like the recent one in this thread. If I simply say there's a difference in hardware people will hear it as they don't want to say they can't.
Something to notice in many threads here and other forums is how people say that can't hear a difference. We use phrases like the difference is so slight it's barely perceptible. Or it makes almost no difference. It takes a lot of confidence to say I can't hear any difference and few people can do that as it's seen as a statement of weakness. So we often rephrase it to say we can still hear a difference as a defense mechanism. And once we've done that we've personalized the statement and see contradiction as a personal attack that must be defended against. Few musicians understand this, all marketers know it well.
Each to their own I guess.
Point 1: I’ve had tuner heads break on gigs. Twice. On a KSD ProtoJ and on a Sire. Both cheap made. I do 6 gigs a week. I’m not taking those chances. I’ve never for 22 years of playing bass for a living had a piece of reputable hardware break.
Point 2: from a reliability point of view, it is. From a sound point of view - I’ve only found a difference significant enough to mention with the Ray Ross bridge, and I’ve tried many bridges.
Point 3: and I’ll repeat myself as many times as I have to, as people seem to unite older posts. With the RR bridge my ears confirmed what was measured by Bacchus in their video and if you google it you could see for yourself she difference in sustain, harmonics and frequency.
Back in the day when I really wanted a BadA$$ bridge and finally got one, I really wanted to hear a difference. I didn’t.
Point 4: Agreed.
Point 5: A point of view.
Point 6: It can’t be all hype man. People sooner or later realise what is a waste of money and what isn’t and they’ve had enough time to see the difference.
Point 1: I’ve had tuner heads break on gigs. Twice. On a KSD ProtoJ and on a Sire. Both cheap made. I do 6 gigs a week. I’m not taking those chances. I’ve never for 22 years of playing bass for a living had a piece of reputable hardware break.
Point 2: from a reliability point of view, it is. From a sound point of view - I’ve only found a difference significant enough to mention with the Ray Ross bridge, and I’ve tried many bridges.
Point 3: and I’ll repeat myself as many times as I have to, as people seem to unite older posts. With the RR bridge my ears confirmed what was measured by Bacchus in their video and if you google it you could see for yourself she difference in sustain, harmonics and frequency.
Back in the day when I really wanted a BadA$$ bridge and finally got one, I really wanted to hear a difference. I didn’t.
Point 4: Agreed.
Point 5: A point of view.
Point 6: It can’t be all hype man. People sooner or later realise what is a waste of money and what isn’t and they’ve had enough time to see the difference.
