Removing BAII from a Geddy Lee

[SeismicAssault]

Hi. I've been thinking of getting a Geddy Lee Jazz, but I'd like to put a vintage bridge on it instead of the BAII. My question is whether the footprint of the BAII will still be noticeable once I replace it with the smaller vintage bridge? Has anyone swapped out their BAII for a smaller bridge? If so, do you have any pictures of what the body looks like after the swap-out?

Thanks!

 

[Moe Monsarrat]

I doubt anyone has done that mainly because BAII bridges sound better than stock Fender bridges. They give more sustain. That's why Geddy put one on his.

 

[Hamrhed]

If you want to change the BAII- then maybe go for another Jazz: Ime, the BA bridge on the GL is much better than stock Fender bridges... I actually switched my P bass to a BA because I like my GL's so. You certainly can do it- I dont believe that the BA will leave behind any marks that will be noticeable...

One thing is for sure though- you can make a few bucks off a clean BAII right now... they are fetching $100+ on ebay

 

[EricF]

I doubt anyone has done that mainly because BAII bridges sound better than stock Fender bridges. They give more sustain. That's why Geddy put one on his.

"Better" is totally subjective. I put a BAII on an MIM J, and it lasted about 3 weeks before I decided that I didn't care for it at all. The vintage-style Fender bridges do the job just fine for me.

Pulling a BAII off a Geddy might leave you with a slight mark on the front of your bass where the bridge was, but other than that, a vintage-style bridge should be a very easy swap.

 

[Hamrhed]

"Better" is totally subjective

I agree completely. Many people will swear they cant tell the difference- and if it costs $100 for a BA bridge anymore it probably isnt worth it to most people anyway...

I can tell a difference in sustain, and that isnt always a good thing depending on what you want

 

[SeismicAssault]

I wonder if I would be better off getting a Fender Classic '70s Jazz bass and replacing the neck on it with a Geddy Lee neck? That would be a lot cheaper (depending on the price of a Geddy Lee neck) than getting the GL.

Does anyone know if a GL neck will fit on the '70s jazz (the MIM version)?

 

[EricF]

I wonder if I would be better off getting a Fender Classic '70s Jazz bass and replacing the neck on it with a Geddy Lee neck? That would be a lot cheaper (depending on the price of a Geddy Lee neck) than getting the GL.

Does anyone know if a GL neck will fit on the '70s jazz (the MIM version)?

Maybe, maybe not. The width and depth of the neck heel is the same on MIM and CIJ (i.e. Geddy) instruments. However, I have run into issues in the past where the curvature of the CIJ neck end isn't an exact match to the MIM body neck pocket, and a little trimming was necessary for a perfect fit. Other people have done similar swaps with no fit issues.

 

[Groover]

I know some people have done it here. I remember seeing a posting on it (I think it was just a jazz post or show me your black basses or some posts like that).

I don't recall seeing any markings left by the bridge, but I wasn't looking up close either.

There is a Geddy Lee body on eBay. Maybe you can contact the seller and ask if there are marks left by the bridge.

 

[Jo6Pak]

Hi. I've been thinking of getting a Geddy Lee Jazz, but I'd like to put a vintage bridge on it instead of the BAII. My question is whether the footprint of the BAII will still be noticeable once I replace it with the smaller vintage bridge? Has anyone swapped out their BAII for a smaller bridge? If so, do you have any pictures of what the body looks like after the swap-out?

Thanks!

I removed one from a Midnight Wine MIM Jazz a while back and it DID leave some barely noticeable marks around the rear edges (toward the strap button). I would guess some/much of it depends on how much yours was torqued down.

 

[coolrunner989]

I took off my BAII and put on a Hipshot A-style. No marks here.

 

[silky smoove]

Why are you wanting to change out the bridge?

 

[SeismicAssault]

Why are you wanting to change out the bridge?

I really just like the look of the vintage bridges as opposed to the BAII ... it's not really about the tone. The BAII looks like a big square monster on a nice sleek sunburst body.

Some of the other options I was looking at was to get the MIM '70s jazz bass and replace the rosewood block neck with a GL maple w/block neck. Or, I was thinking of getting the American Vintage '75 jazz ... I'm just not a fan of the ashtray and pickup cover. If I removed those, it leaves unsightly holes around the bridge and pickups.

 

[pyrohr]

I doubt anyone has done that mainly because BAII bridges sound better than stock Fender bridges. They give more sustain. That's why Geddy put one on his.

OMG! I own a Geddy Jazz and removed the badassII in favor of a vintage Fender bridge and never looked back! The bass also recovered it's bottom end after the vintage bridge was installed!!! Clean swap out with no signs of the badassII bridge. Bass now looks lust like any 70's jazz bass.

 

[EricF]

I really just like the look of the vintage bridges as opposed to the BAII ... it's not really about the tone. The BAII looks like a big square monster on a nice sleek sunburst body.

Some of the other options I was looking at was to get the MIM '70s jazz bass and replace the rosewood block neck with a GL maple w/block neck. Or, I was thinking of getting the American Vintage '75 jazz ... I'm just not a fan of the ashtray and pickup cover. If I removed those, it leaves unsightly holes around the bridge and pickups.

When new, Fender AVRI instruments don't have the chrome covers installed.

 

[mrhardy]

Lots of people have switched from a BAII to a stock bridge. For awhile there were lots of threads about this subject here on TB.

The actual physical location of the BAII bridge as mounted on a Geddy sig is in a different location than other Fender basses. It is approx 5/16" further back. This caused some intonation issues at first. A quick trip the the local hardware store for some longer Stainless bridge barrell screws, and a different set of springs and all was well.

I liked the way the bass looked and sounded, but eventually opted to put back the BAII. I have another jazz that is set up with a vintage bridge, to include threaded saddles. I really like the threaded saddles better than the later single notched.

One thing I don't like about the geddy is using flats on it. There is just not enough wood in the neck to keep flats on for a long time without having the neck aquire a "J" hook at the headstock. The bass actually sounded great, but I didn't want to warp the neck with heavy flats. The bass was correctly set up for relief of .012" as well, but you could see the headstock end pulling under the tension like a bow.

 

[Hamrhed]

One thing I don't like about the geddy is using flats on it. There is just not enough wood in the neck to keep flats on for a long time without having the neck aquire a "J" hook at the headstock

I actually have flats on mine and love them... but- I have TI Jazz flats and they are very low tension and flexible (I like to bend strings and they are nice for that). Ive had Jamerson LaBellas (on a Sting P Bass) that were way too tight compared to the TIs... I wouldnt dream of having those on my GL

These are the TI's I have on my GL: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[mrhardy]

I actually have flats on mine and love them... but- I have TI Jazz flats and they are very low tension and flexible (I like to bend strings and they are nice for that). Ive had Jamerson LaBellas (on a Sting P Bass) that were way too tight compared to the TIs... I wouldnt dream of having those on my GL

These are the TI's I have on my GL: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

I actually had several different sets of flats on the Geddy. I tried Chromes, Labella's, Roto's, and Fenders. They all sounded great. I thought the Chromes, and Roto's suited that bass the best.

TI's would seem a great choice due to there low tension. For rounds I've gone as light as a .095 "E" string. Very easy to play with those little strings. Currently I'm using Fender 7250's and they sound great on this bass.

The only mod I'm contemplating in the future is to unwind the bridge pickup a bit. Not sure how much yet, but I'm not afraid to play around with it.

 

[Longwheelbass]

If you like a brighter more metallic/less woody tone to your bass then the Badass delivers that due to its big metallic weight. String vibration is reflected rather than transferred into the body, hence a brighter tone (Listen to most of Mr Lee's recordings - usually very bright trebly bass sound).
But if you want or like a more trad Fender sound, go for the stock type bridge - cheap thru many many ebayers and the Badass holes are exact same as stock screw holes(Mr Badass made sure his bridges were an easy swap onto Fenders)...
Lots of people love the Badass, but it definitely alters your Fender bass away from its original warmer woody tone - it's down to your ears, but of course, your eyes come into it too! I agree that BA's are a serious affront to the beautiful flowing aesthetics of a Fender Bass, and Leo's minimal size and mass bass bridge was designed to allow tonal transfer thru the body, and to look just right with the rest of the bass's design(and then he stuck a big ol' ashtray over it!)
And the blond signature Geddy Lee neck being all maple gives a slightly more bright tone to the overall bass sound too...rosewood fretboards will slightly darken, or mellow your bass tone...these effects are kinda subtle, but if you're into the small things...

 

[pyrohr]

If you like a brighter more metallic/less woody tone to your bass then the Badass delivers that due to its big metallic weight. String vibration is reflected rather than transferred into the body, hence a brighter tone (Listen to most of Mr Lee's recordings - usually very bright trebly bass sound).
But if you want or like a more trad Fender sound, go for the stock type bridge - cheap thru many many ebayers and the Badass holes are exact same as stock screw holes(Mr Badass made sure his bridges were an easy swap onto Fenders)...
Lots of people love the Badass, but it definitely alters your Fender bass away from its original warmer woody tone - it's down to your ears, but of course, your eyes come into it too! I agree that BA's are a serious affront to the beautiful flowing aesthetics of a Fender Bass, and Leo's minimal size and mass bass bridge was designed to allow tonal transfer thru the body, and to look just right with the rest of the bass's design(and then he stuck a big ol' ashtray over it!)
And the blond signature Geddy Lee neck being all maple gives a slightly more bright tone to the overall bass sound too...rosewood fretboards will slightly darken, or mellow your bass tone...these effects are kinda subtle, but if you're into the small things...

I agree 100%

 

[Hamrhed]

The only mod I'm contemplating in the future is to unwind the bridge pickup a bit. Not sure how much yet, but I'm not afraid to play around with it.

I dont use the bridge pickup too much (just for a little growl when I want), so its not a big deal. Had I not stumbled on the TI's I probably would still have rounds on it... the combo was a nice discovery for me. I do the opposite of what most people do which is flats on the P/ rounds on the Jazz