Replacement bridge suggestions for vintage Jazz Bass Special

[Doctor Bass]

Happy New Year TBers! I am looking to replace the basic Fender bent bridge on my vintage (sort of...1985) Fender MIJ Jazz Bass Special. It is the original "Duff" bass in the vintage white with black hardware, and I am looking for a more robust and sustaining replacement to modernize it for me. To maintain the integrity of the original instrument I only am considering a direct fit replacement. I was looking at a brass Hipshot type A, or their Kickass bridge, but wanted to know the current opinions of the experts here and am open to other suggestions. I have another J bass with a Type A on it and it has been fine, but I have read conflicting reports on all these bridges and walked away more confused and likely overthinking it. What say you?

Thanks so much!

 

[pingvuiini]

I have the Hipshot Vintage bass bridge that I believe is a direct 19mm 5 screw replacement for the Fender. It has a flange in the back to hide the ball ends. They also have a string hole configuration so that you don't have to pull the string out all the way when removing old strings. It makes changing strings much easier and faster. I feel it is a bit pricey but you can probably get it cheaper at Best Bass Gear or other online seller.

 

[Swerve]

Best bang for your buck is probably the Fender Hi-Mass bridge. They run around $45.

I was torn between the Fender and a Badass II even though the BA was double the price. It's slightly lighter and comes pre-slotted which was the deciding factor for me. Also it says Badass on it, hehe.

Both are direct fits.

If you want black they are more expensive but BA makes one. For Fender the black one says Kluson but it's the same bridge.

 

[MIMike]

I have a Gotho 201B direct fit on a couple of my Jazz Basses and it works well.
They come in black as an option too.
They don’t have quite as nice of a string load option as the Hipshot, but no different than changing them on your current bridge.

 

[Deleted member 407575]

I've used the Hipshot A and B style bridges (both aluminum) as well as the Kickass bridge (zinc?) and have no complaints. Screw holes all lined up, no problems there.

Tone-wise... eh. No perceived improvement or degradation of sound or sustain with any of those bridges. The biggest upgrade over stock bent steel bridges to me are the quick release string slots the A and B style bridges have. They're genius if you swap strings often (like I do). The Kickass and A style also have adjustable string spacing, another plus.

My Player Plus Precision came with the Fender Hi-Mass (zinc), and I hate how difficult it is to feed strings through. Grind city. Also, it leaves the ball ends exposed, which is only an aesthetic issue, but I prefer when they're hidden like with all the aforementioned Hipshot offerings.

I'd say get the A style and call it a day. Search around on Reverb, the classifieds, or the 'Bay for a deal.

 

[PNW Tony]

Happy New Year TBers! I am looking to replace the basic Fender bent bridge on my vintage (sort of...1985) Fender MIJ Jazz Bass Special. It is the original "Duff" bass in the vintage white with black hardware, and I am looking for a more robust and sustaining replacement to modernize it for me. To maintain the integrity of the original instrument I only am considering a direct fit replacement. I was looking at a brass Hipshot type A, or their Kickass bridge, but wanted to know the current opinions of the experts here and am open to other suggestions. I have another J bass with a Type A on it and it has been fine, but I have read conflicting reports on all these bridges and walked away more confused and likely overthinking it. What say you?

Thanks so much!

I put a black Hipshot A style on my '80s black Jazz Bass Special a couple of years ago and am pleased with it. I put on the black Hipshot clover tuners, as well.

 

[SJan3]

Happy New Year TBers! I am looking to replace the basic Fender bent bridge on my vintage (sort of...1985) Fender MIJ Jazz Bass Special. It is the original "Duff" bass in the vintage white with black hardware, and I am looking for a more robust and sustaining replacement to modernize it for me. To maintain the integrity of the original instrument I only am considering a direct fit replacement. I was looking at a brass Hipshot type A, or their Kickass bridge, but wanted to know the current opinions of the experts here and am open to other suggestions. I have another J bass with a Type A on it and it has been fine, but I have read conflicting reports on all these bridges and walked away more confused and likely overthinking it. What say you?

Thanks so much!

Just know if the bridge plate is too thick you may have to shim the neck. I did the opposite. My Highway One Jazz Bass came with a Badass bridge from the factory. I could not get the action low enough without bottoming out the G-string saddle and the others were close.
So I removed the Badass and put a Fender Vintage bridge on with the threaded saddles. The results are fantastic! Room to set the string height as low as I want and, IMHO, improved, organic tone. Still has plenty of sustain. I can't imagine needing more.
14 years later that Jazz is still my main player. YMMV but good luck with your choice.

 

[SharpCat]

The Hipshot A and Vintage work great, but I find if I'm doing stuff where the string gets loosened, the ball will pop out of the bridge. It's really annoying. The Hipshot B bridge, the strings kind of clip under the back of the bridge, so they don't come loose while messing with them. For some reason the B's are hard to get with Fender 5 hole mount, though, so be prepared to look around or order from BBG or direct from Hipshot and wait a while.

Haven't really found anything else that has quick release and the right mount as well. Non-quick release, Fender High-Mass, Hipshot Kickass are nice. Gotoh 201B kinda looks like a bent plate, so I like that.

 

[A Bass And Its Boy]

The sad thing is that Fender used to sell that bridge replacement. I have a black ‘88/‘89 JBS, and I replaced the bridge a couple of decades ago because the original had become really corroded. If I were to replace it today, I think I’d go with a Schaller 3D bridge because they’re visually the closest to each other—but I don’t know if it’s a drop-in replacement.

 

[SharpCat]

AFAIK, Schaller 3D not drop in.

 

[MrClassicMetal]

Happy New Year TBers! I am looking to replace the basic Fender bent bridge on my vintage (sort of...1985) Fender MIJ Jazz Bass Special. It is the original "Duff" bass in the vintage white with black hardware, and I am looking for a more robust and sustaining replacement to modernize it for me. To maintain the integrity of the original instrument I only am considering a direct fit replacement. I was looking at a brass Hipshot type A, or their Kickass bridge, but wanted to know the current opinions of the experts here and am open to other suggestions. I have another J bass with a Type A on it and it has been fine, but I have read conflicting reports on all these bridges and walked away more confused and likely overthinking it. What say you?

Thanks so much!

Here's a few of my basses, including a short scale MIJ Fender Jazz, with the Hipshot Vintage bridge:

 

[MrClassicMetal]

I have the Hipshot Vintage bass bridge that I believe is a direct 19mm 5 screw replacement for the Fender. It has a flange in the back to hide the ball ends. They also have a string hole configuration so that you don't have to pull the string out all the way when removing old strings. It makes changing strings much easier and faster. I feel it is a bit pricey but you can probably get it cheaper at Best Bass Gear or other online seller.

True, I bought mine from an online seller for $30 less from an online seller.

 

[dune]

Hipshot Type A.

 

[Zooberwerx]

Here's a few of my basses, including a short scale MIJ Fender Jazz, with the Hipshot Vintage bridge:

View attachment 7114110

That's just classy without becoming oversized center-of-attention.

Riis

 

[Lo-E]

I have a Gotho 201B direct fit on a couple of my Jazz Basses and it works well.
They come in black as an option too.
They don’t have quite as nice of a string load option as the Hipshot, but no different than changing them on your current bridge.

View attachment 7113994

The 201B is simple, solid and not overly expensive. It might require you to shim the neck.

I’ve gone in the opposite direction over the past few years; I don’t notice much if any tonal difference so I’ve mostly been returning to basic, bent plate bridges.

 

[Gervais Cote]

The Gotoh 203 is my favorite and more than enough. Only two extra holes to drill in the body.

I also appreciate the very basic bent plate style, the Wilkinson with the brass saddles being very good and affordable.

To me, a high mass bridge is required only when you want to compensate for a neck dive. According to all the tests I’ve done, it doesn’t really improve the sustain or change the tone. It changes the look of a bass though………….

 

[MrClassicMetal]

The Gotoh 203 is my favorite and more than enough. Only two extra holes to drill in the body.

I also appreciate the very basic bent plate style, the Wilkinson with the brass saddles being very good and affordable.

To me, a high mass bridge is required only when you want to compensate for a neck dive. According to all the tests I’ve done, it doesn’t really improve the sustain or change the tone. It changes the look of a bass though………….

Agreed. There was a time when I considered a high mass bridge, but after doing some research on the subject decided that it wasn't worth it.

 

[MrClassicMetal]

And here's what the Hipshot B Style looks like on a J bass, in this case a short scale Warmoth:

 

[Eidolon0274]

Just know if the bridge plate is too thick you may have to shim the neck. I did the opposite. My Highway One Jazz Bass came with a Badass bridge from the factory. I could not get the action low enough without bottoming out the G-string saddle and the others were close.
So I removed the Badass and put a Fender Vintage bridge on with the threaded saddles. The results are fantastic! Room to set the string height as low as I want and, IMHO, improved, organic tone. Still has plenty of sustain. I can't imagine needing more.
14 years later that Jazz is still my main player. YMMV but good luck with your choice.

I don't have a bunch of recordings and scientific research to back this up, but I've had several basses sound and play better after replacing high mass bridges with vintage style threaded saddle bridges. It does solve the shim issue too.

 

[Doctor Bass]

And here's what the Hipshot B Style looks like on a J bass, in this case a short scale Warmoth:

View attachment 7114155

Kitty!