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Replacement for 09 AmStd Bridge

#41
JimmyM said:
So I got home from my gig and the bridge was waiting for me. I've got to say that changing the bridge was totally the move. But it's really weird...check out the saddle placement on the Hipshot compared to the Fender bridge...same Dunlop strings, both going thru-body (which ends as soon as the 4 sets I'm rotating in the alcohol bath go bad...not having to thread the string through the bridge rules!), same string height...please pardon the bad photography and fingerprints:

Bridges-HipshotvsFender_zps6f85ecae.jpg


For some strange reason, the Hipshot saddles are arranged in a typical diagonal pattern, while the Fender bridge had the D string sticking out way further than the others. Not only that, but the Hipshot intonated much more quickly and much more accurately and seems to play in tune better. Now with D'addario XL's, the saddles on the Fender bridge lined up diagonally, but that's how they lined up with the Dunlops. That was not a result I was expecting. What could cause the saddle placement to be so wildly different on these two bridges?

BTW, I was panicking a bit while intonating the Hipshot. I couldn't get the E string saddle back far enough to be in tune because the screw was bottoming out and wouldn't budge. I was wondering what to do, and then I looked in the little ziploc bag with the wrench and mounting screws and found two short intonation screws. Nice! Glad they thought to include them. Almost had it adjusted with the long screw but not quite, and that would have driven me nuts.
Click to expand...

I don't have any wisdom to add, but I have seen this before. I would have to go through a bunch of cases to identify the particular basses, but I have a couple where the D saddle is forward of the G in order to be intonated properly. I thought it was odd, but I never worried too much about it. It might have even been with this model bridge; I'm not sure. At any rate, I was able to get it intonated within the range of the saddle; it just looked funny when I was done.

I wonder if it has anything to do with the gauges of the strings relative to each other. It seems like I have been using fairly light gauge strings when I have run into this.
 
#42
wvbass said:
I don't have any wisdom to add, but I have seen this before. I would have to go through a bunch of cases to identify the particular basses, but I have a couple where the D saddle is forward of the G in order to be intonated properly. I thought it was odd, but I never worried too much about it. It might have even been with this model bridge; I'm not sure. At any rate, I was able to get it intonated within the range of the saddle; it just looked funny when I was done.

I wonder if it has anything to do with the gauges of the strings relative to each other. It seems like I have been using fairly light gauge strings when I have run into this.
Click to expand...
I don't mind the D being forward of the G so much. My P Lyte does it slightly but it still works well and plays in tune, just not this 09 Precision. At first what I minded was the D string saddle being pushed so far that it's out of the tracks, and now I mind that it won't play in tune past the 12th fret. In close to 50 years of playing music, this is the most bizarre thing I have ever seen.
 
#43
Have you tried a different saddle? Like swapping the D and G. Maybe something weird is going on there and the witness point shifts depending on the angle of the string? I could see this being a function of a round saddle, but if it was normal, it would affect a LOT of instruments.
 
#45
wvbass said:
Have you tried a different saddle? Like swapping the D and G.
Click to expand...
beat me to it! that was gonna be my last-gasp suggestion, since we're already at the point of shaking voodoo dolls at the moon for all the logical cause/effect results we're getting.

+1 on it not being unusual for the D to be a little ahead of the other strings; the G usually has just one layer of wrap wire around the core wire while the D and the rest have at least two layers; that difference in core-wrap ratio is not unlike the way guitars have that same "jog" between the intonation points of the last plain string and the first wound string.
 
#46
walterw said:
+1 on it not being unusual for the D to be a little ahead of the other strings; the G usually has just one layer of wrap wire around the core wire while the D and the rest have at least two layers; that difference in core-wrap ratio is not unlike the way guitars have that same "jog" between the intonation points of the last plain string and the first wound string.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this. Makes sense.
 
#47
wvbass said:
Have you tried a different saddle? Like swapping the D and G. Maybe something weird is going on there and the witness point shifts depending on the angle of the string? I could see this being a function of a round saddle, but if it was normal, it would affect a LOT of instruments.
Click to expand...
Did that yesterday. No difference.

Yep, I throw my hands up at this one, too. I'm going to the source on this one on Monday.
 
#49
JimmyM said:
Ya, that's what I thought. Well I guess that bridge does something to Dunlop D strings that they don't like. Too bad a direct Fender replacement is like $80.
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Jimmy, save yourself $30 and get this one
Invalid Link Removed
it was used one the american standards before the HMV came around in late '07.
I don't have my '08 anymore to compare to my '99, but it looks like the tracks might be longer on the AD than on the HMV.
 
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#50
dedpool1052 said:
Jimmy, save yourself $30 and get this one
Invalid Link Removed
it was used one the american standards before the HMV came around in late '07.
I don't have my '08 anymore to compare to my '99, but it looks like the tracks might be longer on the AD than on the HMV.
Click to expand...
i do like the older versions, low-mass with the one-piece bent-steel plate, and the saddles get adjusted with a phillips instead of a rather exotic-sized allen wrench (9/64" IIRC).

thing is, that shouldn't make a difference (but none of this should have made a difference
bonk.gif
)
 
#51
That Gotoh bridge looks cool but only does string-thru. The Fender AmDlx bridge, however, looks like it could be the move. All the holes line up to the AmStd? I would MUCH rather have a bridge like that than a Hipshot. I've also half considered trying another HMV bridge just to see what happens. Might just do that to satisfy my own curiosity. But if not, I'll almost definitely try the AmDlx bridge if it works without drilling. Thx for the tips!
 
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#52
I think I would try one last thing. Check the break at the nut and ensure the contact is at the front and the string is seating well. Put on a new string with the saddle flat somewhat behind the A saddle and slowly re-intonate from that point, moving forward until you reach bingo.

I'm convinced it's a nut/string kink issue.

But I've been drinking, so.... :beaver:
 
Last edited:
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#53
JimmyM said:
That Gotoh bridge looks cool but only does string-thru. The Fender AmDlx bridge, however, looks like it could be the move. All the holes line up to the AmStd? I would MUCH rather have a bridge like that than a Hipshot. I've also half considered trying another HMV bridge just to see what happens. Might just do that to satisfy my own curiosity. But if not, I'll almost definitely try the AmDlx bridge if it works without drilling. Thx for the tips!
Click to expand...

The bridge I posted on the first page would be the one Id try. It's pretty much the pre 2008 American Std bridge. The saddles are slightly smaller, it's a direct drop in and can be strung both ways.
 
#54
96tbird said:
I think I would try one last thing. Check the break at the nut and ensure the contact is at the front and the string is seating well. Put on a new string with the saddle flat somewhat behind the A saddle and slowly re-intonate from that point, moving forward until you reach bingo.

I'm convinced it's a nut/string kink issue.

But I've been drinking, so.... :beaver:
Click to expand...
Unfortunately I did just that a couple days ago, and no dice.

petrus61 said:
The bridge I posted on the first page would be the one Id try. It's pretty much the pre 2008 American Std bridge. The saddles are slightly smaller, it's a direct drop in and can be strung both ways.
Click to expand...
My mistake and apologies...I thought you posted the pre-pre AmStd bridge that only did string-thru. Only when you pointed it out did I realize that it's that AmDlx bridge that does both.
 
#55
JimmyM said:
Unfortunately I did just that a couple days ago, and no dice.


My mistake and apologies...I thought you posted the pre-pre AmStd bridge that only did string-thru. Only when you pointed it out did I realize that it's that AmDlx bridge that does both.
Click to expand...

I thought that might have been the case. I wound up editing it when I saw you had already scored the other bridge. I'm thinking of grabbing one of these for mine.
 
#56
Well I'm going to exchange the Hipshot for the AmDlx bridge as the guy had no brass Hipshots in chrome but he does carry the AmDlx bridge. It's an Amazon/Ebay storefront, but I'm very impressed with the service so I'll plug them...HD Custom Guitar Supply.
 
#57
walterw said:
i do like the older versions, low-mass with the one-piece bent-steel plate, and the saddles get adjusted with a phillips instead of a rather exotic-sized allen wrench (9/64" IIRC).

thing is, that shouldn't make a difference (but none of this should have made a difference
bonk.gif
)
Click to expand...
i too prefer the older bridge. i did take some measurements of both the AD and HMV bridges when i had my '08. the AD bridge had smaller diameter saddles than the HMV, so that could make some kind of difference.
 
#59
That's fine by me for it to be smaller. Honestly, I like that bridge better anyway. Never really thought high mass bridges brought anything to the table you can't get out of bent plate except a little tiny bit of stability that I don't much notice. Now if I come back later this week and say the AmDlx bridge sucked the tone out of my bass, I'll stand corrected, but considering I've used plenty of bent plate bridges in my day and was fine with them, I think I'll be good.

So I'm thinking there is an issue with my AmStd bridge that I don't know about and only manifests itself with the Dunlop D string. It's not the saddle or screw, I know that much. But yep, somewhere in that bridge is an issue...I can feel it in my bones. Only an educated guess, mind you, but I think it's possessed by Satan.
 
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