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Replacement for 09 AmStd Bridge

#81
so it is the strings! that particular batch just doesn't like a rounded witness point, or maybe there's a flaw at a certain distance away from the ball end that just happens to land at a spot where the effect doesn't show up on hipshots.

if you're hell-bent on the dunlops, maybe try buying a pack from the local store to see if it has the same anomalies.
 
#83
add this to my list of reasons i dont dig these strings. a set of 105-45's measured 100-40 with calipers. with my straight neck, slammed string action setups, i got two buzzy areas, 9-12 on the G string and 15th and up on the D string. pulled them off one bass and tried them on another with the same problem. both basses are fine with any other set of strings.
 
#84
Well I can't say I have any other problem with the Dunlops except on this one bass, and putting a Hipshot on it fixed it once. I just should have gotten the brass Hipshot. But these strings are definitely worth it IMHO.
 
#86
So the new Hipshot brass bridge came today. Much better move than aluminum, I think. Strings intonated just fine, too. Glad I'm finally done with this crap...let's hope there are no dark dirty secrets about negatively affecting tone like the aluminum bridge!
 
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#89
Jefff said:
Lets us know if the difference is in the material or the design.

I was a little surprised by your review of the aluminum. I want to put a top load on my 95 P, so I am curious about the brass.
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Well I can already tell that it's better than the aluminum. What I can't quite pick up on yet, though, is does it affect the sustain and/or lose balls? It's really hard for me to pick up on that. It kind of does sound like sustain is affected. I've never had that happen with a bridge change before, though, and it could very well be my perception of the Hipshot being a fancy-pants high mass replacement ;) Not as heavy as I expected, which is good, but it's high mass.

But one thing that absolutely rocks on this bridge that I didn't realize before is how easy it is to set the string spacing. No need to loosen the strings...loosen the hex screw for it, slide the saddle over, tighten down the hex screw and Bob's yer uncle.

Also, I discovered why this bridge was $73 instead of the usual $110...it's a return or factory second. Has scratches all over the bottom plate. Not really noticeable from a distance but I see them when I look closely. OTOH, I don't care.

Sigma, I am exhausted after a long day with 3 hours sleep and about to go to bed. Will try to get a pic or two in the next couple days. In the meantime, look at the old picture and try to imagine it in brass ;)
 
#91
Jefff said:
I am not all that worried about sustain, did it change the tone? Sound like it didn't, cool.
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Ya, I'm leaning toward thinking the tone won't be changed. Still not 100% on that, but the more I play it, the more I think so. And the top loading doesn't require you to thread the string through the bridge, which is quite sweet. Once the strings I'm using and rotating in an alcohol soak get soaked one too many times, I'm definitely going to start doing top loading.
 
#92
One gig to the good with the brass Hipshot A, and I can't quite tell yet if it actually changed my sound, even though I think it might have made my Precision sound a shade different, but there was no lack of balls like I suffered with the aluminum Hipshot A, and any tonal changes I might have heard were improvements. I don't think it made it sustain longer, but I do think it might have made my bass a little more...geez, I can't think of how to describe it...maybe "weighty sounding"...or maybe "resonant" is a good word to use. I have two more gigs this weekend and hopefully I can get a better fix on it. But I've never believed in bridge voodoo, and yet I felt like there was a little going on with it.

One thing is for sure, though...my bass stays in tune MUCH better with the Hipshot. We played outdoors and it got pretty cold and I forgot my tuner. A recipe for disaster when the cold starts screwing with your tuning, but not tonight. I tuned to the piano 5 minutes before we started, and I stayed in tune through a 4 hour gig. Then I got it home, and it's never in tune once I get it home, but this time it was. It's just now gone out of tune now that it's warming up in the house.

Only downsides to it so far are that it weighs a little bit more and you can feel it, and it's way too shiny and noticeable. But it's not unbearably heavy, and I guess I'll learn to love its look. Either that or I'll have to try the B bridge, but while the A isn't what I'd call ugly, the B is, so I'll make the B the bridge of last resort.

So to sum up...

Aluminum Hipshot A:

fat_men.jpg


Brass Hipshot A:

Invalid Link Removed
 
#94
sigmafloyd said:
had to work the 'geez'er in there somehow, didn't ya! ;)
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Why you...I oughta...

:D

So I've decided that the brass Hipshot really didn't change the sound after today's gig. It's a very small room I play once a month with no PA for instruments, and I use my BA112 v2 because it's on a gambling cruise boat, so I can get a good fix on the tone. Sounded the same to me. Looks like changing the sound is the exclusive property of aluminum. Makes me really glad I didn't try the Babicz. I don't care how technically advanced it is or how many milligrams it shaves off your bass...I will never buy an aluminum bridge again. Hipshot claims it sounds "brighter," but I didn't hear the treble being changed. All I heard were the lows and midbass being weakened. So they should change that ad copy to "The aluminum Hipshot bridges sound less low-endy and takes away your sound's balls."

And another day of only needing to tune once before the gig started. Who knew it would make tuning more stable?
 
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