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Thoughts on bridges.

mmbongo

mmbongo

I have too many basses.
Inactive
Aug 5, 2009
25,372
30,975
54
Upstate, South Carolina
#1
I'm wanting to change my Brubaker Brute from Chrome to Black hardware, and I'm pondering bridges. Please chime in if you have experience with these bridges!

I'm looking at a generic direct replacement bridge vs. a Hipshot B style. Both cost about the same.

First bridge is the generic direct replacement. I don't know who makes it, it just seems to be an 'economy' bridge. The lowest priced Carvins are the most expensive basses I've seen them used on. This bridge works fine, other than the fact that non-tapered E and B strings are a nightmare to string through bridge. It's made of zinc. How does that compare to aluminum or brass? I have no idea.
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Next is the Hipshot B style. Not a 'direct' replacement, but I can fit it with the existing through body string holes I put in the bass. B and E strings seem to fit no problem. Made of brass or aluminum. Seems very lightweight though. MTD uses these on their $5000 basses, and I'm sure Mike could use any bridge he wanted to.

So I guess what I'm getting at is...have you used that 'economy' bridge, and what were your thoughts on it compared to other bridges? How does zinc compare to aluminum or brass.
 
#2
hipshot bridges are great stuff. I have used type A's on a few basses in the past and 2 of my axe's came with them.

Honestly I cannot tell any discernable difference between the different metals; string feel or tone wise. I use the hipshot bridges for the ease of making changes and the additional options not offered by the stock bridges.

It is a bass. when you are playing in the mix, Nobody will be able to tell what metal your bridge is.
 
#5
If your bass is a bit neck heavy, you have an opportunity here to make it better by choosing the heavier bridge.

If you do your own setups you will have your own preferences about the bridge design, otherwise it probably doesn't matter much.

Tone-wise, you won't be able to hear any difference.
 
#6
Can you post a pic of the zinc bridge? I think I know what you're talking about, and if it is the same, I have seen them a lot cheaper than nearly the same price as a Hipshot. Anyway, I have a zinc bridge and it does the job fine. The only thing I noticed was the screws were binding being dissimilar metals and/or the threads in the saddles were not clean. I ran a tap through the holes to clean them up and lubed with candle wax.
 
#7
mmbongo said:
I'm wanting to change my Brubaker Brute from Chrome to Black hardware, and I'm pondering bridges. Please chime in if you have experience with these bridges!

I'm looking at a generic direct replacement bridge vs. a Hipshot B style. Both cost about the same.

First bridge is the generic direct replacement. I don't know who makes it, it just seems to be an 'economy' bridge. The lowest priced Carvins are the most expensive basses I've seen them used on. This bridge works fine, other than the fact that non-tapered E and B strings are a nightmare to string through bridge. It's made of zinc. How does that compare to aluminum or brass? I have no idea.
Invalid Link Removed

Next is the Hipshot B style. Not a 'direct' replacement, but I can fit it with the existing through body string holes I put in the bass. B and E strings seem to fit no problem. Made of brass or aluminum. Seems very lightweight though. MTD uses these on their $5000 basses, and I'm sure Mike could use any bridge he wanted to.

So I guess what I'm getting at is...have you used that 'economy' bridge, and what were your thoughts on it compared to other bridges? How does zinc compare to aluminum or brass.
Click to expand...

Definitely not crazy about the aluminum bridges. I'd go brass every time.
 
#9
OK that has locking saddles, which I have never seen a need for. Never had a saddle move so why have the PIA of a lock?

I have this, they used to have some 5'ers in black, but not at the moment. Keep checking with them if interested or message them. I have bought from them 5 times and always good stuff. VERY NICE DIECAST BASS GUITAR BRIDGE precise action adj | eBay

Have you found tuners? I have a set of these and I think they'll fit the Bru. Man are these nice! Vintage vibe clover shape though, New Black Color Bass Guitar Tuners, Complete Set, For Fender Bass | eBay
 
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#12
johnnybass01 said:
if I were going to change my brute bridge I would go with the babicz bridge
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It's about $100 more than I want to spend, plus no string through body option, PLUS I refuse to own a bass with a bridge that requires you to pull the string all the way through the little hole in the back of the bridge. That's the stupidest design ever (not Babicz overall, just the 'feed hole' thing.)
 
#15
johnnybass01 said:
in all actuallity the brute bridge is really good IMO, are you just looking for a color change?
Click to expand...

Yeah, mainly. The only complaint I have about the bridge is that non-tapered B and E strings are a nightmare to install. In fact, that's why I converted it to string-through. A .130 B non-tapered B is next to impossible to use strung through the bridge.
 
#20
96tbird said:
And we have a winner! Identical, price OK? Quality 5 string Bass guitar bridge BB405 Black | eBay
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I actually saw that one too...the only reservation I have there is that it's an overseas seller. Might be worth the risk though.

Right now I'm actually waiting to see what BestBassGear is going to do about the bridge I bought from them. I ordered a 19mm Hipshot from them, but they sent me an 18mm. So far, they are NOT wanting to fix it. We shall see. I'd really like to have that Hipshot, which would fix the string feeding problem. If BBG is not going to make it right (they don't want to because it was on sale...but they still sent me the wrong thing) I'll try to sell this Hipshot and probably get the one you linked to on Ebay. The price is right.
 
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