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Thunderbird Club

#227,421
Must be Maple TeleMunday…
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#227,422
dagrev said:
Well not to dispute this claim, but we have to make that determination visually. I suggest George send in a few picks in different outfits so we can accurately verify and put this to rest once and for all. :roflmao:
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LOL - the internet isn’t ready for those pics! Besides, I’m still holding out for a butt bow. :D
 
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#227,423
Nocturnal said:
Not sure thats a Hamer body, but it definitely looks like a cool Bird body!!! Can you post a pic of the back of the body?

Looks like the imprint of a Hipshot Supertone bridge.
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…yellow relic Monday…(sold as 1987 Hamer) body has landed…pics with its future neck..

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#227,424
dagrev said:
Well not to dispute this claim, but we have to make that determination visually. I suggest George send in a few picks in different outfits so we can accurately verify and put this to rest once and for all. :roflmao:
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Personally, I think this is a great idea, release the inner woman! :)


GBassNorth said:
LOL - the internet isn’t ready for those pics! Besides, I’m still holding out for a butt bow. :D
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I'll find you a bow! :laugh:
 
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#227,427
bobyoung53 said:
I bought a new Am Vintage Hot Rod P/J bass in 2013 that came with a high mass bridge, which I didn't like and took off because I couldn't really get the action as low as I liked. I put a vintage bent plate on it with the threaded saddles also, those happen to be my favorite bridge because my main bass for close to twenty years was a '68 P with a '66 J neck on it and it had one of those. The bass didn't sound any different, just as much sustain as with the high mass except much easier to adjust. I have them on two of my three Fenders, the third a TF fretless also has a bent plate except it's a 70's style with one groove per string, it works well though so it will stay.
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Every bass is different and a different bridge could have a sonic difference - but in general, the whole 'high-mass' bridge marketing is just that - a manufactured improvement to sell an aftermarket alternative. Which works well for those making a new bass , giving the builder choices to align with the design of their bass. And if one simply likes the way this or that bridge looks as a reason to swap-out the one that came on a production bass - go for it. The way ones' bass looks is important to most players... and that's, ok. (as Stewart Smally would say)

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#227,428
dagrev said:
Well not to dispute this claim, but we have to make that determination visually. I suggest George send in a few picks in different outfits so we can accurately verify and put this to rest once and for all. :roflmao:
Click to expand...

upload_2022-11-7_14-5-22.jpeg
 
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#227,430
JIO said:
Every bass is different and a different bridge could have a sonic difference - but in general, the whole 'high-mass' bridge marketing is just that - a manufactured improvement to sell an aftermarket alternative. Which works well for those making a new bass , giving the builder choices to align with the design of their bass. And if one simply likes the way this or that bridge looks as a reason to swap-out the one that came on a production bass - go for it. The way ones' bass looks is important to most players... and that's, ok. (as Stewart Smally would say)

View attachment 4866610
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& I've been in that camp of High mass bridges since 2012. All my 7ender style basses have a high mass - most of them are aftermarket from their bent plate style, others are builds. My semi hollow bass build has a schaller 3D bridge for tighter string spacing due to how narrow i built its neck.

Honestly, i do love the look of big mass bridge on a bass body.

Do i hear a sonic difference? Yes.
Would it be noticeable when blind comparing with a wave graph between both bridge styles (bent plate vs high mass)? Probably not.
Am i gonna swap back to bent plate styles? Nope. xD
 
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#227,435
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#227,437
bobyoung53 said:
I already posted this but I joined that club a few weeks ago, it's a Precision but Teles were pretty much the same thing, being P reissues. It's going to my brother's house in Mass.
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Is this your bass or a stock photo? It looks like a '54 P, when they softened the edges to align with their introduction of the 'contoured body' Stratocaster that year. It was also the first year a white pg was available, along with the bake-lite black one. Also has the large barrel phenolic saddles.

Fenders late '60s Telecaster bass was essentially a RI of the slab-bodied '51-'53 P minus the large saddles & bake-lite pg as on the '51 P.

What year was yours made? Is it a new model intro'd by Fender recently? I don't see holes for a pu & bridge cover.
 
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#227,438
GBassNorth said:
Tied up in a phone call right now but I think this is the bass bridge comparison video I saw a while ago. IIRC its a pretty interesting run through different bridge options and the impact on sound…

enjoy.
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I like and use the KA bridge - it's the best designed version of the Leo Quan BA bridge introduced in the '70s, when "aftermarket" parts for basses & guitars 1st became a thing. However, listening to this particular A-B, I found the bent-plate to be more resonant/musical. The KA seemed to mute the tone a bit - it wasn't as clear/distinct. The bent-plate even sustained more, which is always the first thing to be said about the advantage of high-mass bridges. It won't make me remove my KA bridges to replace with a bent plate though... :)
 
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