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to bridge or not to bridge

#3
if it's a vintage axe, I'd leave it alone unless you never plan on selling it. on the other hand, if it's a direct replacement (no drilling) I guess you could switch it but if you do, keep the original in a safe place in case you need to restore it back to the original state.

that was a big help, huh? :ninja:
 
#4
It's a MIM reissue, so I'm not really concerned about it being pristine. I just think the Badass is a much better bridge. If it already sounds great IMO, would you even bother to replace it, or do you think the badass would make it that much better.
 
#8
Try doing a search. There's quite a few threads regarding whether or not a BAII is worth it, and some discussions about whether or not it affects tone.

In my experience, I found it to be a much sturdier bridge, and it did seems to make my notes clearer and punchier, as well as improving sustain. Also, the look pretty "bad ass," which doesn't hurt.:D
 
#9
my son changed the bridge on his MIM Jazz with a BAII because the factory bridge kept vibrating out of adjustment. it used to drive him nuts. the BAII took care of that and he's very happy with it. he installed it himself but took it to our regular tech to have the saddles notched. fwiw, he says he can tell a difference in the sound and sustain. I don't play it that much so I don't have an opinion on that.
 
#10
ElBajista said:
Try doing a search. There's quite a few threads regarding whether or not a BAII is worth it, and some discussions about whether or not it affects tone.

In my experience, I found it to be a much sturdier bridge, and it did seems to make my notes clearer and punchier, as well as improving sustain. Also, the look pretty "bad ass," which doesn't hurt.:D
Click to expand...


I had the exact same experience ith the BAII on my 77 Pbass. Notes more defined and more overtone response (a bit more "modern" sounding) . I actually noticed the difference more in the mix than when playing the bass stand-alone.
 
#13
aquateen said:
my son changed the bridge on his MIM Jazz with a BAII because the factory bridge kept vibrating out of adjustment. it used to drive him nuts. the BAII took care of that and he's very happy with it. he installed it himself but took it to our regular tech to have the saddles notched. fwiw, he says he can tell a difference in the sound and sustain. I don't play it that much so I don't have an opinion on that.
Click to expand...

$.05 worth of LockTite thread locker would have fixed the vibration problem too . . . . not much of a reason to replace a bridge, at least not in my opinion . . . .

- Tim
 
#15
I put one on a MIJ Jazz and liked the tone better, but put one on a Yamaha RBX-250 and thought it made the tone worse. I think it really depends on the bass. It seemed to add unpleasant harmonics to the Yamaha. Both of these mods were 10 years ago, and both basses are gone now.

I have had numerous Fender and Fender style basses since then and always leave the stock bridge on them. I think it sounds good and don't really see any point in changing the bridge for the slight improvement (or possibility that it will make it worse as on my Yamaha) that it makes.

If it sounds good leave it alone. Or as my dad used to say, "if it ain't broke don't fix it".
 

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