why did Fender make the 3 hole bridge?

[trickyric]

I have a Fender J Bass with the 3 hole bridge. I wanted to put a Hipshot kickass bridge on it. However it has 3 screw holes instead of the 5 holes all my other Fenders have.
Does anyone know why fender decided to do this on this on the 2009 American standard J bass?

 

[Gorn]

40% savings?

 

[fretno]

Lets see that pic !

 

[jamzcl]

Alot of the Fender 3 hole bridges are on bodies that are string-thru models.

Guessing there's limited space for screws if you're trying to run strings through the body?

 

[micguy]

Ya know, you could drill 2 more holes. The new bridge will make the perfect template for the new holes.

 

[trickyric]

Ya know, you could drill 2 more holes. The new bridge will make the perfect template for the new holes.

I know you can.. I am wondering why Fender chose to do this.. they cannot be saving enough on 2 screws to have made such a decision.. a couple of pennies per bass seems like an odd choice to me

 

[trickyric]

Ya know, you could drill 2 more holes. The new bridge will make the perfect template for the new holes.

I also do not think they would line up. So you would be drilling 5 new holes ontop of the original 3

 

[bradd]

I also do not think they would line up. So you would be drilling 5 new holes ontop of the original 3

Being an odd number, the center hole will match.

 

[micguy]

I know you can.. I am wondering why Fender chose to do this.. they cannot be saving enough on 2 screws to have made such a decision.. a couple of pennies per bass seems like an odd choice to me

Fender has a tradition of….”frugality”. And it’s more than a couple of Pennie’s - probably in the neighborhood of half a buck, once you add in a bit of labor. Tell an accountant that, multiply half a buck by a decent number of units, and…. Look, we have a 3 hole bridge.

 

[GIBrat51]

Fender has a tradition of….”frugality”. And it’s more than a couple of Pennie’s - probably in the neighborhood of half a buck, once you add in a bit of labor. Tell an accountant that, multiply half a buck by a decent number of units, and…. Look, we have a 3 hole bridge.

Kinda hard to argue with ^this^, IMO. Fender's manufacturing policy has always been "crank 'em out like there's no tomorrow", and even if a 3 screw bridge only saves 2 cents per unit? At 5,000 of these basses a month (which is probably a low estimate), that comes out to... $100. Which, over the course of a year, is enough to make any bean counter worth his pocket protector smile... Besides making those guys happy, if you think about it? How many screws do you really need to hold a bridge down, anyway? Danelectros have managed it just fine with essentially ONE screw, since the late 1950s. Granted, the front 2 screw heads sit in very shallow recesses on the bottom of the bridge - which does provide some resistance to the pull of the strings -, but it's that one screw in the back that does the lion's share of the work. Plus, if you think about it? On a string-thru bridge, the strings themselves are doing a real good job holding that bridge down - all by themselves...

 

[trickyric]

Being an odd number, the center hole will match.

the center hole is a different distance to the side holes. so you have to tap 4 holes

 

[trickyric]

Fender has a tradition of….”frugality”. And it’s more than a couple of Pennie’s - probably in the neighborhood of half a buck, once you add in a bit of labor. Tell an accountant that, multiply half a buck by a decent number of units, and…. Look, we have a 3 hole bridge.

How many USA Jazz basses did they make a year? it seems foolish to do that for a 5 or 10 grand.
Of course they did do it. and then went back to 5 holes.

 

[trickyric]

Kinda hard to argue with ^this^, IMO. Fender's manufacturing policy has always been "crank 'em out like there's no tomorrow", and even if a 3 screw bridge only saves 2 cents per unit? At 5,000 of these basses a month (which is probably a low estimate), that comes out to... $100. Which, over the course of a year, is enough to make any bean counter worth his pocket protector smile... Besides making those guys happy, if you think about it? How many screws do you really need to hold a bridge down, anyway? Danelectros have managed it just fine with essentially ONE screw, since the late 1950s. Granted, the front 2 screw heads sit in very shallow recesses on the bottom of the bridge - which does provide some resistance to the pull of the strings -, but it's that one screw in the back that does the lion's share of the work. Plus, if you think about it? On a string-thru bridge, the strings themselves are doing a real good job holding that bridge down - all by themselves...

I'm not arguing if it is needed. But they did it, then changed back to 5 not that much later.

 

[Mike Vee]

I'm not arguing if it is needed. But they did it, then changed back to 5 not that much later.

Not true, all American Standard, then American Professional and now American Professional II basses have the 3 hole bridge. It kept me from buying them because you can't change the bridge out. Very annoying.

 

[trickyric]

My American Ultra has a high mass 5 screw.. it is Fenders version of the Badass.. The American proII has 3 screws American Original has 5.. I don't think they make the standard anymore.

 

[JakobT]

I have a Fender J Bass with the 3 hole bridge. I wanted to put a Hipshot kickass bridge on it. However it has 3 screw holes instead of the 5 holes all my other Fenders have.
Does anyone know why fender decided to do this on this on the 2009 American standard J bass?

Simply because it’s a string-through model, and the screws need to go between the strings in order to allow them to pass through the body.

 

[two fingers]

I'm pretty sure Fender doesn't care if their holes line up with aftermarket products. Why would they?

 

[trickyric]

I'm pretty sure Fender doesn't care if their holes line up with aftermarket products. Why would they?

they don't line up with a fender high mass either.

 

[Bikeguy57]

That Fender three hole string thru bridge is very nice. How is a Hipshot an upgrade? As to why Fender uses this three mounting hole bridge, probably because it works well with the string thru feature, and three screws are all that's needed.

 

[Bikeguy57]

they don't line up with a fender high mass either.

I believe the stock bridge is considered high mass.