Danuman

I'm not too fond of this idea, but I appreciate the thought. This bridge seems terrific for throwing basses off lol I briefly owned a Sub-series Ray4 that felt exceptionally cheap, so I know what you mean. I must admit there's enough little things with this one too, but it's made from some really nice pieces of wood. Maybe because it's an early one, or maybe I was just lucky.

I like this idea, but I guess I'd have to find vintage style saddles that fit my current bridge, which could be tricky... worth a try, though!

Thanks, this is exactly the kind of thing I was looking for!

Last year I managed to grab a Sterling Ray34ca that had been hanging in a local music shop for well over a decade. It's the one with the pencil neck, 2-band preamp and retro styling. It's an incredible player, but I would like to reduce the string spacing to 18mm. I don't have particularly large hands, and the more demanding 16ths-type stuff on high tempos is causing my plucking hand to cramp up. For that reason, I have Hipshot bridges on all my basses. I even have a spare one in my parts drawer, but it doesn't sit well on top of the threaded inserts, unfortunately. I've looked around for aftermarket stuff, and I'm guessing there's nothing available. I don't want to remove the inserts, and I would prefer not do any irreversible mods (other than maybe some drilling). I've looked into having saddles custom-made with 18mm spacing, but I have no idea where to begin, really. Do any of you lovely Basschatters know how I might reduce the string spacing on a bridge of this type? Cheers, Dan

Congrats! I really like the look of that neck, great colour combo.

I’ve had a very similar experience, unfortunately. The B sounds workable fresh out of the package, but what little zing is in there disappears a bit too soon. Since the other strings have a nice and strong piano-like quality to them, the difference is kind of hard to miss. Too bad, really. I bought a P35 bridge to see if it might alleviate the problem, but unfortunately it’s not a direct replacement... I haven’t felt like going ahead with it.

Looking forward to finding just one of them when the washing is done.

That’s exactly how I would’ve specced it. Man, that’s cool. 😎

I’ve had a hankering for a butterscotch ‘51 (preferably a ‘54, actually, with contouring) for quite some time, but they never seem to come up... I’ve driven myself mad researching custom parts, but after shipping/customs (am in the Netherlands) it tends to get a bit expensive for a parts build. Nice job on the sort-of ‘51 @Cuzzie!

I didn’t quite get around to it, what with all the distractions of the past few months. As I mentioned it’s not a direct replacement, but the holes for through-body stringing do line up. I’m guessing that means I’m going to have to plug and redrill. I have some friends who are quite capable luthiers, so I was going to ask one of them for help. I may still do just that, but to be honest, I’m not sure.

I never regretted selling anything before I - sort of accidentally - sold my ‘boring’ black Fender MIM after I replaced all of the bits and ended up with two P’s. On a related note, this is how I finally learned that objective improvements do not necessarily lead to a better sounding instrument. If anything, the new neck is too good, if you can believe it. Sold it for peanuts, too. I’m a terrible businessman. 😂

Here’s mine. It has some flaws, and it’s not at all versatile, but man, playing it is just so... easy. I love it.

I haven’t found ‘my’ bass yet, but I do own two that sort of share the characteristics of what I would consider the perfect bass between them... *hushed voice* and I have an ‘89 MIJ Strat that lets me play as freely as I think I will ever be able to. It’s not perfect, but it speaks to me like no other guitar. Some previous owner completely trashed it, so it has no resale value worth mentioning, but I’d be devastated if it got stolen or damaged beyond repair.

Thought I’d follow this up, just in case anyone else looking for a replacement bridge stumbles upon this thread. After the part arrived some time ago, I found out that the P35/735 bridge is not a drop-in replacement. Oh well. The money is gone, so I think I’ll go ahead anyway and have someone install it for me. I guess I could have just bought something I liked, but I suppose keeping the possibility of through-body stringing is not a bad idea in case I ever want to move it on...

Came across this old thread by accident... Always happy to see Rocco’s stuff get a mention, so I thought a thank you was in order - more than a year overdue! 😊 I found this the other day, which I thought zips along rather nicely. Some tasteful and complementary playing over a lively rhythm section. I love hearing a proper big band play the blues. Luxurious!

Ohhh dear, I was hoping some experienced builders or luthiers might offer some thoughts... My girlfriend accidentally knocked over my 1981 Ibanez AS-100. With the stand as a sort of fulcrum, it slammed face-down into the floor so hard it made my eyes water... and I believe the nut took the brunt of the impact. Visually, it seems there are only a few chips and cracks in the lacquer, but the intonation is out of whack and there is some slight string buzz... It was absolutely perfect before. I haven’t dared adjusting anything yet. Are there any critical points I should investigate? Maybe take it to a luthier?

I’m sure there are people crazy enough to prefer worn-out frets, but a fresh set of frets on an old guitar... man that’s a beautiful thing.

Well, I’ve ordered one. Indeed 3-6 weeks + shipping and not cheap, but not crazy expensive either. Swift communication from BTN too. Thanks for the recommendation @CPCustomdubwise!

Cheers all, these are great options. I’ll shoot a message to BTN or Yamaha and see if there’s anything they can do. I‘d imagine if the Hipshot does indeed fit, there should be more models that will... I agree that the tuners feel a bit flimsy, but they work fine for me. One of the, err, ears had come loose from the peg, but that was easily sorted with a drop of loctite.

Hmm, as you say, not a drop-in but I will look into it. I’ve got one on my 4 string bitsa, and it’s probably the best design available...

I suppose even at the higher price the 735 is a bit of a bargain, so that’s fair enough... but the finished neck put me off and I wanted a passive bass. Still, even with the slightly tinny bridge the 435 is a really nice bass.

Sadly, no. I know what you mean, though. Those bridges on the 735 are a lot chunkier. It would be nice to get one of those, but I don’t think they are available for sale.

Hey all, I’m really happy with my BB435, but it seems the strings tend to lose clarity a little too quickly for my liking... I’m still debating maybe going for a set of elixers or something of that ilk, but I’ve found that sometimes a better bridge can help with these issues... and to be honest, the bridge on this thing is a bit underwhelming. Is anyone aware of any drop-in replacements? I’m not particularly attached to through-body stringing, however, I’m probably not going to do any destructive mods in case I ever decide to move it on. Thanks!

I have a nice (expensive) Curtis Novak PB-V in my high(ish)-end bitsa, which sounds very good indeed... but I put a Tonerider in my MIM P that I ended up selling on a bit quicker than I had expected. I’m not sure I didn’t prefer that bass, actually.

This is why this is such a great community. Thank you for the in-depth reply and for taking care of such a beautiful instrument. 😊