discreet

Nuts!

[quote name='AndyTravis' timestamp='1510335007' post='3405741'] I've deviated from the 50's styling to put lollipop tuners on it... [/quote] Don't think it matters much. Lollipops look good on any bass! Every time I see 'em, I think, 'Ooooh! Lollipops!' Like a berk.

[quote name='AndyTravis' timestamp='1510334073' post='3405723'] [url="https://instagram.com/p/BbUmSj-jSqY/"]https://instagram.com/p/BbUmSj-jSqY/[/url] [/quote] It looks very good. I just wish it were easier to get hold of 44mm nut-width necks!

[quote name='AndyTravis' timestamp='1510333659' post='3405717'] Bought a vintage tint gloss model from NW guitars. Seems really well done, on a par with MIJ reissue stuff and reasonable price. Think the gloss was only £10 more and it's nicely finished. Hardware purchased today to fit it on. But it looks the part. [/quote] They do seem to be nice accurate necks by all accounts and £10 extra for a tint is a no-brainer when you consider how long it takes to convincingly tint a neck - and more to the point, how long you have to wait for bloody nitro lacquer to cure!

Why would you fit a component to your bass that's going to make it heavier? Especially when there's no obvious benefit to your 'tone'? Well... you have to agree that the Hipshot Kickass bridge looks pretty cool, if nothing else. And it is well-engineered. And the lateral adjustment for string spacing is more than useful. And if you have a [i]little[/i] neck dive (like I have) then adding more weight near the bottom strap button can only be good. Can't it? Fact is, the Kickass weighs around 7-1/2oz ( 212g), so it's not exactly light. Which is the whole idea of a 'high mass' bridge. But subtract the weight of the BBOT that was already fitted, i.e. 3-1/4oz (92g) and you have a net addition of 4-1/4oz (120g). About the same as a small bar of soap, or a spoon. Hmm. Was it worth it? I'll let you know. While the strings were off I took the opportunity to shim the neck, so the bass is playing better anyway. To be honest, my main reason for fitting this Hipshot is because (in my opinion) a KickAss looks much better on a Jazz than it does on a Precision. So now I can use the Kluson 70s bridge I took off the Jazz for my upcoming 70s P Bass build... Thing is, as suspected, I still have a [i]bit[/i] of neck dive, so I bought some Hipshot Ultralites, which I'll be fitting in due course. Then I can use the current Schallers on the Jazz for my upcoming 70s P Bass build... see a pattern emerging, yet? However, they're not a straight swap as the Ultralights have narrower tuner posts than the Schallers. There's a whole raft of threads on TB about the implications of this, and various solutions, but I have my own ideas about it. Involving [i]PVC tubing[/i]...

[quote name='Andytre' timestamp='1510252292' post='3405088'] I quite like their Nitro paint as well (sea foam green) [/quote] They're good! I've had hardware and paint from them quite a few times. They don't stock TV Yellow though, for some reason.

[quote name='Andytre' timestamp='1510236096' post='3404882'] I've used northwest for loads of parts i need quickly very good quality and good customer service [/quote] Their range isn't huge, but I agree, you get 'family business' -type service.

I like the natural one. Er... hubba hubba.

[quote name='The59Sound' timestamp='1510230323' post='3404776'] Gotoh 201 is already quite cheap and is better than a BadAss IMO. [/quote] And it still retains much of the classic look of the BBOT, too. If that's your thing.

[quote name='NancyJohnson' timestamp='1510180683' post='3404563'] I used that old Aria at a rehearsal last night...the bass is very bright tonally already. God knows what it would sound like with steel saddles. [/quote] Less bright, I reckon. Most saddles are steel... aren't they?

[quote name='NancyJohnson' timestamp='1510160248' post='3404385'] ...give consideration as to whether you want brass or steel saddles (the brass, apparently, gives a warmer tone, but it's pretty zingy irrespective). [/quote] Everyone seems to think that brass gives a warmer tone, but I find the opposite to be true. I may be in a majority of one, here...

Play it as it is. It works, and anyone who knows the song would probably expect to hear it.

[quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1510171789' post='3404501'] I never use a right-angled lead on the Sei Original, as that would result in embarrassing silence with the plug not able to penetrate sufficiently into the jack socket recess. [/quote] Ooh, get you with your fancy high-end bass! Come the day I can afford such luxury I'll push the boat out and get new cables, too!

I've had both... neither suited my RW P, I got OCD and put the threaded-barrel vintage-style BBOT back on. HOWEVER... The Babicz is a finely-engineered device and very impressive. I like the way the saddles are always in contact with the bass plate via the cam mechanism and you can fully lock the thing up after adjustment - in effect it becomes one piece of metal, like the earlier Spector bridges. Rock solid and very cool. Well-machined, works brilliantly and feels very smooth when palm muting. And you can buy a Fender-fit 5-hole version. The Kickass is also well engineered, more or less to the same standard as the Babicz... maybe just a little less. But, unlike the Babicz, contact is lost between saddle and baseplate when you raise the saddles. It is also smooth and comfortable for palm muting and importantly, it really looks the business. If I were choosing between them on purely functional and technical considerations, it would be the Babicz all day long. BUT... I don't think the Babicz looks as good as the Kickass when fitted to a Fender bass. So I'd choose the Kickass. In fact, I have just acquired one and it is going on my new Jazz build. As far as 'tone', 'sustain', 'heft' and any other 'positives' of 'upgrading' your bridge are concerned: In my view, there is very little difference between the Babicz, the Kickass OR the BBOT. In fact I'd give it to the BBOT, by a nose. In my view you only need to change a bridge for aesthetic reasons, OR because your current bridge is uncomfortable in use, OR because you want more positive adjustment. The Kickass looks very good on a Jazz Bass. Less so on a P Bass. The Babicz doesn't look as good on either. In short, I'd choose the Kickass - even though I think the Babicz is a better bridge. The Kickass would look very good on a Sire V7.

I think at that price, I'd want more (and better) photographs.

[quote name='pfretrock' timestamp='1510145674' post='3404249'] The big issue is straight or right-angled plugs... [/quote] Always a right-angled plug into the bass, regardless of whether it's a top or side socket. But I always thread the cable between bass body and strap, force of habit I suppose. The other end can be straight or angled, depending on what's best for the amp.

[quote name='Andytre' timestamp='1510142385' post='3404227'] ...they take a while to arrive but for under £5 from china you cant really go wrong [/quote] You wouldn't expect the best at that price, but how do they do it?? Cheap labour and economy of scale, I suppose... but even so..! A few interesting ones here... http://www.northwestguitars.co.uk/bass-bridges/ Not Chinese prices, but they do next-day delivery. The Hipshot-alike of the sort that appears on Sandberg basses is quite cool. No idea what it's actually like, though.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1510144315' post='3404234'] Which 9v batteries are best for metal? [/quote] [quote name='pfretrock' timestamp='1510145530' post='3404246'] Any containing Mercury, Lead or Cadmium. [/quote]

As far as curly leads go, these are supposed to be pretty good: https://www.bulletcable.com/ I can never bring myself to buy one though, that kind of money would be better spent with OBBM! ...and anyway, they're [i]so[/i] 'seventies', darling...

Just taken delivery of a mint-condition Hipshot Kickass bass bridge from Andy. I expressed an interest in it on Monday, it arrived on Wednesday morning. Super-fast delivery, very well packed and regular, timely communications. Couldn't be better - and I wouldn't hesitate for a nanosecond to deal with Andy again. Recommended!!

[quote name='kendall' timestamp='1510129419' post='3404096'] ...hair has grown back... [/quote] Pics, or your hair didn't happen.

Chromes are bright and quite 'middly' for flats, as mentioned above. I'd try those first. Fender 9050 stainless flats are reasonably bright, too. My favourite all-time flats are La Bella 760FM, they'll give you that classic 'Jamerson' P Bass sound (even if you can't play like him ), so possibly not what you're looking for. I tried the much-vaunted Thomastik-Infeld flats a while back and loved the sound of them, but agree that they are far too low in tension and they didn't suit my fairly robust fingerstyle approach - they were all over the place - and even worse with a pick. Very good strings if they suit your technique, though.

Fender Rumble 500 combo. Light, loud, great sound, easy to use. Dammit!