BadAss Bridges

[Clarky72]

On a MIM Jazz, the 5 drilled holes don't match up to the 3 holes on a Badass III...

[stevie]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='783139' date='Mar 23 2010, 10:11 AM']You need to raise it more? Have you checked the neck pocket for a shim you could remove?[/quote]
No, but I doubt that it has been shimmed because I have plenty of adjustment with the normal Yamaha bridge and with a Gotoh aftermarket one. But I'm right at the limit with the Badass. I'd like to raise the action a tad but I can't because the screws come out the other end. If the grubscrews were just an eighth of an inch longer, I'd be OK.

[CraigPlaysBass]

Is it possible to fit a badass III onto a body with 5 holes rather than 3? mainly for aesthetic reasons :L

[coleybass]

does the badass II fit on a jaguar bass? can anyone recommend the best bridge to replace the crappy bridge. Hipshot A style bridge????

thanks im coley btw i own a white jaguar and sunburst one

[BOD2]

A BadAss II or III will fit on any bass that has a flat (not contoured) body -the bridge is flat so it needs to sit on a flat body.

If there are 5 holes on the body then it will still fit but, depending on where the holes actually are on the body, you may need to drill 3 new holes for the BadAss, or fill the original holes and drill new ones. Can't say without seeing the body.

BUT.... and this is important - the BadAss may be HIGHER than the original bridge. This will raise the action. If there isn't enough adjustment in the bridge saddles to lower the action back down then you may have to shim the neck (see separate sticky) to compensate. Obviously this will not be possible with a through neck or glued-in neck - only a bolt-on neck.

The same comments would apply to any aftermarket bridge designed to fit a Fender J or P Bass.

The only big deal about the BadAss was that that screw holes were in the same place as the original Fender bass - which os also true for many othetr bridges.

[grey area]

after reading that you need to rout an aerodyne to use a badass i checked mine last night and it is making full contact all round,i fitted it 2 or 3 years ago and have had no trouble at all with it.i can see the logic that a flat bottomed bridge should not sit well on a curved surface but you cant get a fag paper(thats cigarette paper for us limeys)under the bridge.i can only think that either my late model aerodyne(about 2004)is very flat in the bridge area or i screwed it down so hard that it crushed itself into the body.either way its working very well and aint coming off.cheers

[SS73]

[quote name='stevie' post='783103' date='Mar 23 2010, 10:33 AM']The grub screws on my Badass I are just a tad too short. Does anyone know where I can get longer ones?[/quote]

The Badass 1 is the highest of the bunch, are you sure that there are not other issues with your bass.

But anyway, as a matter of course ( not a height issue) I replaced the Badass 1 screws with brass ones I had lying around, although I needed to drill and tap new BA threads for these to fit it kept the whole sonic flow going instead of dead steel screws, plus I could get them to bind just right and keep the whole set rigid.[attachment=50416:IMG00266...826_1201.jpg]

[algmusic]

[quote name='grey area' post='845899' date='May 23 2010, 05:36 PM']after reading that you need to rout an aerodyne to use a badass i checked mine last night and it is making full contact all round,i fitted it 2 or 3 years ago and have had no trouble at all with it.i can see the logic that a flat bottomed bridge should not sit well on a curved surface but you cant get a fag paper(thats cigarette paper for us limeys)under the bridge.i can only think that either my late model aerodyne(about 2004)is very flat in the bridge area or i screwed it down so hard that it crushed itself into the body.either way its working very well and aint coming off.cheers[/quote]


ouch, but I guess it sound great though

[Wimpy]

[quote name='BOD2' post='1286' date='May 18 2007, 11:36 AM'][b]BadAss Bridge[/b]

Other replacement bridges are available (e.g. Hipshot, Schaller, Trevor Wilkinson, Gotoh etc.) but the BadAss seems to have become the accepted standard for Fender-type basses and is actually supplied by Fender on some models.[/quote]

here is couple other bridges to compare...maybe it will help be help for somebody: [url="http://marcusmillerfive.wz.cz/"]http://marcusmillerfive.wz.cz/[/url]

my post from TB:
Bridges: Fender stock vs. Hipshot "A" vs. Schaller 2000 on Fender Marcus Miller V
I made some audio files with these bridges...Well Fender is more organic but little "empty" and little unbalanced. Hipshot "A"/brass sounds tight, balanced but to compressed and there is less bottom and less dynamics. There is little compression with Schaller but is fuller, tight, less higs, very well balanced...I want to try Hipshot B style and Hipshot Vintage in future but I feel I stay with the Schaller 2000

Check this link for audio and pictures:
[url="http://marcusmillerfive.wz.cz/"]http://marcusmillerfive.wz.cz/[/url]

Edited June 20, 2010 by Wimpy

[Riddler]

I know this is an old thread but I couldn't find anything else on Badasses.

My problem is I have purchased a s/h USA Jazz deluxe (circa 1995) and whoever had it before had tried to adjust the action with the wrong allen key so all the grub screw slots are rounded off. I can just about adjust the height by loosening the strings and turning the grubs with needle nose pliers but thats not a great idea so my 2 questions are?:

1. Can I get standard replacement grub screws?
2. If I decide to use this as an excuse to but a Badass III will I need to rout the body to accomodate the low action I like. Btw I have read the bit above about shims etc but that sounds too technical for me! I just want to do a 3 screw conversion

Cheers
Graham

[Mr. Foxen]

Shims are about the least technical thing possible to do with a bass. So much less drastic than routing. Are you going to route it yourself? If you are paying someone to do it, they'll be able to shim it cheaper, without harming the bass.

[merello]

[url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bondhus-Hex-Allen-Fold-Wrench/dp/B0006O4AFQ"]Allen keys[/url]

[Riddler]

Cheers, but I've got allen keys. I need replacement screws. I'll try a decent hardware store if such a thing still exists!

[Mr. Foxen]

[quote name='Riddler' post='897467' date='Jul 17 2010, 06:12 PM']Cheers, but I've got allen keys. I need replacement screws. I'll try a decent hardware store if such a thing still exists![/quote]

Bear in mind those are proper imperial sized screws, and most hardware stores only seem to carry funny foreign sizes now.

[alondo1234]

[size=2]Hi

I fitted a [color="#000080"]Badass II[/color] bridge to my 83 JV Squier Precision a few years ago and it went straight on using the original 5 holes.


[u]IN MY OPINION.[/u]

Pros

Its a great fit to the body, its solid, very good quality, gives improved sustain and attack, improves the overall tone of the instrment, allows for precision adjustment of the stings for intonation and looks great.


Cons

Filing the saddles for the strings can be ackward and the string ends are very close to the body of the instrument so take care when restringing so you dont mark it.


Conclusion

A really good modification and well worth the money.


Al [/size]

[Max Normal]

I saw this neck mounting kit, where basically you install externally self-tapping brass ferrules that also have a normal threat down the centre hole. This means that when you install the neck, the screw holes are more or less impossible to strip and you can take the neck on and off as often as you like, and you get a better contact between neck and body = more sustain and tone. I thought something like this would be ideal for the bridge as well, as you really get a good chunk of metal right down in the wood of the body, and you can get a good tight fit of the bridge onto it and really get those strings resonating the wood. I'm going to try this method with the custom build I'm working on (probably with a BadassIII or Hipshot through body mount for even more string/body contact). I'll post the results in a few weeks.

[Riddler]

[quote name='Max Normal' post='950134' date='Sep 9 2010, 01:14 AM']I saw this neck mounting kit, where basically you install externally self-tapping brass ferrules that also have a normal threat down the centre hole. This means that when you install the neck, the screw holes are more or less impossible to strip and you can take the neck on and off as often as you like, and you get a better contact between neck and body = more sustain and tone. I thought something like this would be ideal for the bridge as well, as you really get a good chunk of metal right down in the wood of the body, and you can get a good tight fit of the bridge onto it and really get those strings resonating the wood. I'm going to try this method with the custom build I'm working on (probably with a BadassIII or Hipshot through body mount for even more string/body contact). I'll post the results in a few weeks.[/quote]

Sounds intersting, let us know how it goes.

G

[paulwillson]

Hi guys im looking for a replacement bridge for my 6 string, the string spacing id 16 and a half ". brrn hsving trouble pin pointing a brdifge that will fit. looking to spend no more than a tonne

[JimBobTTD]

[quote name='paulwillson' post='1193769' date='Apr 9 2011, 02:36 PM']Hi guys im looking for a replacement bridge for my 6 string, the string spacing id 16 and a half ". brrn hsving trouble pin pointing a brdifge that will fit. looking to spend no more than a tonne [/quote]

ABM and Hipshot do 6 string bridges at varying widths. I bought an ABM for my Ibanez which also has 16.5mm spacing. I bought mine from Pitch Perfect Music on Ebay. They are in the States, but I had a mate out there bring it over for me. It's an excellent bridge.

[deepbass5]

Just wanted to add, bought one for my first bass 77 Fender precision. I thought it did make a noticable difference to the quality of the tone. I did not know about cutting slots until i traded it in at the Gallery and MP pointed it out, but it seemed ok as it was.

[Greggo]

Anyone ever fitted a badass to a yammy bb414?

[brensabre79]

[quote name='Max Normal' timestamp='1283991253' post='950134']
I saw this neck mounting kit, where basically you install externally self-tapping brass ferrules that also have a normal threat down the centre hole. This means that when you install the neck, the screw holes are more or less impossible to strip and you can take the neck on and off as often as you like, and you get a better contact between neck and body = more sustain and tone. I thought something like this would be ideal for the bridge as well, as you really get a good chunk of metal right down in the wood of the body, and you can get a good tight fit of the bridge onto it and really get those strings resonating the wood. I'm going to try this method with the custom build I'm working on (probably with a BadassIII or Hipshot through body mount for even more string/body contact). I'll post the results in a few weeks.
[/quote]
This is how the Musicman bridges work I think, with the two big allen bolts at either side - but they also have the standard wood screws in the middle...

[Andy Blowers]

Just FYI, if anyone is looking for replacement grub screws they are available from Diablo Tuning on Ebay. They are in the States, but they also sell them in different lengths.

If anyone is having trouble with seized grub screws, DO NOT try and wrench them out. Take the saddle off the bass, and soak in WD40 for half an hour. Give it another go after that, and repeat if necessary. Should work just fine.

[marcin2x4]

Hi there!

First post but the question is quite important

Will Badass III bridge (slotted) fit American Standard 2012 Jazz? (I know Jazz has 3 holes but I'm more intrested in sapcing, holes depth etc)
http://allegro.pl/mostek-do-basu-badass-bass-iii-chrome-z-nacieciami-i5564842139.html
http://intl.fender.com/en-PL/basses/jazz-bass/american-standard-jazz-bass-maple-fingerboard-3-color-sunburst/


I was going for BadAz 2 but noticed by Jazz has 3-holes bridge so BadAz 2 won't fit.

Also I would like to ask for opinions on BA3 - I'm huge Geddy Lee fan so that's why I went for Badass


kr!
Marcin

[Muppet]

[quote name='marcin2x4' timestamp='1438258064' post='2832969']
Hi there!

Will Badass III bridge (slotted) fit American Standard 2012 Jazz? (I know Jazz has 3 holes but I'm more intrested in sapcing, holes depth etc)

[/quote]

Hi Marcin

Yes a Badass III should fit a 2012 Jazz with no modification. The difficulty will be in actually finding a Badass III in the first place. They don't make them any more and new ones are very difficult to come by.