BadAss Bridge or Fender Delux Bridge plus Ash Tray?

[uk_lefty]

I have a midnight wine Fender MIM J Bass that I picked up second hand and i absolutely love it. It had been heavily modified by the previous owner - Schaller tuners (unfortunately not Fender style), Badass bridge,new scratchplate in white pearloid and new knobs that were cheap crappy plastic and not Fender style. I've now put on a black scratchplate, neck pickup cover, handmade bone nut, and chrome knobs. I recently bought a Fender Delux bridge on eBay so that I could fit a bridge "ash tray"/ pickup cover to really go for the retro look. But now I'm hesitating.

Question is.... what would you do? Keep the Badass bridge on, which looks great...or put the Fender Delux bridge and "F" logo bridge pickup cover?

The screw holes do not line up exactly which was a massive disappointment, I'd thought that the Badass was a direct Fender replacement and so swapping that for a Delux would be just an unscrewing job, turns out I was wrong. Before I drill in to the bass to fit this new bridge and the cover, interested to hear some opinions.

Whichever bridge is not used on the J will go on to a P Bass project

[White Cloud]

Its purely a matter of personal taste. I hate pickup covers so would never ever fit one, but I like badass bridges so would leave it be as opposed to drilling the bass.

[BetaFunk]

I had a Badass II on my 1974 Jazz Bass and recently put the original Fender bridge back on as i wanted to put the bridge cover back on. The holes on the Badass II and the original 1974 bridge line up exactly.

[Lozz196]

I don`t like covers, so wouldn`t use one anyway. But re the bridges themselves, I find a Badass emphasises what`s good about a Jazz - tighter lows, more defined highs - and as such takes away the middy muddiness that a Precision excels at. So Badass for Jazz, Fender bridge for Precision.

[gary mac]

Totally agree with Lozz

[uk_lefty]

Thanks, got to say I really like the tone of the bass and it will look strange with a tiny bridge.... Really really not sure I should drill this to get the fender bridge on, and risk not liking it and putting the badass back... With drilled holes under the bridge and for the F cover.
Not sure means don't do it, right?

[CamdenRob]

Whats the deal with those pickup covers? what advantage is it supposed to give? I appreciate it looks kinda cool but surley having an enormous piece of metal right over the middle of the strings would make a bass nigh on impossible to play?

I'm sure this has been covered elsewhere so apologies if its going over old ground.

[uk_lefty]

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1368777031' post='2081265']
Whats the deal with those pickup covers? what advantage is it supposed to give? I appreciate it looks kinda cool but surley having an enormous piece of metal right over the middle of the strings would make a bass nigh on impossible to play?

I'm sure this has been covered elsewhere so apologies if its going over old ground.
[/quote]

Having one of the neck pickup doesnt stop me at all, i play pretty much always over the bridge pickup.I have it purely for the look, not sure what the original purpose ever was.

[BetaFunk]

[quote name='uk_lefty' timestamp='1368740423' post='2081088']
Thanks, got to say I really like the tone of the bass and it will look strange with a tiny bridge.
[/quote]
You won't see the bridge as you'll have the bridge cover on or am i missing something here?

[Telebass]

The deluxe bridges are 3 screw and were for top or through body stringing. This pattern of bridge started with the first American Standard basses. For a MIM bass, a standard 5 screw BBOT is what fits.
The only other basses the deluxe bridges drop into are the 51RI/ and Telecaster bssses.

[LeftyJ]

[quote name='uk_lefty' timestamp='1368649359' post='2079867']
I'd thought that the Badass was a direct Fender replacement and so swapping that for a Delux would be just an unscrewing job, turns out I was wrong.
[/quote]

The Badass II [b]IS[/b] a direct Fender replacement and requires no drilling of you're replacing a standard Fender bridge. The Fender Deluxe bridge however is not a direct replacement for the regular Fender bridges. If you were to remove the Badass, you'll find no additional screwholes.

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1368886485' post='2082682']
You won't see the bridge as you'll have the bridge cover on or am i missing something here?
[/quote]

The cover won't fit over the Badass II

[xgsjx]

I've been doing quite a bit of research into bridges over the past year & have discovered that they do 0 to change the amplified tone. Some may offer a bit more sustain (or should that be less sustain? ), but i replaced the Ibanez bridge with a cheap Vox bridge & there's no difference in sound, just looks & adjustability.

I'd been toying with putting a Babicz or a Schaller bridge on as they both look cool as & have good adjustibility/stability, but I'll probably end up with a cheaper Gotoh at best.

[BetaFunk]

[quote name='LeftyJ' timestamp='1369306014' post='2087479']
The Badass II [b]IS[/b] a direct Fender replacement and requires no drilling of you're replacing a standard Fender bridge. The Fender Deluxe bridge however is not a direct replacement for the regular Fender bridges. If you were to remove the Badass, you'll find no additional screwholes.



The cover won't fit over the Badass II
[/quote]
I was querying your point over the bridge looking tiny. The Badass II in no way looks tiny so i presumed you were talking about the bridge that the cover fits over. Therefore you aren't going to see the bridge so it won't matter if it looks tiny.

[LeftyJ]

[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1369396799' post='2088713']
I've been doing quite a bit of research into bridges over the past year & have discovered that they do 0 to change the amplified tone. Some may offer a bit more sustain (or should that be less sustain? ), but i replaced the Ibanez bridge with a cheap Vox bridge & there's no difference in sound, just looks & adjustability.[/quote]

Sorry for going off-topic, but I kinda disagree here. I replaced the stock bridge on my Fender MIJ '75 Jazz reissue with a BadAss II, and the change in tone was dramatic. The lows are tighter and punchier, and the highs have become more prominent. Overall, the tone gained a lot of brightness, an almost metallic, with a nice zing to it. And then there's the difference in material. I've tried both a brass and an aluminium Hipshot Style A bridge on a bass I used to own, and found the brass to sound beefier with a bit more sustain and sweeter highs, whereas the aluminium one sounded brighter and tighter

[xgsjx]

It's amazing what £100 can do to your hearing.

I've heard more folk saying there's no change in tone than folk saying there is. When I changed bridges, there was no change in tone, just a little less sustain.
However, that's not to say that you're not right. I've never compared a Badass to a stock Fender bridge.

[Telebass]

I've yet to hear the slightest degradation in tone or sustain when removing BAIIs and replacing them with BBsOT. And I've done it on both Ps and Js of various pedigree.
No difference. Nada. Zilch.
Just half a pound lighter.