Hipshot Kickass on '74 P bass - is it worth it?

[Misowaki]

*QUICK EDIT* - I'm talking about a difference in the fundamentals, deeper or rounder sounding. Looking for experience from people who have done this and that can report on their findings. 

*additional edit* - I've sold the bridge now anyway

 

I know what will come is people telling me to just do it and see for myself but cba rn 😁

Anyone here replaced a stock bridge on a 70s P for a Kickass type bridge and noticed any resounding difference? Is it worth it? Like actually?

I have a Kickass I took off a bitsa Jazz that I'm selling but wondered if it's worth putting on the P instead.

I saw a vid where a dude swapped out a cheap bridge for a Kickass and the difference was astounding but I've not really wanted for anything from my '74. And this was a cheap POS BBOT bridge on an equally poopy basic bass but the Kickass did make it sound so much better, usable even. As far as I know, the old p saddles are chrome over brass anyway so it might make no difference. I have no interest in 'added sustain', it's purely a 'will it make the bass sound that much sweeter like the cheap one' situaton.

I appreciate your experience, folks.

Edited May 9, 2022 by Misowaki

[ezbass]

40 minutes ago, Misowaki said:

I've not really wanted for anything from my '74.
 

There’s your answer, right there.

[Misowaki]

2 minutes ago, ezbass said:

There’s your answer, right there.

Yeah but if there's someone that has done it they can tell me if it unlocked anything in theirs. Otherwise, what's the point in mods?
I've heard it was a popular mod back then so you'd think there was a good reason. I'm hoping someone here can confirm or deny.

 

[ezbass]

It seems to be more popular with J basses and the only stock P that comes with a kickäss type is the Nate Mendle signature AFAIK. 

[Noisyjon]

 

59 minutes ago, Misowaki said:

Is it worth it? Like actually?

 

I'm going to go in with a straight forward 'No' to your question @Misowaki

There's tons of opinions on this subject but concerning good quality P basses I've been there, done that and got the t shirt!

[Beedster]

no no no

[spyder]

It's a NO from me.

 

[Owen]

I put a Badass on a J bass I had. I went back to the BBOT bridge. It was different. Not better, or worse. But for me - not worth the effort.

[Doctor J]

Remove strings. Remove old bridge. 10 minutes.

 

Install new bridge, string up. 12 minutes.

 

It's easy to find out whether the difference is worth it to you. You know what you're looking for from the bass, no-one else here does. It's not too hard to find out if this bridge is it.

[Misowaki]

41 minutes ago, Doctor J said:

Remove strings. Remove old bridge. 10 minutes.

 

Install new bridge, string up. 12 minutes.

 

 

Yeah but I don't wanna mess up the silk windings of my TIs pulling them in and out of bridges if it's ultimately pointless 😁

[Misowaki]

1 hour ago, ezbass said:

It seems to be more popular with J basses and the only stock P that comes with a kickäss type is the Nate Mendle signature AFAIK. 

Which is modelled on a 70s P, right? I know Juan Alderete also has similar but he's got that epoxy fretless neck so he's perhaps going for something different than just a deeper 'fundamental'.

[NancyJohnson]

Just being subjective here, this is simply a query about a Hipshot bridge over the stock Fender BBOT; it shouldn't really matter what it's installed on.  Overall, the bridge contributes a small percentage to how you sound; two guys playing the same bass can make it sound totally different. 

 

Yes, I've got a Kickass installed on one of my basses; as the BBOT was incomplete when I bought the bass replacement was necessary and I chose the Kickass.  Would I say it altered my tone?  I'd answer that by stating not discernibly (or if it did, the change was so tiny it didn't make a difference).  I'd say categorically that the Kickass is better by design, looks nicer than the BBOT, feels more comfortable when palm-muting, feels generally more solid (and reliable?) than the BBOT (although in truth any bass I've had with a Fender-style bridge rarely needed adjusting).  It certainly doesn't make me a better player or revolutionise anything.

 

Conclusion?  It looks nicer than a BBOT.  That's it.  Shiny. 

[Beedster]

1 hour ago, Misowaki said:

Yeah but I don't wanna mess up the silk windings of my TIs pulling them in and out of bridges if it's ultimately pointless 😁

 

Do it carefully then 

[Misowaki]

1 hour ago, Beedster said:

 

Do it carefully then 

Not in my skill set, unfortunately.

[Reggaebass]

Would I replace a stock bridge on a 70s P for a Kickass type bridge ?,    No never, I would definitely leave the original one on,

I’ve switched the bridges about on a few of my jazzes ,but that was because I like the  look of the threaded saddle type, and I can’t say I noticed any difference in the sound 

[Bassfinger]

The difference will be so slight it probably won't even be discernable by ear.

 

It won't add sustain. Sustain is a function of the rigidity of the structure across which the strings are stretched.  A mass damper will actually reduce sustain, although the difference between bridges there is so slight as to be pretty much untectable again.

 

If the bridge you have your eye on brings you adjustability or stability benefits, or you like how it looks, then go for it. Otherwise, forget it.

 

 

 

 

Edited April 28, 2022 by Bassfinger

[Misowaki]

3 hours ago, Bassfinger said:

The difference will be so slight it probably won't even be discernable by ear.

 

It won't add sustain. Sustain is a function of the rigidity of the structure across which the strings are stretched.  A mass damper will actually reduce sustain, although the difference between bridges there is so slight as to be pretty much untectable again.

 

If the bridge you have your eye on brings you adjustability or stability benefits, or you like how it looks, then go for it. Otherwise, forget it.

 

 

 

 

Just as well I have no interest in added sustain 😁 It's always been an odd upside to me but maybe some folk just love holding single notes for 4 bars, I dunno.

I didn't have my eye on it, I took it off another bass but I've sold the bridge now anyway as the general consensus is negligible difference.

Thanks to those who have shared their experience, glad I didn't bother messing with it and that's another £70 towards my new Mustang!

[Stub Mandrel]

If an engineering definition of 'better' is achieving the required functionality and durability with the minimum of resources, complexity and cost, then the original bridge is 'better'.

 

Aesthetics is entirely subjective, but i'd want a fifty year old P to have a 50 year old P-bass type bridge.

 

As for the sound, as others have said it's marginal and different is not necessarily 'better', however we tend to perceive small changes in sound as improvements.

[bloke_zero]

If you do want to get into the physics then there is a lot to be said for a little bit of tin bent into an L. Especially on an old bass where the wood has aged nicely. If there is any such thing as tone wood  then something with such a direct connection to the body feels like a good thing, especially if you're not concerned with sustain.

 

I did just do an A/B with 2 early 70's P basses - one with a baddass II (similar to the kickass) and one with the standard Fender, but the 14 year difference in the string age probably (defintely) outweighs the bridge! Baddass is the 2nd bass -

https://www.dropbox.com/s/m7lerfbz466x5iw/PvsP.aif?dl=0

[NancyJohnson]

2 hours ago, Misowaki said:

Just as well I have no interest in added sustain 

 

There does seem to be this obsession with sustain.  Aside from tuning, ask yourself this question, what is the longest you'd let a note ring out for in any of the songs you're playing?  I'd say the longest for me is probably an open A for a couple of bars in a 140bpm song.  Seconds, if that. This whole sustain argument is a nonsense. 

[Misowaki]

4 minutes ago, NancyJohnson said:

 

There does seem to be this obsession with sustain.  Aside from tuning, ask yourself this question, what is the longest you'd let a note ring out for in any of the songs you're playing?  I'd say the longest for me is probably an open A for a couple of bars in a 140bpm song.  Seconds, if that. This whole sustain argument is a nonsense. 

100% with you. Baffling.
But you know, horses for courses.
I know I've got plenty of sustain when I accidentally leave my bass near the amp I've forgotten to turn off only to move about the house and wonder where that awful noise is coming from.

[Misdee]

 I have found that the BBOT Fender bridge definitely has a more "Fenderish" tone than the higher mass alternatives I have tried. Hipshot make superb bridges, that's for sure, and the Kickass gives you the option of steel or brass saddles, but different is not necessarily better. To me, the biggest advantage of alternative bridges to the BBOT is adjustabliity and stability rather than tone or sustain. The  untracked saddles on the BBOT are prone to movement. The Kickass and similar also weigh significantly more than the BBOT 

[NancyJohnson]

My dad used to go fishing on Sundays.  Different rods, different reels, different lines, different bait.  All that really mattered was the little hook at the end of the line with the maggot on it.  He could have used a bit of copper pipe or an extending umbrella, garden string or a bit of cheese.  .

 

1 hour ago, Misdee said:

 I have found that the BBOT Fender bridge definitely has a more "Fenderish" tone than the higher mass alternatives I have tried. 

 

What is Fenderish tone?  Geddy?  Lynott?  Harris?  Kaye?  Deacon? Flea?  Hoppus?  JPJ?  JM-J?  Wire, Simonon, Sting, Jameson, Jacko or Duff?  

[Misowaki]

If of interest, this is the video in which the difference was discernible even through tinny laptop speakers (skip to about 1.15).

Either way, the bridge is on its way to a new home now and to paraphrase NancyJohnson, all that matters is the hook.
Turning a knob or two is easy enough and I'm blessed to even have a '74 P and a modern counterpart so yeah, no fuss, no muss.

 

 

 

[Owen]

8 hours ago, Misowaki said:

Just as well I have no interest in added sustain 😁 

 

that's another £70 towards my new Mustang!

I also have no interest in sustain, but my 36" neckthrough Overwater has monster sustain. Not anything I am fussed about, but the immediacy it speaks with and consistency in that the bass does not eat any of the energy is quite exciting.

 

£70 towards the next one! Excellent.