Where to get a decent inexpensive headless bass bridge?

[prowla]

I've got this doubleneck; it's rather nice to play, but is badly let down by the cheapo bridges (both bass and guitar).

 

The bridges are the dreaded "Overlord Of Music" ones; they appear to be cheap for a reason!

 

The claws are made of soft metal and the stock M.6(?) tuning bolts will mash them at any opportunity; also, there's a step in the bridge plate at precisely where the tuner buttons make contact, so they'll graunch and grind there too.

The guitar one is similar, but it's also got the trem unit, whose spring sub-assembly isn't up to the job, so I've locked it in place (fortunately it does have a locking latch!).

I bought a replacement bass bridge from China, but it was faulty (the recess wasn't tall enough for the claws to retract into); however, I managed to make one working one from the two.

The situation now is that I don't have any confidence in those bridges and I'd really like to just replace them.

Regarding replacing, these are my thoughts:

• They appear to be Steinberger copies, but I'm not 100% sure they're drop-in replacements.
• Actual Steinberger ones are hard to come by and aren't cheap.
• I don't think I've ever seen a Spirit or Hohner one.
• 3rd party ones are 3-4x the value of the instrument (each).

Any thoughts on options?

 

I don't want to spend a lot on it, as I got it cheap (because the original owner gave up on it due to the bridge issues).

 

Incidentally, you may see from the close-up picture that the original pickups were labelled "EMG" - I don't believe that for a minute! Being a Ricaholic, I replaced them with Retrovibe Ric-style pickups, which were a direct drop-in replacement, even the screw holes.

I also did a bit of re-wiring and one of the pots incorporates a push-pull cut-out switch for the guitar pickups.

[Andyjr1515]

Nova Guitar Parts.  Excellent quality and decent price.  There are Chinese fakes about, so best to look them up on Facebook.  The owner is @Andre_Passini who is a member here

[Andre_Passini]

49 minutes ago, Andyjr1515 said:

Nova Guitar Parts.  Excellent quality and decent price.  There are Chinese fakes about, so best to look them up on Facebook.  The owner is @Andre_Passini who is a member here

 

Thank you Andy! 

[prowla]

2 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said:

Nova Guitar Parts.  Excellent quality and decent price.  There are Chinese fakes about, so best to look them up on Facebook.  The owner is @Andre_Passini who is a member here

 

1 hour ago, Andre_Passini said:

 

Thank you Andy! 

Thanks - they look rather nice.

I guess the two questions are:

1. Is there a drop-in replacement for a Steinberger?
2. How much do they cost (I'm in the UK)?

(I definitely want to steer clear of the Chinese toot!)

Edited May 29, 2022 by prowla

[Andre_Passini]

27 minutes ago, prowla said:

 

Thanks - they look rather nice.

I guess the two questions are:

1. Is there a drop-in replacement for a Steinberger?
2. How much do they cost (I'm in the UK)?

(I definitely want to steer clear of the Chinese toot!)

 

Hi Prowla,

 

1. No there isn't. My model is different. Take a look at the picture.

2. Here is the price:

Nova Bridges with BASE PLATE and THRUST BEARINGS–Black anodized Aluminum and Brass – For BASS

-         4 Strings (Bridge + headpiece) – Spacing 19 mm – US$126,00 + US$34,00 (FedEx shipping)

 

[Andyjr1515]

24 minutes ago, prowla said:

 

Thanks - they look rather nice.

I guess the two questions are:

1. Is there a drop-in replacement for a Steinberger?
2. How much do they cost (I'm in the UK)?

(I definitely want to steer clear of the Chinese toot!)

I would PM Andre directly

 

Don't worry that Nova are based in Brazil - mine arrived as quick as if they had come from Brighton

 

[prowla]

38 minutes ago, Andre_Passini said:

 

Hi Prowla,

 

1. No there isn't. My model is different. Take a look at the picture.

2. Here is the price:

Nova Bridges with BASE PLATE and THRUST BEARINGS–Black anodized Aluminum and Brass – For BASS

-         4 Strings (Bridge + headpiece) – Spacing 19 mm – US$126,00 + US$34,00 (FedEx shipping)

 

Thanks, Andre - I appreciate the reply.

They look nice and the price seems about right, however, I think I need a drop-in replacement, so maybe this one isn't what I'm looking for on this occasion.

[John Cribbin]

Your only option is probably to replace with the same cheap bridge for a direct replacement. That's not necessarily as bad as it sounds, the old bridge will supply parts for several repairs if needed ....

 

I'd guess that a lot of issues may be screwed items being made of cottage cheese. These will be metric threads so replacement with say stainless steel parts will go a long way in the reliabilty stakes.

 

Here's an overhaul video off Youtube, I've only done a quick drag and drop through it, but it doesn't appear to be difficult to take apart.

 

Good luck!

[prowla]

2 hours ago, John Cribbin said:

Your only option is probably to replace with the same cheap bridge for a direct replacement. That's not necessarily as bad as it sounds, the old bridge will supply parts for several repairs if needed ....

 

I'd guess that a lot of issues may be screwed items being made of cottage cheese. These will be metric threads so replacement with say stainless steel parts will go a long way in the reliabilty stakes.

 

Here's an overhaul video off Youtube, I've only done a quick drag and drop through it, but it doesn't appear to be difficult to take apart.

 

Good luck!

I did that with the bass one and managed to get one working one out of it. 
I also dismantled and put back together the guitar one. 
But I don’t trust either tbh.