Gotoh 201 VS Badass II for a Fender Jazz?

[KASH]

What's you opinion on these bridges?

[OutToPlayJazz]

Both very highly thought of bridges. Well made, increased sustain, etc.

The thnig to consider is this - Which kind of jazz bass do you have? If you have an MIM or a Japanese model, you'll find a lot of advantage in these bridges. The increased sustain and stability are definitely useful.

If you have an American jazz with the through body stringing (BadAss III in this case) they won't make a lot of difference as the string is only making contact with a very small area of bridge when being pulled through the body.

[umcoo]

I'd probably take a Gotoh. Cheaper, looks more like the original (if that's your thing), does just as good a job.

[KASH]

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='464783' date='Apr 17 2009, 10:47 AM']The thnig to consider is this - Which kind of jazz bass do you have? If you have an MIM or a Japanese model, you'll find a lot of advantage in these bridges. The increased sustain and stability are definitely useful.[/quote]

I have a MIM and I'll start pimping it up now...the Gotoh is cheaper, if it does the job well, I might consider it over the badass...some people tell me there's no much of a difference from the bridge i've got now (original) to a badass or gotoh...some say it does make a difference, I suppose i have to get one and try it myself!

[umcoo]

Maybe I had a dud, but I had a MIM jazz many moons ago and the bridge was god awful. Put a badass on and it improved it no end. I only went for the badass as I wasn't aware of the Gotoh at the time.

[Soloshchenko]

I added a Gotoh 201 to my White Mexican Jazz Standard. I've liked the bass from day 1 but the original bridge felt like a piece of tin and the G string saddle used to flap about when playing hard.

I picked the Gotoh because it was cheaper, I didn't have to put grooves on the saddles and it doesn't say "bad ass" on it!

The instalation took about 10 mins to do and little adjustment of the saddles was needed.

I had kind of thought that the improvement in tone everyone talks of might be hype but there was a noticable improvement in the sustain of notes and the bass just sounded a bit beefier all round. I'd give the Gotoh 201 10/10 and will definately install one on my next bass (a fretless jazz I'm building).

[Soloshchenko]

[quote name='KASH' post='464795' date='Apr 17 2009, 10:55 AM']I have a MIM and I'll start pimping it up now...the Gotoh is cheaper, if it does the job well, I might consider it over the badass...some people tell me there's no much of a difference from the bridge i've got now (original) to a badass or gotoh...some say it does make a difference, I suppose i have to get one and try it myself![/quote]


I would be surprised if you didn't notice a difference in tone between an original bridge and a Gotoh/Badass bridge mate. I was happy with my tone before but the Gotoh definately improved things.

[richrips]

I think the Badass is flawed. The deep cast grooves that each saddle is meant to rest in are not a tight fit to the saddle so they are free to move slightly side to side. There bay be an improvement in stiffness, compared to the bent metal fender bridge, but nobody has yet been able to explain in logical scientific terms why a bridges mass imparts something on the tone of an instrument. From an engineering perspective, the stiffness with which the string is held would have much more effect (as long as mass of the bridge does not have a significant effect on the mass of the bass). The gotoh may lose some structural stiffness by being a thinner unit than the badass, butthis is more than compensated for because, unlike the badass, each saddle's grub screws rest in concave grooves with absolutely no side to side movement possible.

Humf!!

Rich

[OutToPlayJazz]

Is someone digging up old threads? Bored today, are we?

[Soloshchenko]

I like the Gotoh. When I got my Mexican Jazz I soon got totally pissed off with stock bridge. I play hard and the G string saddle used to flap about like crazy and the thing seemed to be made of the same thing they make baked bean tins out of.

I got the Gotoh over the Badass for the following reasons:
1) It's cheaper
2) It doesn't require any pissing about
3) I prefer the look of it.
4) It does exactly the same thing.

It took me 5 minutes to install and the change in sound was very noticable (lots of debate on this but I'm telling you, it really does give a fuller sound with more sustain).

[OutToPlayJazz]

The only slight problem you may have with a Gotoh is that the base plate is a lot thicker than the Fender bridges, so sometimes a neck shim (or adjustment on the micro tilt if you have one) is required, otherwise the action will be too high.

[richrips]

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='825521' date='May 2 2010, 02:17 PM']Is someone digging up old threads? Bored today, are we? [/quote]


Busted!

i Just found out that Orange have been charging me £5 per month extra for internet on my mobile for over a year which i never used and never new i was paying for. This made me rather angry, and the poor engineering of the much over-hyped Badass 2 seemed like the obvious target to vent some rage! Luckily i'm not bored, as i have a 3000 word review paper on the "effecst of climate change on european salmonids" to enthral me....

Rich

anyone got a Gotoh 201 kicking around the shed??

[richrips]

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='825526' date='May 2 2010, 02:21 PM']The only slight problem you may have with a Gotoh is that the base plate is a lot thicker than the Fender bridges, so sometimes a neck shim (or adjustment on the micro tilt if you have one) is required, otherwise the action will be too high.[/quote]

This seems to be a common problem with "hi mass" bridges. Had this with a badass on a 75 jazz reissue. couldn't get my g string down.....

Got me thinking. if thinness is required, mass (in my opinion) not particularly relevant, stiffness very important, maybe i should design and high pressure molded carbon fibre bridge assembly? Brass saddles, gotoh-esque grooves for the saddle grub screws, thin, upper surface structure to provide maximum stiffness resulting in a low profile bridge, with very low movement and flex, reducing vibrational losses between the string and body. Hmmmmm......

Rich

[CraigPlaysBass]

I'l test it need a new bridge

[jezzaboy]

Forget it, talking nonsense!!!


Jez

Edited May 2, 2010 by jezzaboy

[Marcus]

Guys.....

just to say i've listed a Gotoh 201 in the for sale section

£20 posted

ATB
Mark

[Bassassin]

Just like a metaphor for the General Election - there is a third way. If you don't mind drilling 3 new holes in your bass, I wholeheartedly recommend the Schaller 3D. It's high-mass cast brass, as compact as the original bridge (so you can still put ashtrays on) the saddles are low-profile to compensate for the thicker baseplate - which is radiused to match the fretboard. The saddles cannot move sideways, as the baseplate has sides to keep them in place, and they fit closely together - and of course the string spacing is adjustable due to the use of roller saddles. Plus it's a great-looking & beautifully made bridge.

Even fitting it to a Fender type bass isn't at all a daunting task, as there are two guide screwholes which match 2 of the original holes, allowing you to screw the baseplate down and mark/drill the new holes with absolute precision.

These sell for about £20 - £25 on here and on Fleabay, so sell your clunky great Badass & buy two!

Jon.

[bigjohn]

Badass III is a good bridge - although does require the same drilling as the schaller. I do like it though. Smaller footprint than the II so less bling but same badassness...

[Buzz]

Personally, after using a Badass II and while loving the extra sound and added mass, I'd plump for the Gotoh 201 if I was going to upgrade another bass.

Cheaper, more readily available and does the exact same job.

[Beedster]

Badass gives more top end. If that's important to you, don't economise. If it's not, get the Gotoh

Chris

[chriswilliams666]

Definately agree with Chris there. I wacked a BadAss on an old squier. It definately enhanced the top-end and also i was in a Drop C Tuning, and the old-school Fender saddles moved about. The BadAss doesn't budge!


[quote name='Beedster' post='826083' date='May 3 2010, 12:12 AM']Badass gives more top end. If that's important to you, don't economise. If it's not, get the Gotoh

Chris[/quote]

[geoffbyrne]

I have a Schaller 3D 4-string in the drawer that I'd part with - if interested give me a shout....

G.

[Muzz]

+1 for the Schaller - I've just fitted one to an SX Precision (along with a MM neck), and it's a really, really good bridge. Had one on a Goodfellow, and I loved it on that, too.

As an added benefit, if you're a pick player like me, I spend a lot of time with the heel of my hand on the bridge, and the Schaller's really comfortable to do that with, and the allen screws don't move, either.

IMHO, YMMV, etc, etc...

[Bassassin]

[quote name='geoffbyrne' post='827089' date='May 4 2010, 08:20 AM']I have a Schaller 3D 4-string in the drawer that I'd part with - if interested give me a shout....

G.[/quote]
Someone give Geoff a shout - these are excellent bridges.

I'd have it myself but I already have a spare waiting for the right project!

J.

[richrips]

[quote name='chriswilliams666' post='826768' date='May 3 2010, 07:31 PM']Definately agree with Chris there. I wacked a BadAss on an old squier. It definately enhanced the top-end and also i was in a Drop C Tuning, and the old-school Fender saddles moved about. The BadAss doesn't budge![/quote]

I think this is actually where the badass fails. The saddles may run in grooves, but the grooves are not a tight fit, so the saddles can still move slightly from side to side. My friend has an original 75 jazz with a badass 2 and if you play the g string hard, it clicks. This wouldn't be a problem if the saddles had absolutely no lateral movement, as is the case with the gotoh and, from the looks of it, the schaller 3D.

GOOD example: (note how the grooves for the grub screws are narrow to provide an 'interference' type fit to the end of each grub screw = no lateral movement)

[url="http://thumbnail.image.rakuten.co.jp/@0_mall/m-shower/cabinet/parts/schaller_bass_bridg4.jpg"]http://thumbnail.image.rakuten.co.jp/@0_ma...bass_bridg4.jpg[/url]

BAD example: (scroll down for best view. note grooves flat-bottomed and wider than grub screws where slight lateral movement is a definite possibility)

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/5-STRING-BASS-GUITAR-BRIDGE-THROUGH-BODY-CH-BK-GD-/160288461040?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&hash=item2551efd0f0"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/5-STRING-BASS-GUITAR...=item2551efd0f0[/url]

WORSE example: (nothing to prevent lateral movement)

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CHROME-BRIDGE-ELECTRIC-5-STRINGS-BASS-GUITAR-/390190278462?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&hash=item5ad927273e"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CHROME-BRIDGE-ELECTR...=item5ad927273e[/url]


Hmmmmmm.

Rich