High mass bridge debate (again)

[Bassassin]

I'm a fan of high mass bridges. That's because they look nice, like someone cared about the design, rather than being a cheap adjustable anchor point originally intended to be permanently hidden under a shiny chrome cover. I've put them on quite a few basses that came with a BBOT.

 

It's exactly the same as the tonewood argument. In a system where 99.9% of the sound is a consequence of a string vibrating between two fixed points, above a magnetic pickup connected to some electronics, in turn connected to an amplifier/audio interface etc, the material of those fixed points, or of what those points are attached to, will have a negligible effect on the sound compared to every other factor or variable in the system. Probably the best measurement of that effect is wishful thinking.

 

But they do look nice.

[Geek99]

@Bassassin

totally. 
If you want one for its look, or to perfect your settings they are great for that, but it isn’t going to change the sound by much at all when measured objectively. 

[Supernaut]

No difference in sound between BBOT and Hi Mass in my opinion. 
 

The difference is Hi Mass offers better intonation, hence better tuning and sustain. 

[Steve Browning]

I had one experience when a Hi-Mass bridge practically doubled the acoustic volume of a bass but others haven't been so spectacular. 

 

Unless on an old Fender, I have fitted Gotoh bridges because they have 7 screws and tracks for the screws. Perfectly happy with those. 

[lemmywinks]

Mainly about looks for me. If I have an old looking J/P then a BBOT is fine, totally suits the bass. If I have a more modern looking bass (Fender shaped or otherwise) with fancy pickups and woods then I want a chunky, well designed bridge on there.

 

Even on most of my more traditional basses I've had a standard Fender style bridge but with a solid block at the back like a Gotoh 201B.

 

I always thought Badass bridges were pretty ugly though, plenty of nicer high mass designs out there.

 

[itu]

1 hour ago, lemmywinks said:

I always thought Badass bridges were pretty ugly though, plenty of nicer high mass designs out there.

I like top loaders, no matter the weight. And a bridge does not have to be heavy in weight as long as it is rigid and relatively easy to adjust.

[lemmywinks]

2 minutes ago, itu said:

I like top loaders, no matter the weight. And a bridge does not have to be heavy in weight as long as it is rigid and relatively easy to adjust.

 

 

Gotoh 404BO is my favourite bridge, all the features you want without any extra fuss and doesn't look out of place on any bass.

[BigRedX]

I think that the rigidity of construction that normally goes hand in hand with a high-mass design is more likely to have an effect on tone than the actual increase in weight over the BBOT.

[Stub Mandrel]

Just did an experiment. I get a usable sustain of over 10 seconds from my Harley Benton kit bass with a cheap as chips BBOT bridge, maple Squier neck and a body so light and soft you can almost dent it with your fingernail. Even Boys of Summer needs less than six seconds.

 

 

[Baloney Balderdash]

 

In my opinion the standard old fashioned bent piece of metal bridge sounds best in this demo.

 

And what I hear is that high mass bridges kills some upper harmonic content, and makes your tone less complex and rich, which by some might be perceived as making it fatter, but all it does is killing some of the upper harmonic content of your tone.

 

The Babicz bridge is not really a high mass bridge, but that one sounds thin and brittle to me.

 

Edited March 20 by Baloney Balderdash

[tauzero]

On 20/03/2025 at 12:11, Stub Mandrel said:

Just did an experiment. I get a usable sustain of over 10 seconds from my Harley Benton kit bass with a cheap as chips BBOT bridge, maple Squier neck and a body so light and soft you can almost dent it with your fingernail. Even Boys of Summer needs less than six seconds.

 

Damn you and your factual posts!

[chris_b]

Maybe a high mass bridge will change the tone on your bass, and maybe it won't, and maybe it does and you can't hear it. All possibilities.

[peteb]

On 18/03/2025 at 21:41, Beedster said:

Instruments on which I would normally at least try a Badass

• Fretless bass especially with roundwounds
• Fretted bass using roundwounds especially on a maple neck

 

Basses on which I would normally install a Badass

• Any non-recent Fender 

I think that they do give you a bit more sustain and I prefer the sound and feel of them, although others might prefer a BBOT. But let's face it, it's all very marginal and it makes very little difference in a mix. However, both of my 70s P basses have a badass on them, while my more recent Fender Jazz basses (both American Standards) do not! 

 

[tauzero]

2 hours ago, chris_b said:

Maybe a high mass bridge will change the tone on your bass, and maybe it won't, and maybe it does and you can't hear it. All possibilities.

 

And maybe it doesn't and you can hear it.

[Beedster]

5 hours ago, tauzero said:

 

And maybe it doesn't and you can hear it.

 

That is a far more common scenario than most of us would like to admit, and it's not just hi-mass bridges 👍

[Lozz196]

Yeah I`ve found that the change that made the most difference was plectrums, if I go to a .63mm plec from a 1.0 the difference in sound is much more noticeable than had I changed a bridge or brand of strings. And the validation point there being that the rest of the band noticed and asked what I`d done - most times bands don`t even know we`re there!

[Beedster]

30 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

Yeah I`ve found that the change that made the most difference was plectrums, if I go to a .63mm plec from a 1.0 the difference in sound is much more noticeable than had I changed a bridge or brand of strings. And the validation point there being that the rest of the band noticed and asked what I`d done - most times bands don`t even know we`re there!

 

Now you've done it @Lozz196, give it a month or so and there'll be hi-mass plectrums on Thomann at £49 each  

[ezbass]

1 hour ago, Beedster said:

 

Now you've done it @Lozz196, give it a month or so and there'll be hi-mass plectrums on Thomann at £49 each  

No need to wait…

https://reverb.com/uk/item/85609473-timber-tones-stone-guitar-picks-made-from-reconstituted-stone-and-resin-2024-polished?bk=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJqdGkiOiI1MWEzNjA4OS1iOTVlLTQyNzMtYTcxYS0yNmQxMDUxNjMzZTYiLCJpYXQiOjE3NDI5MDEzNTUsInVzZXJfaWQiOiIiLCJzZXNzaW9uX2lkIjoiYTg4MmVhODQtYzViOS00NGUwLTk3YWQtMTIwYmIxOTcyYTUxIiwiY29va2llX2lkIjoiM2U1MDU1MTktZWEyMy00YWE1LThmODMtODUxMWFiNzg0ZmFmIiwicHJvZHVjdF9pZCI6Ijg1NjA5NDczIiwic291cmNlIjoiTk9ORSJ9.9IfwHGG1SxWL-Utut-_1HffKLE0u7lqxw-HpomRmNsU

 

https://reverb.com/uk/item/41389862-inlay-tones-titanium-and-freshwater-mother-of-pearl-guitar-pick?bk=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJqdGkiOiI0ZmVkODhkZC1jZWYzLTQwNmEtOTBlNy05MjIzNjIzYzZlY2IiLCJpYXQiOjE3NDI5MDEzNTUsInVzZXJfaWQiOiIiLCJzZXNzaW9uX2lkIjoiYTg4MmVhODQtYzViOS00NGUwLTk3YWQtMTIwYmIxOTcyYTUxIiwiY29va2llX2lkIjoiM2U1MDU1MTktZWEyMy00YWE1LThmODMtODUxMWFiNzg0ZmFmIiwicHJvZHVjdF9pZCI6IjQxMzg5ODYyIiwic291cmNlIjoiTk9ORSJ9.nA98qAg4l4lvFGTBGnWK60hb2un7mtb5GHaHzVjCyZQ

 

 

[tauzero]

7 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

Yeah I`ve found that the change that made the most difference was plectrums, if I go to a .63mm plec from a 1.0 the difference in sound is much more noticeable than had I changed a bridge or brand of strings. And the validation point there being that the rest of the band noticed and asked what I`d done - most times bands don`t even know we`re there!

 

It took mine a year to notice that I was playing a fretless.

[bremen]

20 hours ago, tauzero said:

 

It took mine a year to notice that I was playing a fretless.

When i attempted fretless, the comment i overheard was "I think something's wrong with whatsisname, the bass player, dyou think it's time to have him put down?"