Best bridge replacement for fender jazz?

[TheDisparities]

I've heard that Leo Quan Badass II is good but I'm not sure if there are any better? Could someone please help? Cheers

[derrenleepoole]

Badass bridges are very good, but I do feel you're paying for the name as much as anything else. There are bridges of equally good construction and performance at a fraction of the cost of a Badass, look at Gotoh bridges for example. There are those who feel that higher mass bridges are just a clever marketing gimmick and at the end of the day, don't really add all that much to your sound. I had a Badass II bridge, and to be honest, heard no difference really in tone. But, at the end of the day, it's horses for courses and if you feel it works for you then that's cool. They do add a certain 'cool' factor to a bass I guess!

[Bassassin]

There's a recently revived thread dealing with this very topic:

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=46765"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=46765[/url]

My opinion is that it ain't a two-horse race.

Jon.

[wateroftyne]

[quote name='TheDisparities' post='825842' date='May 2 2010, 08:06 PM']I've heard that Leo Quan Badass II is good but I'm not sure if there are any better? Could someone please help? Cheers[/quote]
What do you not like about the current bridge?

[TheDisparities]

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='825857' date='May 2 2010, 08:26 PM']What do you not like about the current bridge?[/quote]
I've got the fender stock bridge and want the best out of my bass so I want to cahnge to a better bridge to get better sustain/tone etc.. thanks everyone

[Bassassin]

It's actually a moot point whether there's any discernible improvement. I'm not personally convinced - despite the fact I like to "upgrade" bridges. I just don't happen to like the fact the stock design looks like a tinny afterthought which was intended to be hidden under a cover. I also like the improved adjustability of my preferred alternative.

J.

[Grand Wazoo]

go for a Fender High Mass Vintage bridge, cheaper than the Badass and you won't need to dig in the body to fit the Badass too which is way too high for a standard jazz bass and needs to be sunk in deeper and can't be fit flat on the body surface.

[url="http://www.bassguitarpartsdirect.co.uk/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=78&cat=Fender+Bass+Bridges"]http://www.bassguitarpartsdirect.co.uk/sho...er+Bass+Bridges[/url]

[Mr Fudge]

I modded a jazz with a nice chunky gotoh bridge. I have had a badass on a Marcus Jazz and the gotoh was just as good but 1/3 of the price.

[richrips]

Yeah the Fender HMV looks good, again not because it is high mass, but it seems to have been stiffened in all the correct places: Grooves to stop lateral movement of saddles, Strengthened/thickened at the end where the original fender bridge was just bent, Brass saddles.

I still think it's overpriced, but looks like a great bit of kit.

Anyone got one of these? Are the grooves for the feet of the saddles a snug fit for the bottom of the grub screws? i've seen a few designs where the saddles or their feet have grooves, but the lack of a tight fit means they may as well not be there....

Pretty good looking too!

Rich

[Mr Fudge]

Does anybody else think that the Leon Quan badass II sounds like a wok?

[Fat Rich]

I tried various bridges on Fender basses over the years, always ended up back with the original ugly cheapo rattly spring stock Fender one.....

It just sounds more like a Fender bass should with the original bridge on, you may get slightly more sustain with a Badass but not as much as if you dial in a small amount of compression on your amp.

[DirkThrust]

[quote name='TheDisparities' post='825861' date='May 2 2010, 08:32 PM']I've got the fender stock bridge and want the best out of my bass so I want to cahnge to a better bridge to get better sustain/tone etc.. thanks everyone[/quote]

If you're thinking that it's gonna give you an automatic improvement you may be disapointed. The standard Fender bridge does exactly what it's supposed to do very well, especially if you've got the through body stringing option. I've never really understood the point of isolating your strings from your erm...."tonewoods" by sticking a big slab of metal between them.

I wouldn't waste your money.

[Bassassin]

[quote name='AndyMartin' post='826308' date='May 3 2010, 11:24 AM']If you're thinking that it's gonna give you an automatic improvement you may be disapointed. The standard Fender bridge does exactly what it's supposed to do very well, especially if you've got the through body stringing option. I've never really understood the point of isolating your strings from your erm...."tonewoods" by sticking a big slab of metal between them.

I wouldn't waste your money.[/quote]
It's a good point. I'd take it a little further, where you find a lot of bassists are very resistant to the idea that the huge majority of your tone comes from your pickups/electronics and your strings. Oh, and your fingers.

Do all those fancy expensive endangered timbers that have been preserved in a peat-bog for 50,000 years[i] really[/i] sound demonstrably better than plywood?

Sacrilege, I know, but go on & prove it...

J.

[OutToPlayJazz]

[quote name='Bassassin' post='826326' date='May 3 2010, 11:45 AM']It's a good point. I'd take it a little further, where you find a lot of bassists are very resistant to the idea that the huge majority of your tone comes from your pickups/electronics and your strings. Oh, and your fingers.

Do all those fancy expensive endangered timbers that have been preserved in a peat-bog for 50,000 years[i] really[/i] sound demonstrably better than plywood?

Sacrilege, I know, but go on & prove it...

J.[/quote]

You're quite right, Jon - So much of the bass' sound is really down to the electronics, pickups and strings. Tone woods do make a difference, but at the end of the day if a piece of cheap basswood has been seasoned properly and has the required density it'll sound just fine. I tend to think that the wood quality has about a 20% bearing on the sound, personally.

Yes, a sturdier bridge does make a difference, but I don't think it's particularly in terms of sustain. I changed the bridge on a 75RI Japanese Jazz to a Gotoh 201 & the biggest difference was that the sound became broader, almost as if it was breaking into new frequencies. But whatever the sound differences, it was a very sturdy and well made bridge for very little money.

Some say that the stock Fender bridge is best for the original Fender sound & I'd go with that. I have stock bridges on my two (the better ones with the ribbed saddles) and I have no complaints over the sound & don't plan to change them anytime soon.

Rich.

[Ancient Mariner]

The thing is, an instrument like bass or guitar is always the sum of it's parts. We're looking for relatively small differences changing woods, hardware etc. This biggest difference is often in the subtle things, like how it responds to us as we're playing it, rather than tone per se.

In any case I doubt whether an audience could hear the difference between a jazz, a precision and a stingray most of the time.

[bh2]

I've found the bit of bent metal that fender call a bridge quite adequate...

[CraigPlaysBass]

Well i've got a gotoh 201 on the way to fit on my yamaha bb414, so i'l tell you what i think

[Doddy]

[quote name='Grand Wazoo' post='825973' date='May 2 2010, 10:33 PM']go for a Fender High Mass Vintage bridge, cheaper than the Badass and you won't need to dig in the body to fit the Badass too which is way too high for a standard jazz bass and needs to be sunk in deeper and can't be fit flat on the body surface.[/quote]

The Badass II is a direct replacement and doesn't require any modification to the bass.

I fitted a Badass II to my Jazz years ago,and really like it.

[Beedster]

On both Jazzes and Precisions I've tried Fender, Fender High Mass, Gotoh 201, Gotoh 203, Badass I, Badass II, and Badass III, and without and really sound reason, I'd go for the Badass II every time.

Helpful and unhelpful at the same time, sorry

C

[PURPOLARIS]

I found the action too high when I fitted a Badass and ended up taking it off again.

[The Burpster]

Well FWIW I'll chuck Hipshot into the frame.....

they make several replacements that drop straight onto Fenders.... All IMHO are better engineering than the BBOT that is std fitment. BA Gotoh Hipshot Schaller. All great bits of kit.

What is all this 'it makes the action too high".....? Have you peeps not heard of neck shims?

[Grand Wazoo]

[quote name='The Burpster' post='826727' date='May 3 2010, 06:57 PM']Well FWIW I'll chuck Hipshot into the frame.....

they make several replacements that drop straight onto Fenders.... All IMHO are better engineering than the BBOT that is std fitment. BA Gotoh Hipshot Schaller. All great bits of kit.

What is all this 'it makes the action too high".....? Have you peeps not heard of neck shims?

[/quote]

Why would you want to compromise and shimming a prized instrument for the sake of an ill fitting bridge? Nein Danke! You'll end up shifting the geometry of the instrument and with that, moving the neck away from the ideal sitting position in the body slot your negative results are loss of sustain and increase of dead spots on the neck...

Edited May 3, 2010 by Grand Wazoo

[The Burpster]

[quote name='Grand Wazoo' post='826755' date='May 3 2010, 07:18 PM']Why would you want to compromise and shimming a prized instrument for the sake of an ill fitting bridge? Nein Danke! You'll end up shifting the geometry of the instrument and with that, moving the neck away from the ideal sitting position in the body slot your negative results are loss of sustain and increase of dead spots on the neck...[/quote]


Sorry but that is misleading at best, and factually wrong at worse.

1 of my PRSs has a shim in the neck pocket. It makes no difference to the tone at all if done properly, in fact that bass has the best sustain of all 5 of mine.

I agree that if you believe its not worth the effort for the sake of bridge then its not worth it, but as to creating dead spots in the neck and a loss of sustain that just isn't correct.

As to BA bridges being ill fitting, well I'm sure the 1000s of happy quiet owners would disagree with your comments.
They were and are designed as a direct drop on replacement for the BBOT bridges, I'm sure the design team would be very pleased to hear your comments about their 'ill fitting' product which incidentally Fender believe are so bad that they fitted them to several of their production models.

[Buzz]

I concur. The Badass II does sit slightly higher on the basses I've used them on, and ignorning the Aerodyne which is a special case, it's presented no problems as it still goes far below what you'd choose for a low action. Even more so if you file the saddles like you're supposed to.

[Grand Wazoo]

[quote name='The Burpster' post='826835' date='May 3 2010, 09:01 PM']Sorry but that is misleading at best, and factually wrong at worse.

I agree that if you believe its not worth the effort for the sake of bridge then its not worth it, but as to creating dead spots in the neck and a loss of sustain that just isn't correct.[/quote]

If you are happy believing that, then be my guest I don't intend to pursue the argument in that direction with you. Most basses, I agree come with shims but we are talking thin bits of plastic in fact thinner than a thin fender pick.

To shim say a Jazz bass in order to make up for the increased height of an original Badass bridge you are going to need a shim as thick as a tupperware lid, or similar, that will significantly detach the neck from the body and in anyone's book that is a no no., so please believe what you wish. I have many friends in the luthier trade and their professional verdict on the subject is that, the best fit for one of those Badass jobbies is by carving out a 3mm square slot on the body.

[quote name='The Burpster' post='826835' date='May 3 2010, 09:01 PM']As to BA bridges being ill fitting, well I'm sure the 1000s of happy quiet owners would disagree with your comments.
They were and are designed as a direct drop on replacement for the BBOT bridges, I'm sure the design team would be very pleased to hear your comments about their 'ill fitting' product which incidentally Fender believe are so bad that they fitted them to several of their production models.[/quote]

When Fender started to supply Badass bridges, they must have redesigned the instrument taking into consideration the steeper step these represent, probably building the neck slightly higher or use the second series of Badass II or III which are different, please don't get me wrong, we are talking about the original Badass bridge, [b]not[/b] the Badass II or III, which have a a shallower base, and the saddles are lower. The original Badass cannot be fitted to a Fender Jazz or Pre without carving it down.

[quote name='The Burpster' post='826835' date='May 3 2010, 09:01 PM']1 of my PRSs has a shim in the neck pocket. It makes no difference to the tone at all if done properly, in fact that bass has the best sustain of all 5 of mine.[/quote]


As for PRS you are talking to a seasoned PRS owner, I own 2 of the original 1985-6 respectively, the first series ones, which are what I define the real PRS basses. One is a 5 strings fixed neck, the other is a bolt-on and there's never been a shim on that, the bolt-on was a special order which Paul Reed Smith agreed to do for me with an ash body instead of the alder they were using and in a seafoam green colour which was out of their catalogue at the time, he signed the bass on the control plate and on the back of the headstock, I also had that bass modified with an alembic preamp and a different pickup selection on the 5 positions rotary switch. so that I can get all 3 pickups individually selected with a modified pos. 4 giving neck and middle and pos. 5 is all 3 together as opposed to the original wiring. The toggle switch does not make the bass passive but on 3 of the 5 positions flicks between series & parallel.