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Post by chicagodude on Dec 26, 2020 18:37:43 GMT -5
Greetings,
I have a BADASS BASS II bridge that I have owned for quite some time. It is not installed on a bass...yet. I am thinking about putting it on a Jazz. Are there any positives and/or negatives to consider when replacing the stock bridge on a Jazz? Thanks for your opinion!
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Post by Larry Madsen on Dec 26, 2020 19:44:12 GMT -5
FWIW ... I have this Leo Quan bridge on my Warmoth G5 bass and I'm happy with it. I realize that tells you nothing regarding a comparison on swapping a stock bridge on a Jazz bass.  BADASS BASS V strung up first time by Larry Madsen, on Flickr |
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twangmeister
Wholenote
Posts: 349
Formerly Known As: Twangmeister
Age: 72 and fading fast.....
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Post by twangmeister on Dec 26, 2020 20:19:38 GMT -5
Back in 1979 I installed a Badass bridge on my then-new Kramer B200 bass. Apparently the Badass II uses a thinner bass plate because the original had a thick base plate that limited me to three options: shimming the neck with a thick shim, insetting the bridge into the body or not installing it at all. I chose option two and cut into the body with a Dremel and carving out the wood with an Exacto knife.
Although the results were good I wouldn't recommend this to anybody with the simple tools I used.
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jeffscott
Wholenote
Rickenbacker Guru..............
Posts: 138
Age: GOF
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Post by jeffscott on Dec 26, 2020 22:00:42 GMT -5
I have never found anything detrimental to putting a BA II on any bass, and I have done so to a number of them over the decades.
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matryx81
Wholenote
I think I know the reason but I can't spell it.
Posts: 771
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Post by matryx81 on Dec 26, 2020 22:06:32 GMT -5
IME it does its best if you have a bass whose sound would benefit from a straightening out of sorts. I have one on a 1998 MIM Jazz that it really helped, and I took the BA II off of my first Geddy Lee Jazz. I would like to try one on a precision bass, but I am unsure if/when that will happen.
If you want to try it, I would say go for it. It does leave a footprint on the finish that will be visible if you change back.
It will also add some zing in the highs and you may notice less lows (my current Geddy Lee Jazz has one, as it is one of the early MIM models and is not lacking in this department. Weird, since that was the reason I removed my first one).
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Post by Rick Knight on Dec 27, 2020 8:33:47 GMT -5
Apparently the Badass II uses a thinner bass plate because the original had a thick base plate that limited me to three options: shimming the neck with a thick shim, insetting the bridge into the body or not installing it at all. My tech said the setup issues with the original Badass bridges is because they weren't designed for Fenders, which is why the BA II came to be. One of my current basses has a BA II. If I'm not careful, ball ends have popped out before I got sufficient tension during string changes; but given how infrequently I change bass strings, it's no big deal. |
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Post by morrow on Dec 27, 2020 10:00:02 GMT -5
I find the traditional Fender bent metal bridge to be genius .
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matryx81
Wholenote
I think I know the reason but I can't spell it.
Posts: 771
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Post by matryx81 on Dec 27, 2020 14:17:59 GMT -5
My tech said the setup issues with the original Badass bridges is because they weren't designed for Fenders, which is why the BA II came to be. IIRC they were designed for Gibson basses. I believe they were also used on Rickenbackers, but required sinking the bridge into the body. I find the traditional Fender bent metal bridge to be genius . I think the simple design works quite well for most Fender and Fender-type basses. |
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Dec 27, 2020 21:07:45 GMT -5
I've done this mod for customers' Fender basses, and IMO it's a good option only if the current bridge is missing parts, broken, all rusted up, etc.
Doing the swap simply for the sake of swapping parts--I didn't notice any quantum improvement in tone.
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Post by LTB on Dec 29, 2020 14:08:39 GMT -5
I do not own a Leo Quan product but have installed a heavier bridge on several Jazz and Precision Fender basses and enjoyed increased sustain as a result
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Post by windmill on Dec 29, 2020 17:57:59 GMT -5
Have one of these on my MiJ jaguar bass as it was on it when I bought it.
The thickness of it as it sits on top of the body, makes the action is higher than I would like but it is playable.
A while back I searched for a standard fender replacement but was told there was none available locally ( in the whole country), which surprised me.
So I left it the way it was
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matryx81
Wholenote
I think I know the reason but I can't spell it.
Posts: 771
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Post by matryx81 on Dec 29, 2020 18:22:22 GMT -5
Have you tried a shim?
I realize this is a controversial topic, but this may get the action where you want it (assuming the saddles are bottomed out).
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Dec 29, 2020 21:15:44 GMT -5
Shim the neck pocket so there's a teensy bit more back angle on the neck. A 1/4" wide x 2" long strip cut from a hotel key card or old credit card works great. This is where it goes (that red thing):  |
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Post by windmill on Dec 30, 2020 7:06:33 GMT -5
Thanks Peegoo I'm one of those people who will get a job 98% done before something goes wrong, so I am loathe to interfere with something that works. But I might give it a go after the gig tomorrow. There are a couple of weeks till the next one, so I may have time to fix up any damage I cause.  |
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Post by LTB on Dec 30, 2020 10:00:49 GMT -5
Thanks Peegoo I'm one of those people who will get a job 98% done before something goes wrong, so I am loathe to interfere with something that works. But I might give it a go after the gig tomorrow. There are a couple of weeks till the next one, so I may have time to fix up any damage I cause. Windmill, I have done exactly what peegoo has shown and it worked really well, was easy, and absolutely no damage. 😊 |
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Post by Leftee on Dec 30, 2020 10:35:39 GMT -5
I’ve found that neck shins are a fact of life with bolt-on instruments. Hence Fender’s lousy mictrotilt design.
Whatever it takes to get you there in the end.
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Post by chicagodude on Dec 30, 2020 21:20:47 GMT -5
Thanks to all you guys for your input. I guess the best way to find out about it is to try it. I'll give the Badass II a shot next string change and see how it works out.
Peegoo, you mentioned neck shims. I bought some great shims from StewMac. They make and sell some really nice wedge-shaped wooden shims for bass that provide different degrees of pitch and cover the entire neck pocket. I suggest you check these out if you never saw those before.
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Dec 31, 2020 1:35:16 GMT -5
The Stooge Mac shims work fine, but players have used all kinds of shim material over the years and that works fine too.
I've seen a bunch of different stuff in neck pockets over the 35 years I've been teching on guitars, including a Stanley blade, paper matches and parts of matchbooks, steel and plastic washers on the screws, snapped-off hacksaw blade, folded Post-It, drywall sanding screen, sandpaper, pieces of playing card... I've even seen strips of card stock that appeared to be snipped from a cereal box in a factory-new Fender Strat, so I know the assembly folks at the factory are doing it too.
And I agree with Leftee about the Micro Tilt. It's really just a factory expedient to reduce production cycle time. They make for a weak connection that distorts the wood if a person gets too hamfisted with the tools.
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Post by chicagodude on Jan 1, 2021 14:12:07 GMT -5
Peegoo,
Snapped of hacksaw blade, that's a good one LOL!
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Post by roly on Jan 2, 2021 11:22:14 GMT -5
My 79 Peter Elias bass (SN #27) came with a badass bridge and I am very pleased with it.
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ilan
Quarternote
Posts: 11
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Post by ilan on Jan 3, 2021 4:55:06 GMT -5
High-mass bridges increase sustain but CUT LOWS. I have replaced the BA II on 3 Geddy Lee J's to a standard bent metal bridge, and got the lows back.
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Post by windmill on Jan 19, 2021 4:57:52 GMT -5
Finally tried putting a shim in the bass with the badass bridge, to try and get the action down.
Made no difference !
I will try a thicker shim tomorrow.
☺
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Post by windmill on Jan 25, 2021 19:57:34 GMT -5
So I have put a thicker shim in and have got the saddles up off the base plate .....but unfortunately, no change to the action.
I will be giving the truss rod a turn or two to see if it helps
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Post by LTB on Jan 26, 2021 0:24:03 GMT -5
Finally tried putting a shim in the bass with the badass bridge, to try and get the action down. Made no difference ! I will try a thicker shim tomorrow. ☺ Are you putting a narrow shim in at the but of the neck? Do not shim the whole pocket. Just last half inch so it tilts the neck |
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Post by windmill on Jan 26, 2021 16:57:06 GMT -5
Thanks LTB yep, only a shim at one end of the pocket.
It is my first attempt at doing this so there may be a trick or two I might have missed.
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