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Posted: Sun Nov 14, 2010 6:51 pm
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A bunch of guitar companies do the plated metal bridge thing. A core of one type of metal surrounded/plated in chrome.

The Leo Quan is very expensive for a reason.


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Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2010 5:32 am
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I have had a BUNCH of bridges on a bunch of basses.

I had to buy a Leo Quan bridge (a BAD WORD III) for my Fender 51 Reissue after trying the original bridge and a Fender USA DELUXE bridge. The USA Deluxe was touted to me as a GREAT UPGRADE. While it is a very well designed COMPACT bridge I found I needed more saddle travel to intonate that instrument correctly with the strings I wanted to use, therefore I was FORCED to buy the Leo Quan BADWORD III bridge solely to get more saddle travel.

About the time I needed it, that model vaporized. I had to buy a used one. I emailed Leo Quan THREE TIMES begging for HELP on what size hex key I needed to adjust the saddles. THAT WAS, AND STILL IS, A SIMPLE QUESTION! That was OVER 18 MONTHS AGO. STILL NO ANSWER.

Leo Quan is a TOTAL MICKEY MOUSE OUTFIT! I will NEVER EVER buy another LEO QUAN PRODUCT! I would not have bought that one if I had any other choice.

ALL THAT BEING SAID....It made NO DIFFERENCE in the tone of the instrument! Just in the intonation range and it added sustain.

THANK GOD for David Goldenfarb at THE BASS PLACE in Tempe, AZ who came to my rescue! I will never forget him for his kindness, nor will I ever forget LEO QUAN for totally ignoring multiple pleas for help from a customer!

In my opinion, and I've been playing since 1968...BRIDGES THAT INTONATE CORRECTLY are the MOST important thing.

I LOVE the old Fender vintage grooved bridges. Awesome!

MOST IF NOT ALL HIGH MASS BRIDGES, FENDER'S INCLUDED...ADD SUSTAIN, NOT IMPROVED TONE! For some styles of music MORE of the SAME tone is not an improvement...else why do so many people use foam under or over the strings to DAMPEN sustain?

I guess it all comes down to WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR IN TONE AND IN SUSTAIN?

Used to be you'd load ROUND wound strings for more sustain...now you pay $129 for a high mass bridge. TIMES CHANGE.

HONESTLY! MY REAL OPINION ON Leo Quan bridges is this. IT IS NOT WORTH IT!

IT IS SO POPULAR BECAUSE IT IS ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE INSTRUMENT, REQUIRING ONLY 3 SCREWS OR 5 SCREWS TO COMPLETE...NO SOLDERING REQUIRED!

IT IS AN EASY CHANGEOUT....UNTIL YOU GET TO THE SADDLE HEIGHT ADJUSTMENT WHICH DUE TO THE DESIGN OF THE SADDLES WILL NOT GO LOW ENOUGH ON A 51 P-BASS WITH THE BADWORD III PREGROOVED BRIDGE. SO YOU HAVE TO GET A LUTHIER TO INSTALL IT BECAUSE THEY HAVE THE 150 DOLLARS WORTH OF FILES NEEDED TO DO IT RIGHT.

In GENERAL Leo Quan BADWORD Bridges are a waste of money and I will never buy one again if I can avoid it.

YOU ARE BETTER OFF STICKING TO YOUR ORIGINAL BRIDGE unless you have some legitimate need for more linear saddle travel.


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Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2010 3:45 pm
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Hey BrotherDave, still no answer huh??? I remembered when you told me this through our correspondence via email. I'm surprised of this attitude of this company to help a customer. I like the way they look, the sustain...as I said before though, looks are nice too have being a shallow person ;)

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Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2010 5:50 am
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Just a tech FYI -

If you are installing a B-A bridge, but want the 50's or 60's retro look and want to also install a Genuine Fender Bridge Cover over a Quan bridge, it won't fit.

The Quan bridges are just a tad too wide to accomodate the Fender factory bridge covers.

There is a way around that, however. AllParts has a slightly wider, no-logo bridge cover that does fit over the B-A II.

Do some research before ordering and check measurements first.

Note: Some folks might ask why anyone would want to install a bridge cover at all... Two reasons from personal experience. (1) If the ground wire under the bridge is extended outward and also grounds the bridge cover, some instances of "hum" can be eliminated. (2) The bridge covers can significantly protect the bridge from stage impacts with other equipment. Banging the bridge on the corner of a speaker rack can ruin your entire gig.

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Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2010 6:00 am
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Bridge cover is also a good place to put a mute.

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Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2010 6:01 am
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Pros: they'll add a little more sustain

Cons: you can't get a very low action with it..

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Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2010 6:15 am
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PaducahLuke wrote:
Just a tech FYI -

If you are installing a B-A bridge, but want the 50's or 60's retro look and want to also install a Genuine Fender Bridge Cover over a Quan bridge, it won't fit.

The Quan bridges are just a tad too wide to accomodate the Fender factory bridge covers.

There is a way around that, however. AllParts has a slightly wider, no-logo bridge cover that does fit over the B-A II.

Do some research before ordering and check measurements first.

Note: Some folks might ask why anyone would want to install a bridge cover at all... Two reasons from personal experience. (1) If the ground wire under the bridge is extended outward and also grounds the bridge cover, some instances of "hum" can be eliminated. (2) The bridge covers can significantly protect the bridge from stage impacts with other equipment. Banging the bridge on the corner of a speaker rack can ruin your entire gig.


Sort of hate to dis that post, but my first generation P-Bass bridge cover fits just FINE over my BADWORD III Leo Quan hunk of crap.

It is a hunk. A mass. A non-malignant mass...but none the less...it is a mass.


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Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2010 12:13 pm
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Years ago, I tried a BA bridge on my 85 Fender JBS (P-J).

I expected it to enhance the tone, but it didn't, IMO. It just felt heavier, and I didn't care for the saddles needing a custom re-groove job.

I later changed it to a more vintage style Gotoh, and never regretted it.

I sold the BA and woudln't really want another one.


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Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2010 7:15 pm
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Thanks everyone for taking the time to respond to my thread.

I do like the idea of more sustain and a more even tone/volume. Higher action and more weight wouldn't bother me, so I'll probably get one.

Thanks again.


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Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2010 12:42 pm
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I've had a Badass II on my 1974 Jazz since 1976. The OEM bridge in that era was terrible, the height screws always moved counter clockwise dropping the strings to the fretboard. (These basses were post CBS and the QA was horrible for a few years back then.) I tried everything from glue to thread-loc to try and keep the strings high enough to play. Nothing worked. Then my repair guy who was then on 9th Ave. in San Francisco told me about his buddy Leo Quan who was building Badass's nearby, and had a new direct replacement for Fenders. It has been on since. The fact that Geddy Lee and Marcus Miller have post CBS 70's era Jazz basses with Badass II's would indicate they had the same problem.


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Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2010 1:00 pm
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I went ahead and replaced the bridge with a BA II. It is a really beefy piece. It could be psychological, but I detect greater tone and sustain. Also it seems to stay in tune longer. I'm happy with the result. My guitar guy commented that since the parts that hold down the strings does not come notched, he had to do it himself. Unknown why it is not notched.

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Post subject: Re: Badass Bass Bridge-Worth It?
Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2010 2:49 pm
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Sorry I don't have pics, but I recently put a BAIII on my MIA J and I can't say whether the improvement I hear is psychological or not. But even the new density bridge looks like a toy compared to the BA.

Jeff


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Post subject: Re: Badass Bass Bridge-Worth It?
Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2010 10:35 am
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I'm surprised that people here don't understand the concept of high-mass bridges.

The physics are beyond this forum, but the principle is simple:

The high mass bridge prevents more of the energy of the plucked string from passing into the body, so it stays in the string. That's it, that's all that's really happening.

So, what what does that mean to you?

It means that the string sustains longer and sounds "brighter," a more modern sound.

With a traditional low-mass bridge, more of the string's energy is passed into the body, giving you less sustain, but a more complex, "woody" tone, a more traditional "thump."

That's it, that's the whole thing right there.

If you like modern clank, grind and cutting in the higher registers, you want a high-mass bridge and roundwounds.

If you're a traditional groove bassist using flatwounds, you're a low-mass bridge guy.

I have two Fender basses on order at the moment that come with OEM BAIIIs. I'm going to remove and sell them as soon as I get the basses and replace them with the lowest-mass bridges I can find, probably the ones from the Standards, which are duplicates of the vintage toploaders.


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Post subject: Re: Badass Bass Bridge-Worth It?
Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2010 12:00 am
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I have installed two bad $@! bridges on my basses. The first one was on a p bass i string with flats and it resulted in maybe a little more sustain and a brighter tone. It really did not make a difference. I also put a bad $@! on my jazz because the saddles of the stock bridge moved around a lot when i played and i figured at least the bad as is good at keeping everything in its place. but on the jazz it made a noticeable improvement in sustain and a fuller tone.


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Post subject: Re: Badass Bass Bridge-Worth It?
Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2010 2:12 am
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depends on what style you're playing.. BA usually adds sustain however you can't have a very low action which i would prefer using Vintage Fender Bridges

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