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Post subject: Re: Badass Bass Bridge-Worth It?
Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2010 3:58 am
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Spider,

That's an interesting observation. One is tempted to speculate that the positioning of the multiple pickups might account for the difference in BA effect between the Jazz and the P.

Sorry to seem contentious here, but I question the assertion that the BA inhibit transfer of energy from the strings to the body of the bass. My experience of physics indicates that if you want energy to transfer from one structure to another, you need to make a solid physical connection between the two structures.

If, however, TZ is right that a BA keeps more energy in the strings, that may explain the reportedly improved sustain.

J


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Post subject: Re: Badass Bass Bridge-Worth It?
Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2010 7:41 pm
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Bezmotivnik wrote:
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.


Nice, and well put. I use to buy the high mass bridges for my Fenders, but now notice that they sound fine with stock bridge. The new Fenders may have a little more mass, but it's nowhere near the mass of a badass III.

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Post subject: Re: imho
Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 6:37 am
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fretless5 wrote:
Here's my opinion based kindasorta on experience. The Badass is a good alternative/upgrade on lower price basses that have a lower density body wood than ash or alder. I played a Highway 1 just today which struck me as being very light but nevertheless sounded very full and punchy due to the Badass bridge. I also used to have a low end 6-string which had a very heavy bridge akin to the Badass and I think it made a difference in the sound for the same reason: more mass equals more resonance and sustain.

Just be aware that adding a heavier bridge will not compensate for all the shortcomings of the instrument. Cheap will still sound and play like cheap - just with more sustain.


I must say that I agree with fretless here.
An instrument with poor tone qualities will not benefit form such an upgrade like the Badass series of bridges.

Leo Quan does not make the claim that their products will improve your tone.They simply state that

"The massive structure of high density alloy Zinc will produce sound-coupling effects creating tremendous increases in "ATTACK," sustain, and clarity of notes"


Having said that,and owning 2 Jazz Basses fitted with Badass II and Badass V bridges and one with a Gotoh 201B-4, I will give my 2 cents.
One of the ways I gauge a bass's playability factor is it's inherent tonal pallet when unplugged. The wood/material,construction,strings,nut,tuners,all of these elements are,of course,a factor. A bass should have a resonant presence in and of itself, above and beyond the electronics. If the material combination and construction do not impart these characteristics then no amount of mass from a bridge or sweetness from a pickup/preamp will help with any great affect.
It's only icing covering a crappy cake.
But,if the instrument is well built,attention has been given to the material's tonal voice and how it is enhanced by it's construction then "upgrades" will help to bring those elements to the fore. Like good tires on a well built sports car.
On my Jazz Basses I noticed a marked improvement with regards to each instrument's already present tone. On the fretless (Gotoh) I immediately noticed an evenness across all 4 strings. Clarity on the open strings and more "muah",especially in the mid register. The tone did not change..it just became more "focused".
On the Jazz Basses fitted with the Badass II and V bridges I also noticed the same factors but with slightly more volume (unplugged) and a certain clarity in the upper registers. The Badass bridges also had a more defined presence with chords and clearer sounding notes when tapping was employed.Once again,all this before I plugged in the basses to an amp.
I should mention that both the Badass II and Badass V I purchased were un-notched so I had a luthier instal,space and groove them,making them "custom fit" to my basses. With the Gotoh bridge,the saddles were already notched. I installed and set this one up myself.
I don't really care about the look of the bridges.Although I do love the look of the threaded brass saddles on the early Fenders. To me,and my ears,the sustain,clarity and focus of notes,the even volume (on a properly set up bass) across the strings that the Badass and Gotoh bridges give my Jazz Basses serves my purposes. I for one would recommend either with a slightly higher "thumbs up" to the Badass bridges.
Just keep in mind that a Honda Civic fitted with a Lamborghini Countach Quattrovalvole V12 engine is still just a Honda Civic.
Or even the HD phenomena of late. Non HD filmed media does not benefit from HD just like non 3D filmed movies that have been re-released in "3D" still feel flat and disjointed in a way.

Start with great gear.That's the secret.


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Post subject: Re: Badass Bass Bridge-Worth It?
Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 9:34 pm
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I get tons of great tone and sustain out of my regular old Fender bridge . I can set my amp like I normally do and hold the string down on the neck and it will sustain until it takes off and wants to feedback-- then I'll turn my body a little to knock back the sustain and turn back towards my amp and the sustain keeps going. I can do that probably until my amp blows up but I have never tried that. I can place the bottom of the body of my bass against the amp at playing volume and it will build up sustaining feedback really quick too. I guess you can call it amp sustain BUT it is sustain just the same. I only need sustain for 10 seconds or so anyway ever and the Fender bridge does that with ease. I don't see any reason for me to buy a high mass bridge to get more sustain. I quit buying badword bridges years ago. I had the mental thing about them but after time I figured out it was mostly hype from other bass players and store owners who wanted to sell me the badword bridge. I have put badass bridges on basses before and the basses have sounded worse. Thumbs down to badass bridges. I do have one on a custom bass but I don't care. It was there when I bought the bass. Just my 2 cents especially after I read Brother Daves post.


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