Members ianlange11 Posted December 29, 2007 Members Share Posted December 29, 2007 When I read about upgrading bridges, mostly on SXs, I only hear about either the Badass II or the Gotoh 201 or 206. I'm wondering if you guys think these cheaper alternatives are any good, and if so, which ones? A. B. C. D. "A" is made of aluminum What do you think the other bridges are made of? Inferior metal to the BA, Gotoh? Is the string pitch good with the modern style bridges? Any info would be great. Which one out of those would you pick? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitargod0dmw Posted December 29, 2007 Members Share Posted December 29, 2007 Personally, I'm a fan of Hipshot, Gotoh, and BA...and I prefer brass for the added sustain. As far as these bridges go, they don;t look too bad by any means. But I've got no real experience with any of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Kindness Posted December 29, 2007 Moderators Share Posted December 29, 2007 You hear about the others because they are direct replacements, these are not. $30 is not too much for a bass bridge, so I will continue to use the Gotoh 201 and as a result I have no experience with what you've posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Thumper Posted December 30, 2007 Members Share Posted December 30, 2007 At $30 a Gotoh 201 is about is cheap as you can go for a nice replacement bridge. As for aluminum bridges---repeat after me: Mass is good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ianlange11 Posted December 30, 2007 Author Members Share Posted December 30, 2007 Thanks Guys!, looks like the Gotoh is the best option! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hand Amputation Posted December 30, 2007 Members Share Posted December 30, 2007 That 201 looks great! :: ordered :: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Death Hands Posted December 30, 2007 Members Share Posted December 30, 2007 When I read about upgrading bridges, mostly on SXs, I only hear about either the Badass II or the Gotoh 201 or 206. I'm wondering if you guys think these cheaper alternatives are any good, and if so, which ones? A. B. C. D. "A" is made of aluminum What do you think the other bridges are made of? Inferior metal to the BA, Gotoh? Is the string pitch good with the modern style bridges? Any info would be great. Which one out of those would you pick? D looks most dependable. If I wanted replacements, I'd hit up the Gotoh 201. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members davis1 Posted December 30, 2007 Members Share Posted December 30, 2007 well dude, cheap generally=no good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pyralus Posted December 30, 2007 Members Share Posted December 30, 2007 I personally play BAII and love it, but it's not necessarily a cheap replacement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dabbler Posted December 30, 2007 Members Share Posted December 30, 2007 Well, I've never used any of the specific bridges you show, but I did replace the bridge on my 2 SJB-75 4+1's with the chrome and black version of this: http://www.guitarpartsresource.com/BB3440010.jpg I know you probably can't see it in the pic, but it's on there: It gets the job done quite well, IMO. My philosophy is "Why pay more than I have to" and "Simple works" (my version of the KISS princieple). The badass style is so simple and straightforward it is hard to mess up, IMO. In fact it is basically just a high mass version of the fender bass bridge. Does a higher mass bridge make a difference? I think so. Not necessarily in sustain. but in tone. I would vote for "D". It would be a good idea to check the string pitch if you can. My replacement bridges had a slightly wider spacing, but it was enough for me to have to replace the pickups too, becauase the B string wasn't being picked up sufficiently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mytola Posted December 30, 2007 Members Share Posted December 30, 2007 As Kindness said, neither of these are direct replacements for a standard Fender bridge. Gotoh 201 is worth the money, and you can just pop it right in without any modifications. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Markee Posted December 30, 2007 Members Share Posted December 30, 2007 I concur that the Gotoh 201 is an excellent bridge replacement. I have one on my Ibanez Roadstar II. I have the Badass bridge on my Geddy and like it as well. Either way you can't go wrong in my estimation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Poltergeist Posted December 30, 2007 Members Share Posted December 30, 2007 the first one looks pretty sexy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Robin Posted December 30, 2007 Members Share Posted December 30, 2007 Gotoh 201: Great bridge, nice mass, good tuning stability. It will raise your action a bit, even with the saddles nearly bottomed-out. So far, I'm dealing with it fine. I may shim the neck later though. The trade-off from the stock bridge is well worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members georgestrings Posted December 30, 2007 Members Share Posted December 30, 2007 Gotoh 201: Great bridge, nice mass, good tuning stability. It will raise your action a bit, even with the saddles nearly bottomed-out. So far, I'm dealing with it fine. I may shim the neck later though. The trade-off from the stock bridge is well worth it. I'm not picking on you, but I fail to see the logic in that way of thinking - how on earth could a replacement bridge have such an advantage that outweighs decreasing playability on your bass??? I really don't get that - after all, I have NEVER had a problem getting a stock Fender type bridge to work properly - they *sometimes* require a spot of blue locktite on the saddle height screws - and I'd have to say that some blue locktite is ALOT cheaper than a bridge - and alot easier to use... it also comes in handy for speaker mounting hardware that can shake loose... So, what is this advantage that makes sacrificing good action a worthwhile trade-off??? - georgestrings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Robin Posted December 30, 2007 Members Share Posted December 30, 2007 I'm not picking on you, but I fail to - georgestrings The Gotoh by far surpasses the flimsy pos SX stock bridge, especially in the tuning dept. I'm a stickler for tuning. Not to mention the horizontal saddle movement. The action difference: not that much really, enough for me to tell but, like I said my saddles (e string mainly) are almost bottomed out. It may be a problem for some, I'm dealing with it fine. jus sayin'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members georgestrings Posted December 30, 2007 Members Share Posted December 30, 2007 The Gotoh by far surpasses the flimsy pos SX stock bridge, especially in the tuning dept. I'm a stickler for tuning. Not to mention the horizontal saddle movement. The action difference: not that much really, enough for me to tell but, like I said my saddles (e string mainly) are almost bottomed out. It may be a problem for some, I'm dealing with it fine. jus sayin'. OK, just wondering - I always hear people singing the praises of "upgrading" their bridge from a stock Fender type, and I just don't get it... Honestly, I've never had a problem getting one to properly intonate, obtain and keep good saddle height adjustments, and have never had a problem with one in regards to "horizontal saddle movement" - and to sacifice the best possible action I can get by PAYING for something that "cures" non-issues for me doesn't make sense... IMO, *many* people "upgrade" their bridges because they've been conditioned to believe that it's the "in" thing to do - and don't really get any significant benefit from doing so - and in your case, it actually *sounded* like a step backwards, while getting into your pocket... YMMV, but that's how I see it... - georgestrings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Robin Posted December 30, 2007 Members Share Posted December 30, 2007 OK, just wondering - I always hear people singing the praises of "upgrading" their bridge from a stock Fender type, and I just don't get it... Honestly, I've never had a problem getting one to properly intonate, obtain and keep good saddle height adjustments, and have never had a problem with one in regards to "horizontal saddle movement" - and to sacifice the best possible action I can get by PAYING for something that "cures" non-issues for me doesn't make sense... IMO, *many* people "upgrade" their bridges because they've been conditioned to believe that it's the "in" thing to do - and don't really get any significant benefit from doing so - and in your case, it actually *sounded* like a step backwards, while getting into your pocket... YMMV, but that's how I see it... - georgestrings The stock SX bridge is somewhat of a Fender-type. However, it's significantly wimpier in terms of it's weight and build quality compared to a Fender. The SX bridge had no saddle-screw channels to prevent side to side movement, not that I dig in that much but, they moved around regardless. Kind of a PITA if consistent string spacing is a consideration. No, I didn't buy the Gotoh because "it's the cool thing to do." I mean, if I wanted to be really cool, I could have spent/wasted $40 more on a BA II. The Gotoh gave me immediate improvements compared to the stocker in tone (rounder), tuning stability, and aesthetics. The minuscule difference in the action will easily be remedied if I even choose to do so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators ThudMaker Posted December 30, 2007 Moderators Share Posted December 30, 2007 There's a lot of love for the Gotoh 201 here. There's a reason for it. Ounce for ounce it's a great value and also an easy upgrade with no modification. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rick Naimish Posted February 4, 2008 Members Share Posted February 4, 2008 As for aluminum bridges---repeat after me: Mass is good. If that were true then the best sounding Bass would be made of solid lead, and weigh 200 pounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Kindness Posted February 4, 2008 Moderators Share Posted February 4, 2008 If that were true then the best sounding Bass would be made of solid lead, and weigh 200 pounds. Exactly. Mass is meaningless. Rigidity is good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members xbassman Posted February 4, 2008 Members Share Posted February 4, 2008 I have a Gotoh 201 on my Jazz and have only one issue with it. To get my action any lower, my neck will need to be shimmed. This is because the saddles are bigger and the deck is thicker on the Gotoh vs. the stock Fender bridge. My saddles are pretty much bottomed out. The main reason I replaced the stock bridge was horizontal movement of the saddles. Actually the last bridge pictured in the OP looks like it might be a direct replacement on an SX. My SX SPJ-62 has the 5 screws on the tail and two on the nose of the bridge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tocs100 Posted April 20, 2008 Members Share Posted April 20, 2008 D. looks like what I have on my Stagg Stingray-copy. I don't know if it's the horizontal movement, but I can't keep it intonated. :mad: If you move one saddle back or forth, all the other strings' intonation goes whack. Drove me nuts at an audition last night! Someone please sell me a Badass or Schaller for cheap, maybe even one of those Gotoh 201's? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.