Does the bridge make a lot of difference??

[Agent William]

I recently bought a Fender Active Deluxe Jazz Bass, and it seems to be a real good bass. Except for the bridge which seems rather shitty. Its hard to work with and difficult to change the level of the action. I have been thinking about buying a Leo Quan BADASS II bridge, but I don't know If will make a huge difference in the over all sound quality.

My main question is: does the bridge make a big difference?


Also I'm thinking about buying Warwick Yellow Label strings. Good Idea??

[ProfessorGAC]

1. My Guesses

I have the standard bridge on my 5 string Fender Jazz, and it's just fine for me. But, i know the more mass in the bridge, the better the transfer of vibration to the body, the more solid the support of the strings, and that should give more body resonance and better sustain. At least that's the theory.

So, if you don't like the adjustment features of the bridge that's there, it makes sense to change it, even if all you gain is the better adjustabiliity.

As to strings, i would go ahead and try them. Different alloy formulas have different tone characteristics, so if those strings are too boomy or too bright, then you know not to use them next time. I'd buy only one set and see if you like them before you invest in a bunch of sets.

The Professor

[Agent William]

2. Thanks

That was helpful. I am pretty sure that a lot of what came factory installed on my bass in sub-par quality.

Good to know. =]

[here_is_to_hope]

3. Mass equals sustain...

But its a trade off as its harder to get that 'mass' moving in the first place. Just be sure that if you swap bridges, you try not to alter the instrument in anyway.

[east texas lib]

4. I have a three year old Highway One Jazz and the factory bridge sucked..

The string saddle height adjustment screws were loose in the saddles and the bridge wouldn't keep
it's string height where I set it. Putting a Bad Ass bridge on it solved this problem. If you do
change bridges, make sure that the grounding wire beneath the bridge base plate has good metal to
metal contact with the new bridge bass plate. Failure to do this may cause a noticeable hum that
seems to stop when you touch the strings or bridge.

[old mark]

5. First, congratulations on a great bass.

Second, A Leo Quan looks great, but will alter the tone and playability and string response, not always for the better.
The Fender bridge looks like a POS, but it is a really great design, and I urge you strongly to live with it for a while and learn it before you change anything on the bass.
FWIW, the BadAss will LOWER the value of your Fender bass, give you a higher, stiff tone, and may create further problems if it is not installed and adjusted perfectly - and it will cost you a lot of money to do all that.

I first played bass in 1963, and I have owned a few of them.
(Have 2 now, just played a Fender JB last Saturday.)
Don't replace the Fender bass bridge!!!
Save your money.


mark