Didn't someone here do this? Can I see a picture? I'm bound and determined to do away with the 3 point bridge and especially delicious is the fact that Warwick bridges come in black hardware. Oh Outpost, hear my prayers!
I don't remember if anyone did this, but remember it sits higher than most other bridges.The LP Standard basses handled that by having an angled neck, and Warwick by recessing the bridge. But IIRC most basses using the three-point don't have either. It will probably depend on what bass you plan to use it on.
That is interesting information. It would be for a Thunderbird, but the 3 point already sits pretty darn high up, especially the saddles.
Hipshot Supertone bridge.
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y47/rockinrayduke/MMhd212014.jpg)
I thought about the same thing some days ago. Warwick offers it's bridge at the website.
BTW: My '76 Bird with 3-point bridge is the bass with the lowest action I have.
I've got a gold Warwick bridge. To me, it looks like it might ride a little high on the body, but without an actual Thunderbird to look at, I couldn't say for sure.
btw - the bridge is for sale, if anyone is interested.
Remember Uwe put a Warwick on his EB0 conversion. If you're willing to route, it could work. I've heard good things about the newish Hipshot bridge (which is a drop it replacement for a three point) but it supposedly will leave a mark in the finish, so it's not a transparent replacement (though certainly less invasive than the Warwick).
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v47/gcarlston/auctions/EB_Uwe_5.jpg)
I've seen that bass in real life, but I guess I didn't payed enough attention.
You mean Uwe routed the body to fit the Warwick?
Quote from: Chris P on March 24, 2008, 11:18:01 AMYou mean Uwe routed the body to fit the Warwick?
The bridge has a foundation that's designed to sit inside the body, so unless he modified it he'd have to.
The whole Warwick bridge concept is based on the routing - there is no Warwick bass (or any other bass using it including my above pictured EB-U - thanks George for saving me the trouble to post it from my photobucket account, you are herewith my official archivist!) without that route. The bridge components of the Warwick are deeply recessed as the bridge consists of an anchored base onto which another same-sized component is attached via allen screws and the saddles are mounted only on that second component.
So a routing must be. And actually the LP Standard confirms that because it originally came out with a three point bridge before Gibson switched to mounting the Warwick bridge. The Hipshot Supertone is therefore less invasive. That said, it doesn't have the range of a three point which can get both very high and very low. The Supertone can go low enough for buzzfree action, but not low enough for John Entwistle type "strings on the other side of the neck"-shredding-"I-don't give-a-damn-if-every-note-buzzes"-action. At least not on my Blackbird.
Uwe
My beef against the 3 point isn't really the action (I have mine as low as I'd ever want it), it's that it's unstable (the entire thing can fall out during a string change, saddles launch out when you break a string, etc.) and not easy to adjust on the fly (a slight intonation tweak is easier on a fixed bride). I would prefer a brass bridge like an alembic but I have no idea who makes one or where to get it. The warwick bridge seems to do the trick and I like that it's black. I like the Hipshot but they have no plans to make a brass version (after several updates they said it was because they cannot get a supply of brass material large enough for the design, although I believe they said they still would do it if they could secure such) and I don't like aluminum bridges.
I'm open to suggestions though! Anyone know of a good brass option?
If this link works it should show you a Fenderbird with the Warwick bridge installed. I think it looks pretty cool on there.
http://www.fretsonthenet.com/tbirdrings.jpg
That does look great. You can see it's recessed.
As fas as I have seen I can confirn that the warwick bridge is too high without routing. I have placed one on a guitar-to-bass conversion and I had to find a workaround for making it work. I have converted into a bass this epiphone here:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.rosetti.co.uk/products/epiphone/pics/ltd57lpJunior.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.rosetti.co.uk/products/epiphone/ltd57lpjuniorreissue.htm&h=500&w=164&sz=9&hl=en&start=14&um=1&tbnid=_JxU0U7rOlvd_M:&tbnh=130&tbnw=43&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dlp%2B57%2Bepiphone%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26hs%3DBuB%26sa%3DN
by changing the nut and the bridge and I wanted to use a bridge with a tailpiece because I wanted to fill a bit the empty space behind the bridge and maybe give a little more tension to the strings.
Instead of routing I have used a dirty workaround and I have used just the upper half of the warwick bridge not mounting the base but only the part with the saddles directly attached to the bass body. It works pretty well like that and without routing I can revert back to guitar someday.
My girlfriend has that guitar. You conversed it to bass!?!?! Pics!!
Yes, I'm going to take some pics this evening.
BTW I'm not arrived at a final decision for the pickup ...and as for now I'm even using the...ahem..original six poles one (p100?) ..that is not so bad by the way, but of course not presentable..I loved the neck of that guitar and the fact that it is mahogany w/ set neck...a very cheap ultrashort scale bass in the end...Of course it is very strange to havea pickup sooo close to the bridge and this is the reason why it is still a work in progress...I have the temptation to route for a mudbucker against the end of the neck...but then the thing wont be anymore revertible..
A shot of my Lp Warwick bridge showing the recessed flat plate it sits on.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v104/Fenderbird/moneyshot.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v104/Fenderbird/birdseye.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v104/Fenderbird/lpbody.jpg)
That's totally sexy. I wouldn't mind routing out the Tbird for the lower plate either. I love this bass and I intend to keep it and make it my own.
Cool! I like that bass. But I still think a LP Bass would look slightly better with pickguard (like Uwe's bass) and pick up at the neck.
The Lp felt awkward at first with the carved top and slightly chunky neck, but after I got it properly set up, I find myself playing and using the bass more & more. The neck is very comfortable & fast. The tone very versatile, it carries a lot of the qualities of the guitar-biting warm passive, but super hot. I love having the toggle as well. It's amazing how nice it is to have one. I use it a lot. That was the one draw back I had with the money bass- no toggle.
The Warwick bridge is an amazing German engineered bridge that is easily adjustable in EVERY direction!
It must have 20 set screws on it!
The Lp felt awkward at first with the carved top and slightly chunky neck
that's the way I felt when I picked up an LP for my son, only it's a flat top. I liked the neck immediately, though. it's one of my faves now.
(http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b342/rsteiner/lp3.jpg)
I emailed Warwick asking what their bass bridges are made out of. In case anyone was wondering, the official word is:
"The Warwick bridges are made of a proprietary alloy designed to enhance the wood characteristics of their basses. It is a combination of metals."
Sounds like the answer is.... DAS SECRET.
Sounds like Zamac to me.
"The Warwick bridges are made of a proprietary alloy designed to enhance the wood characteristics of their basses. It is a combination of metals."
Don't you just love marketing bullcrap? Reminds me of Leo Quan claiming the Badass is made of "special tone transfer metal." ::)
There's nothing wrong with Zamac or similar alloys, I just wish they would either come right out and say "it's a diecast alloy" or else decline to answer.
IMHO the design and weight of the bridge is more important than the material.
The Warwick bridge weighs a ton. That is is supposed to enhance the wood tone is news to me, in my opinion the less bridge you have the more wood you hear. I hate Fender bridges, but you can't deny that they certainly let the wood of a P or J do the talking.
The Warwick bridge is a work of engineering art, I have no issues with it, but a lot of people criticise it for making all basses sound alike because it favors bridge sound over wood tone. That said, I can still hear the wood differences between my LP Standard, my EB-U with the Warwick bridge and my Warwick Fortress Flashback.
Uwe
I agree with your observations, but not with people saying it "favors bridge sound." What a heavier bridge does is favor the sound of the pickups and strings over the sound of the wood. That's why your three basses with Warwick bridges all sound different -- because it's not the bridge sound, it's the sound of three different basses with different electronics.
Hey Dave, I didn't say Zamac is crap, the only thing I hate about Zamac is that most (low quality) alloys are kinda fragile.
I didn't think you were saying it was crap. I don't know how fragile it is but it probably depends on the part being designed right. There are plenty of cast Zamac parts used in industry that don't seem to have any problems. But then there are the occasional reports of Rickenbacker "R" guitar tailpieces shattering and the bass bridges pulling up at one end, both just from string pressure.
some pic of the guitar-to-bass conversion project (not finished yet) w/ a warwick bridge as requested by Chris
Like I said: My girlfriend has this guitar. I gave it to her, but maybe I'll ask it back:)\
Nice! I guess it has a scale length of something like 25" That would be super short scale. Has it got any bass in the E string left? I guess the P90 will sound nice.
Well..yes there is some bass...and there is a distinct mahogany sound in the tone..The guitar is very resonant unplugged by the way. Currently I have used a set of TI jazz rounds that I had around because I was afraid of stressing too much the neck with bass strings tension and because I needed to cut the strings to make them fit on the 25'' scale and be able to wrap the ends on the thin posts..a thing that you cannot do -say-with labella flats for sure!
Now I want to try to swap the P100 pickup with an actual bass pickup..I have the temptation to route for a mudbucker placed against the end of the neck but maybe it is a too deep route to dig..I'm afraid of destroying the guitar..
Anyway, having the pickup so close to the bridge like it is now makes for an interesting tone..
Why change it if it sounds good? Like I said in other posts: The Fender Musicmaster pick up is a Strat-6-pole pick up. The much loved Duesenberg Humbucker is a guitar humbucker too!
That guitar has a P100 (Stacked P90) which sounds a bit duller than a real P90. Maybe swap it too a real Gibson P90?