With Arnquist's mod the bridge posts make direct contact with the body to transfer string vibrations, like in any other bass I know. With a stock Ric unit, the bridge posts touch the cast tailpiece, which has a clearance from the body. The tailpiece absorbs some of the string's energy. That's why some Ric owners stack washers on the three anchoring bolts between the tailpiece underside and the body, directly under the bridge chassis, so that there's metal-to-metal contact all the way from the bridge saddle down to the body. This very simple trick gives slightly longer sustain and better E string respose (it's also supposed to stop tail lift). The Arnquist mod is a more elegant and professional way of doing this, and has the added bonus of supporting the bridge chassis so that it doesn't tilt back and affect intonation. It's still a floating bridge, held in place by string tension only, and if you remove the strings, it falls off.