Time capsule 1969 Teisco Del Rei guitar-scale bass

[uwe]

"Sustain is overrated too."

You will burn thunderbirdless in hell for this.

 

Seriously, the older I get the more the middle- and high-register comparative sustainlessness of bolt-ons bugs me. I'm at this point playing a lot my Yamaha Billie Sheehan something. It's a wonderful bass in many aspects, but it doesn't sing in the higher registers. Not like a TBird or Ric does. Whenever I go up there, I go "Duh, where's the cello effect?"

I play a lot of melodies on bass, without a sustainy sound they don't fill as much, making my excursions sound thinner than they need to be.

[uwe]

In fact the family cat is one-eyed and mentally disturbed.

As for the bridge - I'd just unbolt it from the body and use it as a floating bridge, slant it as needed. Actually as I'm typing this I'm holding a Hofner 182 with its metal bar floating bridge and the intonation is near perfect up to the last fret.

Yes, surroundings and environment often reflect badly on pets. 

"Slant it as needed" - good idea, I thought about reusing mine too, but the rollers guiding the strings are not really made for more than the slightest slant, strings bounce off.

[Pilgrim]

Bridge adjustments are highly over rated . I’m a fan of the wooden popsicle stick bridge on Danos . There is a sweet spot for it , even with a two octave neck . It’s not exactly rocket science to find the spot . The Danos completely changed my views on just what it was that made an instrument good .
They sound better than the adjustable metal ones . More woody thump , less sustain . Sustain is over rated too .

(I will admit the modern bridges are much easier to set )

I had a Dano for a while and had no problem with the bridge.  I also have an EB-0 with the old (pseudo-adjustable) bar bridge and I like it a lot. 

[ilan]

the rollers guiding the strings are not really made for more than the slightest slant, strings bounce off.

Never had such problem on my Gretsch 6070 with the Space Control bridge. It was slanted just as you'd expect.

(Unlike the bridge in the pic, mine had same-sized rollers and was therefore not radiused, just like the fretboard)