Iconic bridge and adjusting issues

Dr Quist · January 29, 2012, 07:14:53 AM

I believe that anyone with one of these basses made between the first one and anything current ... and that means a lot of bridges .. has founnd these pieces of hardware to be among the worst designed tailpieces in the entire bass business.

Why do I say that ? Because I have worked on thousands of them. Not a few ..thousands.

That said.. it does not mean I loath them.. I searched for a tool to make them more adjustable ..so that anyone who wants the look and sound ... Lots of us want that ! can have a better time WITH the product.

There is no magic tool .. not unless it gets designed an d a Chinese tool maker is paid to tool up and make it. I for one am not going to pony up the cash to do that...I see no reason to support that goofy economic policy.

So .. here are a series of photos to give an example of an idea that is do-able , workable and functions really well. It does not make collectors happy.. but if you use your bass.. rather than think of it as bass porn... then this might be a helpful idea for you.

Dr Quist · January 29, 2012, 07:16:00 AM

Here is this iconic bridge base plate .

This version is from 1968

Dr Quist · January 29, 2012, 07:16:38 AM

The Same brdige assembly.. but from the adjustment side of things

Dr Quist · January 29, 2012, 07:18:37 AM

how do you get a screw driver in the screw head to make any adjustments ? It appears (even in this poor quality photo .. that time jhas not been kind to these screws ..and why? The angle / accessability issue.

Dr Quist · January 29, 2012, 07:20:21 AM

A 1992 version of the same style base ....nearly the same problem decades later (why fix a good thing ? Right ? )

Dr Quist · January 29, 2012, 07:26:00 AM

So I used a Gibson guitar idea to aid my thinking process .. Tune-O-Matic ABR-1 bridge rattle like an Arizona Diamondback rattle snake with the adjustment screws facing the tailpiece. This is due to the adjustment screws being located close to the strings and with the strings angling down to any stock tailpiece..these string ride against or on the length adjustment screws and they string vibrates when plucked.
The "Fix" ? Turn the bridge around ... flip the saddles around ... and make all adjustments from the neck side.

Well you can't do that on this tailpiece ... not as a stock unit.

So how to modify it and make it appear to remain STOCK.

This is the first step. I mill / grind the 'teeth' notches down to the base of the saddle assembly base.

Dr Quist · January 29, 2012, 07:31:23 AM

Next I drill out the height adjutment feet indentations .. this is to stabilize the saddle assembly . They all seem to tilt away from the neck ... they NEVER seem to stay put. That is why I started doing that mod 30+ yearsago.

After the teeth get modded... I need to drop the mute as far as it will go. The cavity is there to do that... but the bolts for raising and lowering this useless device are not long enough... so without replacing them... I solder or braise onto the steel mut plate two brass nuts of matching thread . These are mounted on the 'up' side so that you gain the needed depth.
This was a factory mod we did back in the 1970's when the woodshop would glue up a bass with a low neck angle and we had to have notched bridge pickup surround plates modified to get the strings to NOT hit these plate. That required a dropped mute as well.

So borrowing from a factory feature.. this kept me on my course.

Dr Quist · January 29, 2012, 07:36:40 AM

Now the saddle chassis issues.. the E string does not have enough offset travel to get proper intonation ..even if you use the factory suggested strings. Evidently .. this has never been checked with an electronic accurate tuner. Otherwise ... you would think it would be dealt with.

So to give all owners a change at being in tune (and I think all players want this !) I take the section of "E" saddle that the adjustment screw goes into .. and grind /file away half ot it.
I round the shaved area away to conform to the saddle chassis .. ever notice the notches for the saddles have rounded ends?

Then time to take the bridge saddle assembly and remove all the saddles .. flip the base around ... and re-assemble so the saddles are faced as they were previously.. and the adjustment heads are facing the neck .

Are you still with me ?

Dr Quist · January 29, 2012, 07:41:35 AM

We used to buff the saddles on the basses for 'important' owners.. like iconic figures who owned these basses . There is a long list.. but four owners who come to mind are ; Paul McCartney , John Entwhistle , Geddy Lee and Chris Squire . Now I realise that Geddy did not know about this particular mod of mine.. so he had some one remove this bridge assembly.. and install a BADASS bridge.. well that also needs to be modded to work on any Rick due to the narrower string spacing on all Santa Ana made basses , compared to all " Fullerton/Corona' made basses ( and all the clone versions) .

Here is the buffed final adjusted version of this .

Dr Quist · January 29, 2012, 07:50:32 AM

This looks like a stock bridge .

Yet the saddles do not wobble when changing strings , the screw heads on each saddle are accessable .... and the mute still functions ( do you really use it ? )

The tone ? Well I think it turns up the response and sustain factor.
I think it improves the bass in both adjustability...and tone.

Not for everyone?.. thats up for debate. So I hope this gets you thinking about these special basses .
They are not a Fender.. those any idiot with a couple of tools can adjust. These take patience and calm to deal with.. but three to four times the length of time.

These mods.. give you the Fender Adjustment time factor.

Hope this is helpful to you.

dadagoboi · January 29, 2012, 08:03:03 AM

Quote from: Dr Quist on January 29, 2012, 07:41:35 AM
.. and install a BADASS bridge.. well that also needs to be modded to work on any Rick due to the narrower string spacing on all Santa Ana made basses..

Bad Ass II bridges come with unnotched saddles so they'll fit any spacing depending how you notch them. The IIIs have 4 notches per saddle

GREAT POST. Looks like Rickenbacker's 'Constant Improvement Policy' is very similar to Gibson's.

I'm 'any idiot' and appreciate Fender's approach, 'science based' if you will, versus Gibson and Rick's 'Faith based' one.

ilan · January 29, 2012, 08:22:37 AM

Very clever and elegant mod.

Any idea for a mod that will allow palm-muting? Is there a way to lower the "teeth" and still keep the look?

Dr Quist · January 29, 2012, 09:29:20 AM

this mod allows for palm muting OR mechanical muting .

Dr Quist · January 29, 2012, 09:31:29 AM

Quote from: dadagoboi on January 29, 2012, 08:03:03 AM
Bad Ass II bridges come with unnotched saddles so they'll fit any spacing depending how you notch them. The IIIs have 4 notches per saddle

GREAT POST. Looks like Rickenbacker's 'Constant Improvement Policy' is very similar to Gibson's.

I'm 'any idiot' and appreciate Fender's approach, 'science based' if you will, versus Gibson and Rick's 'Faith based' one.

A Badass II does NOT work on every Rick.
To make it work .. You need to mod the Badass Ii Base by flipping "G" and "E" saddles. The Rick is narrower spaced than Fender.. If the Badass II came with the saddles reversed in those two locations .. you could easily move the spacings closer.. but there are many where I have had to flip these .

dadagoboi · January 29, 2012, 10:24:42 AM

Quote from: Dr Quist on January 29, 2012, 09:31:29 AM
A Badass II does NOT work on every Rick.
To make it work .. You need to mod the Badass Ii Base by flipping "G" and "E" saddles. The Rick is narrower spaced than Fender.. If the Badass II came with the saddles reversed in those two locations .. you could easily move the spacings closer.. but there are many where I have had to flip these .

Very easy on a III to switch the E and G, it has extra holes in the tail. On a II looks like you have to drill 2 holes. Just how narrow IS string spread?