High Mass VS Low Mass Bridge
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- čas přidán 7. 01. 2024
- On a Fender Geddy Lee Signiture Jazz Bass I tested the difference between the Fender High Mass & Fender old school stock bridges. Bass plugged directly into the mixing board. Volumes & Tone controls on the bass are all the way up. No effects on the input channel except a little compression.
- Hudba
Hi Mass! Big difference, more definition, more hi and clear low !
I can't believe there are people who say it made no difference. It's a night and day difference. The high mass bridge has was more low end resonance. I can see why people might prefer the basic bridge, especially in a P bass, but I prefer the sound of the high mass bridge.
Different people hear things differently plus there is no reasonable accounting for the sound system someone might be using (PC speakers, headphones, cell or tablet speaker). That's why I shared no opinion other than to say that I did hear a difference. From there the individual listener can decide for his or herself based on what they hear. I will say this though... The high mass bridge is back on the bass & its staying.
I personally prefer the HiMass. Sounds punchier and clearer to me.
The stock bridge sounds brighter imo
Yeah I can hear the difference sounds great 🤘🏼🔥
Hi mass brings the whole thing to life.
I own and play thru both hi mass and stock. My hi mass are orig. Badasses.
Major improvement with
my BA's.
I put a himass bridge on my player series P bass and I feel its done the same as in this video. Kept the tone and made the sound fuller with more resonance.
The Geddy Lee high mass sounds way bigger. Its a huge improvement
I think that the stock bridge sounds more "dead". The hi-mass bridge really opens up the sound. When I put a hi-mass bridge on my fretless Yamaha, my wife, not knowing what i did, yelled from the other room that the bass sounds different. ..
Then you like brass saddles as opposed to steel saddles the high mass bridge makes no difference. The plate material has no impact on the sound whatsoever. It’s the saddles so if you like brass saddles. Cool go with high mass.😊
So let’s just say if there was a bit of a drop in the mids you could just boost it in your eq I personally am tired of overly aggressive mid sounding bass players that seem to always want to hang out in the middle and upper neck instead of holding it down in the sonic real estate where the bass should reside. Don’t get me wrong I love to phrase in the upper register as the music needs in articulating chord in a sympathetic way but I don’t live there through out the whole song bringing this back to the advantage of a high mass bridge that gives that extra oomph and sustain that caters so well to good solid bass playing that is achieved by the greats like Chuck Rainy, Kurt Smith, Walter Becker and such
i like both sounds. i have always used a decent bridge. ,hipshot A style ,bad ass. ,schaller. i like springy strings. with the stock bridge usually. string are kind of loose. have a good day.
The stock bridge made the strings slappier where the high mass bridge there was less slap therefore you can dig into the strings harder.
The old school bridge just sounds kind of thin and wimpy to me. Personal preference and all that, but for me I'll stick with my Badass II.
The high mass bridge doesn't let the body resonate as much with the string, which means more of the energy is kept between the bridge saddles and nut. More present sound, longer sustain
I’m a high mass bridge person myself but what I would like to hear is how is sets in the mix of a band setting and what register do you normally play in ? Low , mid neck ?
Valid question. I use both pickups at equal volume. I tend to run the volumes & tone all the way up. I EQ the amp flat. For this test, all controls on the bass are cranked. The mixer channel EQ was set flat. No changes were made to the bass or board other than switching the bridges.
looks like de badass bridge brought a little more low frequencies... BUT it can be adjusted easily with tone or equalization. Not to mention using an active circuit
The slightly more "flexible" (so to speak) low mass bridge should, technically, bleed off some vibrations of the strings. But I ll bet that most players really can't hear it. Add a drummer, audience, beer, then no one can tell the difference.
I fitted a Fender HiMass bridge to my Player series J bass and noticed a real difference.
I bet you did!
I have a 69 Fender Precision w/Jazz Neck at the time custom color, Ocean Turquoise, block inlay on rosewood neck/bought at the music store I worked for in 1969. 2024 and Fender Custom Shop says "Sorry we won't touch it because you don't have a receipt"; although I do have owners manual with name of "assembler - E Paxton", only Custom Shop in Colorado is HB Woodsong, Boulder. I thought Fender had control of their channel. I believe HB Woodsong is telling Fender that no receipt, no work. If they would do this to a Senior, think what they'll do to YOU. Buyer Beware.
Funny, I replaced the stock bridge on my Tony Franklin Fretless with a Badass II and it sounds so much better. 😀
Yeah it' souding different. Much more punch and sound control with hi mass.
Agreed.
Did you set the string height the same? Pickup height the same? Same strings?
Strings were transfered to the stock bridge from the high mass bridge. Actions were set identical to one another. The only difference was the bridge.
@@BassHappy64 Ok thanks. Surprised that I'm noticing a difference haha.
I tore all mine off and have old school stock. Had a Kickass, Gotoh, Fender, and original Badass. They are now sitting in my parts closet.
I am a studio session player and they are not suited for recording bass. Maybe live playing but they are tone suckers for recording.
HiMass for the win
Listened on speakers and headphones. I don't hear any significant difference.
There is clearly a difference but that could be down to other setup paramters would be good if you showed some kinds of audio visualisation that way we could know if there is an actual mid scoop or if it's a timbre thing. I could see a place for both sounds in different contexts though.
I'm not sure what you are asking for. The bass is plugged directly into the board & the channel eq is flat. The bass controls are dimed. The only change made was the bridge swap & the intonation & action were set identically between the two bridges. So, I don't know what more you want. Same bass, same settings, same board, same settings, same audio interface to the PC. Two different bridges.
@@BassHappy64 The bridge swap could have changed the sring height relative to the pickups which may change the tone .
@@rimmersbryggeri nope! I set the action & intonation when I installed it. The string heights were identical.
@@BassHappy64 I suspected that you did, but it's a common mistake. Just wanted to be sure, the findings just get more interesting when you know all the variables are taken out. :)
The only difference was the bridges. Even the strings were carried over from one bridge to the other. I took steps to ensure that everything would be the same that way, the listener could be certain that any difference they heard was due to the bridge alone & nothing else.
It didn’t make any difference the bridge material and itself doesn’t make any difference. It is the saddles on the high mass bridge. It has brass saddles and on the Stockbridge. It has steel saddles. the actual bridge material made from aluminum or zinc doesn’t matter what I’m saying the base does not matter. It’s the saddles.
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High mass wayyyy better
It make absolutely no difference at all tone wise.