High Mass "Frankenstein" Bridge for 20 Bucks - How To and Sound Tests
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- čas přidán 11. 07. 2024
- High mass bridges are designed to provide a better tone with more sustain and harmonic content than a regular one. They also look cooler but can be quite expensive. In this video I’ll show you how I made my own “frankenstein” high mass and budget friendly bridge to replace the stock one and perform some detailed audio tests to see if there’s any improvement on the tone.
Product links:
Disclaimer: Prices on this things are all over the place and apparently have changed significantly since the making of this video. I've put together a list with the closest things I could find ATM (nov. 2021) in case you want to try something similar yourself.
-The exact brand and model of the bridge used here is Sambong Bb031c but I can't find it right now. Availability of these generic parts change all the time - please let me know if you find one!
-This is the cheapest "high mass" bridge I can currently find. It's cheaper but also looks weaker: amzn.to/3GB68Ze
-Generic donor bridge with brass saddles: amzn.to/3pP7RUz
-Wilkinson donor bridge with brass saddles (this chrome version is cheaper ATM): amzn.to/31gnuua
-Generic brass saddles (these are now the cheapest option): amzn.to/3EzVpwh
-If you just want a drop in replacement this is the cheapest "high mass" bridge I found with brass saddles: amzn.to/3w18DPi
-This one is selled as "Fender" branded but is literally identical to the one I used in this video so I have my doubts: amzn.to/3EwN6Bm
-The real deal: amzn.to/3EszZRC
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Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:52 The bass
01:38 Goodbye old bridge
02:39 The new "Frankenbridge"
05:47 Installation
07:32 Test results - Part 1: Sustain
10:10 Part 2: Playing samples
Greetings from Argentina!
Juan Pablo - Inspiring Tracks - Hudba
Excellent demo! I think the hi-mass bridge improved the tone, and it looks great!
Great stuff man and those are some cool bass tracks for the demo!
Thanks, glad you liked them! They are also available as standalone bassless backing tracks for free here in the channel
Damn, so great! But why dont cleaning a bit the swamp you get under? 😂
One little "trick" I've been doing for all my basses since the 80's...the little Allen screws to adjust the bridge block height...most times they have a small point on the bottom, and usually stick out on the top...waiting to snag clothing or worse, some skin on your hand or fingers. First thing is I'll cut them off so they're flush or a bit below the top of the bridge block, and second, I'll file or grind down the little point so that the screw contacts the bridge plate for the full width of the screw diameter. I do this for all of them so that I wind up with a perfectly smooth bridge surface when you slide your hand across the top, and I feel that I'm getting more contact between the string and the body of the bass due to the little extra metal to metal contact. Whether it's measurable or not, who knows...at the very least, I'm not going to cut my hand on anything in the middle a windmill bass solo!!! 😁
Great video as always! Even if the sound is almost the same the new bridge looks way cooler, worth the trouble IMO
Thanks!!
This project was $20 .00 not $200, I do hear some difference. If anything, it does look nicer for sure. You had fun, and you were able to prove or disprove your upgrade. Kudos to your curiosity. Keep it up.
That was exactly the spirit of the project. Glad you liked it!
I definetly like the tone from the Hi-Mass bridge. It is an upgrade I plan to do to my bass.
Nice I wanted to do this a few months ago but didn't have the time. I wrote a MATLAB script to do this but look at the harmonic content by doing an FFT to view the signal in the frequency domain.
Damn… the sustain improved so much on hi-mass bridge 😮😮😮
yeah.. it does sound difference.. thanks for this tips and video
Glad you liked it!
Thank you for the video, interesting and thorough!
I was surprised by the difference from the first note. It looks like the new bridge has more response to the lows, so the bass sound more rounder and in a sense “boomier”, which could be a good thing in lots of applications. Still, with the old one it has more definition and “bite”, probably due to response on mids. So both of them have their cons pros, but the difference is noticeable anyway.
(P.S. I’ve just checked on the internet and yes, brass is not known for transmitting mid frequencies)
I heard the same, thanks for checking that about the brass, that should explain the increased brightness and bottom end
I put a Gotoh 201B on a Squire Affinity. It now sounds like a high end bass. I had to dowel/redreill, so I'm hoping the Fender hi-mass I ordered for my other pbass is a direct replacement.
I like this one for the price. I've added Allparts threaded steel saddles, the intonation screw holes need to be drilled out to the next biggest drill bit size.
Muy bueno e interesante, es una buena idea para hacerle a mi jazz bass
Muchas gracias Sergio! Es una buena mod, no es cara, es facil y aunque sea por la facha ya suma un montón. Saludos!
The "Fender" bridge is indeed a Fender bridge. It is a bridge that was sold with some Fender MIM basses. It's a very solid bridge for the money.
Great info, thanks for sharing!
I like the sound of the new bridge better. Thicker, rounder low end....more "hi fi" ....to my ear. Listened on SSL Interface to Presonus Eris 8 studio monitors.
where do you buy this bridge ?
Stock sounds more profound in different registers from hi mass
I'm not sure a cheap cast zinc bridge is any better than pressed steel. More mass at the cost of less rigidity isn't a win.
I'd take the plate the brass saddles came with or the original bridge plate with brass saddles.
Thanks for the video :) Even if the bigger bridge sounds fat, I prefer the stock one.
Glad you liked the video!
Dan was using a good set of bonefones, with Bluetoothand can definitely feel a better sustain on the better speakers
High mass bridge never really sold me. Are they different? Yes. Are they better? That's subjective. I wouldn't feel the need to switch out to a high mass bridge if I had a bass without one, and vice versa. Great demo.
The grooves under the saddle screws are more important than the mass imo.
Nice video. For me it's the same sound. I like more stock bridge. For one thing i'm sure. Now you got a heavier bass and lighter wallet. 🙂
Somebody spilled beer or french fry grease on the bridge somewhere along the way there
Yeah, I bet something like that happened. I must be the third or fourth owner of this bass and judging by some of its scars it had a hard life, still plays fantastic
I know there is a difference because I did that to all my basses. Even my wife could hear the difference from another room...!
Old bridge has more woody sound,
I have both bridges. Im sticking with the stock. Bass is for the low end. Im not trying to compete with the guitar.
old bridge for me