Hipshot Bridge replacement : what kind of material ?

[cjj]

......if i were to purchase another 4001/3 type bass. (not real likely as i love the 2 i have and don't see the need for more....)

What? Blasphemy!

[teeder]

I had the aluminum version on my V63 for about 1 year. It's a great tailpiece but I prefer the looks of the original.

[rickaddict]

... worth the price of the upgrade...

There's that word again..."upgrade"... I think it's misleading.

So many times on ebay I see that word attached to Seymour Duncan pickups, Bartolinis, heavy tuners, Badass bridges, brass nuts, P-bass pickup butcher jobs, Jazz bass pickups, and the list goes on.

I disagree that it's an upgrade. It has no mute, it has saddles that wobble, and it alters the Rickenbacker look and tone. It is easier to adjust intonation, and easier to palm mute, and it won't lift.

I think I'd call it a swapped bridge, a different bridge, an aftermarket bridge or a replacement bridge...

Not trying to pick on you Woody, I just sorta cringe when I see the word "upgrade" on a car, motorcycle, or guitar ad.

"I upgraded my '66 Corvette with these awesome chrome mag wheels, a shift kit, and Recaro bucket seats, dude!"

[woodyng]

no offense meant or taken,guys! i admit my not acquiring more rickenbacker basses is more a condition of my financial situation more than anything else -but i have owned a few over the years,and am really quite content with the 2 i have now. i did mean upgrade as just a minor term-all the bad things that have been mentioned about the hipshot bridge are not a part of my experience with the one i am using. it is quite solid,keeps the weight and tone of the original pretty well,a breeze to set up and install,so i can only say positive things about it. i personally do think of it as an improvement over the original one,but that is my opinion,just based on the factors i have mentioned previously. i have absolutely zero use for the mute,and consider it a hindrance,and the tendency for the original bridge to curl up is just bizarre. the hs "solves" those 2 issues brilliantly,so based on that i would recommend one.

[cassius987]

Woody, I agree the Hipshot solves the problem of a bunch of random "teeth" that are--in my probably brash ill-informed opinion--utterly pointless and make palm muting really difficult. Because I have no experience with tail lift I can't comment on that. But otherwise I really see no benefit to the Hipshot, so for me it works like this:

Want to palm mute? Great, go Hipshot. There's also guys like Dane who will knock the teeth out of a stock bridge and re-chrome it for you.
Don't do palm muting? Don't waste your money.

I don't hear any difference in the tone other than some high end loss, and even if I did, would that be a good thing? Lots of people say it adds low end but Rics already have low end in spades... just as much as any Fender (more in my experience), and people don't complain about them, so I just don't get what the fuss about all that is.

[cangaroo]

Lots of people say it adds low end but Rics already have low end in spades....

For example, my 4001 is more focused on the mids. In particular mode the A and D and G strings are very strong sounding with full harmonic presence, while the E string (in particular mode in the first four frets) lacks of bass and mid bass frequencies. This is a drag cause beside this, the rick is the best sounding bass i ever owned, so if the hipshot install means more bass, that's welcome

[rickaddict]

Lots of people say it adds low end but Rics already have low end in spades....

For example, my 4001 is more focused on the mids. In particular mode the A and D and G strings are very strong sounding with full harmonic presence, while the E string (in particular mode in the first four frets) lacks of bass and mid bass frequencies. This is a drag cause beside this, the rick is the best sounding bass i ever owned, so if the hipshot install means more bass, that's welcome

Sounds like it's worth a try, Mattia. The problem might actually be somewhere else...Maybe your E string saddle isn't coupling with the bridge piece for some reason, maybe your tail isn't properly transmitting those frequencies to the body of the bass. At least a complete bridge swap out will help you to figure out the problem. And if you don't like it, or if you find out that the problem was not in the bridge and you prefer the original bridge...it's easy to switch back and you'll be able to sell the HS.

Good luck!

[cangaroo]

^^^

Yes that's exactly the point : if trying a complete bridge change doesn't trigger a change, it means that the bass itself is not capable of propagating those frequencies ...

[teeder]

If shipping wouldn't cost so much I would just send you my HS to give it a try.

I certainly noticed a more even string response when I went to the HS on my V63. There's a lot more material on the HS that comes into contact with the body which may have a lot to do with it.

[cassius987]

Yes that's exactly the point : if trying a complete bridge change doesn't trigger a change, it means that the bass itself is not capable of propagating those frequencies ...

I highly doubt that. Overall there's just no way you could make a few pieces of wood such that they can reproduce some simple low frequencies, and just because the bridge doesn't allow your E string to transduce them doesn't mean it isn't a number of other things mechanical or electronic... unfortunately I'm of no help here though because I've never had a weak E string before. Actually mine are all stronger than the rest, which is why I now choose to run a compressor.

[cangaroo]

I doubt it too, cassius, but i want to try. At worst you'll see soon another HS on the bay ...

[ken_j]

... The problem might actually be somewhere else....

Maybe the speaker or even your amp could be rollowing off at lower frequencies. Somtimes you need to look outside the box.

[cassius987]

I doubt it too, cassius, but i want to try. At worst you'll see soon another HS on the bay ...

Good luck man. I wish you were stateside so one of us could help set your bass up.