cassius987 wrote:
Why can't we just reach a middle ground here? We know the stock bridge not perfect--at least some of the ones that have been made recently--and we know that the Hipshot is not Ras Tafari Himself either. Saying someone is a "whiner" because they are having trouble with the stock bridge is just being rude, though.
All right Joshua, maybe my post was a little curt. I was in a hurry to leave the office. I'm not saying that anyone who voices an opinion that isn't praising RIC is a whiner...the point I was trying to make is that there's at least one Forumite here that I don't recall ANY posts for the past year and a half or so that WEREN'T about the Rick tail piece. To those people, I say try something new...go wax your car, take your kids out for an ice cream cone, go for a jog or a bike ride, PLAY your guitar. There are other things to do in life besides follow RIC around on a personal quest to change their tail piece design. If you want a Hipshot, then buy one and be done with it. If you want to modify your Rick bridge then do that and tell us about how you did it, but jeez...
cassius987 wrote:
Let's get over "us and them" syndrome here. None of us can change RIC's protocols by griping about this, but we shouldn't just start drinking poison kool-aid either. If anything I appreciate that people like Dane are speaking up about successful mods they have done; Rickaddict, if you want to spell out how you "made it work" too that would be great. But there's nothing wrong with somebody who was basically forced into going Hipshot because they couldn't rely on the stock bridge either.
I too appreciate people like Dane that speak up about the mods they've done. Dane's a good guy.* Mark Arnquist has also provided information about how he modifies the stock bridge. And so has Jeff Rath, Brian Crisman, and about a hundred other Forumites including myself. Its all here in these threads and if someone wanted to do a search they could find all the information they need.
Here's a brief summary of what I do: On some of the older bridges (pre 2002 or so) the holes are just a little bit off. The saddles can move more freely with just a minimum of tinkering. Drill the holes out on the bridge, but do it in very small increments and check your progress. Go too big and they'll rattle. Filing the slots might also be necessary. Some of the older bridges are perfect already and won't need any attention. I have a few. I use the stock stainless steel phillips head screws. They work fine, you just need a very small screwdriver and to take the strings off while you turn the screw. Not as convenient as a Hipshot, but it works and you shouldn't need to adjust it very often. The newer bridges (post 2002) can be a problem. If you get one that looks like the few photos posted in the beginning of this thread, then you might want to find an old bridge on Ebay, find old saddles on Ebay, follow the suggestions of one of the other guys (Dane, Brian, Mark, etc.) or get a Hipshot. It's not rocket science. As you can probably tell from my writing, I'm not a genius. Yet I have been able to get all of my Rick bridges to work and work well. If I can do it, you can do it.
And I'm not judging anybody for buying a Hipshot, a Badass, or any other bridge. Do what you need to do to get your bass to work. I have a Hipshot. I haven't installed it on any of my Ricks yet, but I have one.
I'm just saying...Yeah, the Rick bridge isn't perfect. I hope it will be someday soon. But some people just need to take care of it and then move on.
Sorry if I've offended any of you.
*Except for that time that he punched me in the face because I wouldn't stop playing his CS 8-string at the 75th.
