Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hey guys got a question! I'm purchasing a 1980 Burgundyglo 4001 for $1600 from a guy I know , which is a sweet deal , and It has a BadAss Bridge II installed on it. He said he has the original bridge laying around somewhere. My question is... is the badass bridge II better? or should I isntall the original bridge back on it. I don't know anything about the badass bridge II so I'd thought I'd ask all of you! Thanks!

The BadAss II bridge by Leo Quan was designed to be a direct replacement for Fender style basses, though people used the on other basses as well.
If it is better or not is up to you. Some feel a bridge like that offers easier intonation and more sustain. Others like the look and function of the original bridge.
I would reinstall the original bridge, but that's just my own opinion.
Play it as is. If you like it, leave the BadAss II bridge on.

When I bought my 4001 it had the same bridge as you have on it. I could not wait to get rid of it.........but that's just me I guess. My 4001 now sports a stock tailpiece and bridge although it arrived with a dent in the tailpiece. The dent really bothers me, so if you want to sell your Rick tailpiece let me know.

winston wrote:My 4001 now sports a stock tailpiece and bridge although it arrived with a dent in the tailpiece. The dent really bothers me, so if you want to sell your Rick tailpiece let me know.

Oh that's just some added character!!

As others have said, the badass isn't a bad bridge, just different. When it came out, it was all the rage to convert Ricks to having a badass, partly because Geddy Lee did it, and partly because it was the "new best thing". I reality, the RIC bridge is great, even if a bit hard to adjust intonation, but in reality, how often do you really need to do that? There may be slightly different harmonics and hence sound between the RIC and the badass (or the Hipshot, or whatever). That boils down to a personal preference. In the end, a bridge is a bridge, is a bridge, if you like it, keep it. If you don't try something else...

The BAII works perfectly on 4001/3. Most installers will cut a bezel to cover the exposed mute route. The saddle heights fit well with RIC geometry. Some people put the original BA on Ricks which is just plain wrong. The original BA was made for Gibson style basses with very tall saddles. To get it to work at all, the saddles need to be notched very deeply. So deep in fact the saddles could collapse due to lack of metal to bear the load. I put BAIIs on my Ricks starting about 1979. My 4002 received one in 1980. I recently reversed that mod.

rickfan60 wrote:The BAII works perfectly on 4001/3. Most installers will cut a bezel to cover the exposed mute route. The saddle heights fit well with RIC geometry. Some people put the original BA on Ricks which is just plain wrong. The original BA was made for Gibson style basses with very tall saddles. To get it to work at all, the saddles need to be notched very deeply. So deep in fact the saddles could collapse due to lack of metal to bear the load. I put BAIIs on my Ricks starting about 1979. My 4002 received one in 1980. I recently reversed that mod.

Ted, do you know if the original BA bridge will work on an EB-3 type bass?

The BAI should work on any Gibson bass with that awful 3 bolt tail piece except maybe for the hollow models. Their tops are arched and may not allow the BA to sit flat.

rickfan60 wrote:The BAI should work on any Gibson bass with that awful 3 bolt tail piece except maybe for the hollow models. Their tops are arched and may not allow the BA to sit flat.

Thanks, Ted. I think that one is the EB-2 (hollowbody). The EB-0 and EB-3 are solid body flat-tops. I have a EBSF-1250 that needs an adjustible tailpiece, the one on it now cannot be intonated. Drives me nuts!

Yep, that's the one. All that metal and no adjusters.

There is an early example of that double neck in the Elvis Presley Museum in Memphis. I think it was really just a movie prop to him though.

rickfan60 wrote:The original BA was made for Gibson style basses with very tall saddles. To get it to work at all, the saddles need to be notched very deeply. So deep in fact the saddles could collapse due to lack of metal to bear the load.

Here is an exception to that type of mod. I owned this '92 4003 for a few months. I with I still had it. It's former owner had Mike Lull install a BA-I in it. Notice how he routed into the body to sink the bridge in and made notches behind the bridge to install/remove strings. He also stained the notches very well to match the fireglo. The route was so well done, I could not slip a piece of paper anywhere between the route and the bridge. I had put the original pickups back in and I did have the original tailpiece. I didn't like that it was routed, so I sold it. I should have filled the route with maple and put the RIC tailpiece back on and kept this 4003. I loved the ambered center of the body. It played and sounded really nice, especially after I reinstalled the higains.

I have seen that method a few times over the years. A lot of wood has to be removed. The BAII will sit flat on the body an the only mod required is a few screw holes.

rickfan60 wrote:I have seen that method a few times over the years. A lot of wood has to be removed. The BAII will sit flat on the body an the only mod required is a few screw holes.

Right, no routing necessary for the BA-II, which makes it much easier to reverse the mod if desired. Makes me wonder why the guy who owned that 4003 before didn't opt for the BA-II if he really wanted a different bridge.

My 4001 came with a BAII on it that sat in a plastic piece covering the RIC rout. The plastic was routed out to let the BAII sit lower. I got an original tailpiece from Oslo (thanks Jon!!) and the tone was back to being more RIck sounding. I put the BAII on a Jazz bass copy. The plastic bezel is in the closet.