Hipshot Brass/Chrome Ric bass replacement Bridge Report
Posted: Tue Aug 10, 2021 6:01 pm
Got a new in box brass/chrome version this month from Arkansas Musicworks in Arkansas for $135. It is for my 2016 4003. I have bought another bridge from them before for my Gibson bass. They shipped it fast. They answered my questions fast. Great customer service. They had the best price I could find.
Installation- Easy. 4 screws. Drop right into the existing screw holes on the body. But they are a little longer than stock bridge screws so had to drill a little deeper about half a cm. I sandwiched the ground wire between body and bridge base before installing the screws. Easy contact and no soldering required. Bass is just as noiseless as it was before.
Sound - no detectable difference in tone between the stock bridge and the Hipshot brass/chrome to my ears (that's a good thing). I A/B'd recordings and cannot really tell if there is a diff. Maybe, just maybe the Hipshot gives a little richer tone. Maybe. Maybe not. I bet I could not pick it out in a blind test. So far the saddles sit in place rock solid and no vibration. It is a each string has a saddle housing with an hourglass shaped cylindrical roller saddle inside that the string lays across.
Weight - My Hipshot is 543 grams with mounting screws. My stock bridge is 309 grams with mounting screws. This is a big reason I wanted it, to offset some of the neck heaviness the bass has. This is the final mod to help with that after other mods I did to help with it that also helped.
Looks - I think it looks just as good but different than the stock bridge. The stock bridge is more vintage style looking, the Hipshot is sleeker and more modern looking, which I think matches good with the sleeker looking HB1 pups I have on my bass. The chrome color matches the other chrome on the 4003 nicely. But the chrome on the Hipshot looks nicer to me than the stock bridge chrome. Like creamier texture and slicker. Could be just he smoother contours of the bridge though. It is a little wider than the stock bridge so it covers the stock bridge footprint entirely.
Setup functionality- I cannot imagine it being any easier to set intonation, action, and string spacing. I set my strings 22/32nds apart center-to-center like they came on the stock bridge. Easy access to all adjustment bolts with the strings in place. They give you extra intonation bolts, too, which is nice. I didn't need them. I know some people set it and forget it for years, but where I live I need to tweak setups and neck a couple times a year. So bonus setup ease there.
Mute - It doesn't have one !! Which means you can finger and palm mute with ease, if a song calls for it! Mute on the fly!! Another reason I wanted to get it.
I like both these 4003 bridges. They are both very nice but the extra weight and freedom to mute and easier setup capability made me want to get a hipshot.
Here is a pic where you can see the bridge/saddle mechanisms. Too bad we cannot upload hi def pics here.
Installation- Easy. 4 screws. Drop right into the existing screw holes on the body. But they are a little longer than stock bridge screws so had to drill a little deeper about half a cm. I sandwiched the ground wire between body and bridge base before installing the screws. Easy contact and no soldering required. Bass is just as noiseless as it was before.
Sound - no detectable difference in tone between the stock bridge and the Hipshot brass/chrome to my ears (that's a good thing). I A/B'd recordings and cannot really tell if there is a diff. Maybe, just maybe the Hipshot gives a little richer tone. Maybe. Maybe not. I bet I could not pick it out in a blind test. So far the saddles sit in place rock solid and no vibration. It is a each string has a saddle housing with an hourglass shaped cylindrical roller saddle inside that the string lays across.
Weight - My Hipshot is 543 grams with mounting screws. My stock bridge is 309 grams with mounting screws. This is a big reason I wanted it, to offset some of the neck heaviness the bass has. This is the final mod to help with that after other mods I did to help with it that also helped.
Looks - I think it looks just as good but different than the stock bridge. The stock bridge is more vintage style looking, the Hipshot is sleeker and more modern looking, which I think matches good with the sleeker looking HB1 pups I have on my bass. The chrome color matches the other chrome on the 4003 nicely. But the chrome on the Hipshot looks nicer to me than the stock bridge chrome. Like creamier texture and slicker. Could be just he smoother contours of the bridge though. It is a little wider than the stock bridge so it covers the stock bridge footprint entirely.
Setup functionality- I cannot imagine it being any easier to set intonation, action, and string spacing. I set my strings 22/32nds apart center-to-center like they came on the stock bridge. Easy access to all adjustment bolts with the strings in place. They give you extra intonation bolts, too, which is nice. I didn't need them. I know some people set it and forget it for years, but where I live I need to tweak setups and neck a couple times a year. So bonus setup ease there.
Mute - It doesn't have one !! Which means you can finger and palm mute with ease, if a song calls for it! Mute on the fly!! Another reason I wanted to get it.
I like both these 4003 bridges. They are both very nice but the extra weight and freedom to mute and easier setup capability made me want to get a hipshot.
Here is a pic where you can see the bridge/saddle mechanisms. Too bad we cannot upload hi def pics here.
