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Post by LeoThunder on Sept 30, 2018 7:16:43 GMT
I though nothing particular when I first saw it but Ibanez have come up with the simplest and smartest bridge when it comes to changing strings: They just slide on the side and come off upwards. There is no fiddling around through holes, which means you don't have to straighten the stiff coil you made around the tuning posts. You just loosen the strings enough to pull them off upwards there too and keep them that way. Putting them back is just as simple. It's so easy and fast, you could even use one set of strings on several basses
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Post by kodiakblair on Sept 30, 2018 12:11:35 GMT
Don't thank Ibanez for using an old idea. Top loading bass bridges have been around a long time.
The two common designs were ABM from the early 90's and Hipshot type A from late 90's. Kahler,Gotoh,Wilkinson all sell similar as do a whole host of £12 Chinese bridges.
Mind and keep the ball end tight when you string up,being loose they have a tendancy to slip out the catch.
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Post by LeoThunder on Sept 30, 2018 12:49:02 GMT
Top loading bridges are an old thing of course but the side escape is what sells them to me. Why is this not everywhere? Yes, the string has to be kept in place in the moment tension starts being applied. My Jazz Bass doesn't have that. I had to fiddle about.
I wonder who else uses that design. I like smart simple things.
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Post by kodiakblair on Sept 30, 2018 14:24:05 GMT
Why is this not everywhere? I wonder who else uses that design. I like smart simple things. Despite new ideas and tech used in bass guitar design there's plenty of players stuck in the past. Just like guitar players They say ****e like "Leo was right 1st time", "Jaco only needed 4 strings", "USA Fender is all you need" That's why you don't see top loading bridges everywhere,if it don't look like a Fender BBOT they get confused. When you get away from the folks watching B/W TV with rose tinted glasses you'll find top loading bridges as standard. My old Peavey TL-6 and Vigier Passion use Kahler toploaders,My Cirrus use ABMs and Hipshots,on the Peavey Axcelerator it's a Wilkinson 3D. You buy a Sandberg,it comes with a toploader Sadly far too many bass players still expect 63 year old design ideas on their basses,builders are happy to comply. If it cost £2 to manufacture a BBOT I'm a monkey's uncle P.S. BBOT is bent bit of tin
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3,457 posts
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Post by LeoThunder on Sept 30, 2018 14:54:12 GMT
There is a wealth of stupidity going around, as everywhere else. 5 strings make things easier, it should say "Jaco could play with only 4 strings". He could play without frets too… The past revering stance has kept bothering me to some extent but I got this Squier Deluxe because it is a more modern take on the Jazz Bass. At least it has active EQ and the bridge is different too, a little more massive but with fiddling holes: I could have been happy waiting for a 5-string Ibanez SR, there is a good looking 505 ending on ebay today, but I have a 4 string SR and preferred to go for another shape, and one I rather like at that.
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3,457 posts
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Post by LeoThunder on Sept 30, 2018 16:00:12 GMT
As a side note, I keep seeing people say that "string through" is "of course" better on guitars but then I see modern expensive basses with top loading bridges. That doesn't see to confirm the belief…
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Post by kodiakblair on Sept 30, 2018 18:36:09 GMT
As a side note, I keep seeing people say that "string through" is "of course" better on guitars but then I see modern expensive basses with top loading bridges. That doesn't see to confirm the belief… More BS. I've plenty string through,plenty top loading,plenty through bridge. Makes zero impact IMHO. Some folks say through body increases sustain Why the hell would I want sustain ? Do bass players need it On guitar,sustain has a place. The last power chord ringing out or the note held to increase tension in a solo but bass players grooving at 120BPM ?? I noticed the "tonewood","sustain","Hi Mass bridge" etc start creeping into bass advert and review jargon turn of the 00's. Best reason I can come up with is by the 00's millions of basses had been sold and ad writers needed new spiel to sell basses
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1,481 posts
Disclosures: Everything I don't like I can modify.
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Post by blablas on Sept 30, 2018 18:40:59 GMT
These things are more a matter of marketing than a reality!
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Post by LeoThunder on Sept 30, 2018 23:59:29 GMT
The sustain quest is just as moot on guitar. Every guitar I played had enough of it in normal use. That includes the ST-62 with "tiny piece of junk metal" in the vibrato system, another myth. Whatever string through does, if it does, is in the "more than needed" area. Only if you want to change the guitar into an instrument that holds notes, like an organ instead of a piano, does it come short and you need a Sustainiac, which actively keeps the strings vibrating.
I understand sturdy parts are better equipped to withstand the tension of bass strings. If it holds six of them, a broader bridge with more screws is less likely to tear out the wood beneath, just like a 6-screw vibrato on a Strat' will not lead to cracks as a 2-point can. But that's about it, really. The "more is better" belief helps sell anything but after a certain point, more is just more, added cost for no added return.
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Post by kodiakblair on Oct 1, 2018 6:14:59 GMT
The "more is better" belief helps sell anything but after a certain point, more is just more, added cost for no added return. Myself and blablas have saw plenty of this over the years Heading out the door now but maybe I'll stick a post regarding my Wishbass up,complete opposite of "more is better"
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3,457 posts
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Post by LeoThunder on Oct 1, 2018 6:58:57 GMT
The "more is better" belief helps sell anything but after a certain point, more is just more, added cost for no added return. Myself and blablas have saw plenty of this over the years Heading out the door now but maybe I'll stick a post regarding my Wishbass up,complete opposite of "more is better" Please do. It's not a Gittler Bass, is it?
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Post by JAC on Oct 2, 2018 19:46:52 GMT
It's strange, but my first Harley Benton, which must be 15 years old now, has the top/quick load bridge. And as for sustain, I hate having to get out of bed to mute a note that I forgot to mute when I put my bass down for dinner.
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3,457 posts
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Post by LeoThunder on Oct 3, 2018 2:20:51 GMT
And as for sustain, I hate having to get out of bed to mute a note that I forgot to mute when I put my bass down for dinner. I learned a trick…
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3,968 posts
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Post by salteedog on Oct 3, 2018 12:06:52 GMT
I guess that would be a nut height problem DefJef
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