LeftyBassist.com

I've heard lots of good things about the Leo Quan Badass II Bridge - but what exactly does it do? How can it improve the sound of my bass? I have a Mexican Fender Jazz (natural finish with an ash body). And how come there aren't grooves cut into the tips? Do you have to put in your own grooves or is the string allowed to travel?

And how come getting it finished in gold costs an extra twenty bucks? Surely they didn't use real gold. Do the finishes affect the sound (chrome, nickel, gold, or black) or are they just for looks?

while there is some debate over what impact a BAII bridge has on your overall sound (opinions range from almost no difference to a completed rejuvination of your tone) the technical aspects are indeed clear

- unslotted saddles: one of the great assetts of the BAI bridge is that it comes unslotted by design. this allows the tech installing the bridge to precisely fit the string spacing to the player's preferences. this also makes the bridge universal and able to be used on any spacing between 16.5mm and 20mm.

- according to the Leo Quan website, it is critical that the bridge be slotted by a competent and experienced tech so that optimal string copulation is achieved. slotting is not difficult to do if you have the right tools and the patience to do it right. it is highly recommended that the strings are not allowed to rest on unslotted saddles, but many players have done just this without negative results (but note that they haven't experienced optimal results because the string/bridge coupling has not been optimized)

here is reference to the Leo Quan website: http://www.leoquan.com/html/news.html




- the gold colored bridges are electroplated with real gold, hence the added cost. the finish color does not have any impact on the tone - it is just for looks


I'll note that a Leo Quan BAII bridge is one of my two favorite bridges ever made, and definitely a first choice when choosing what bridge to utilize on a 4-string

all the best,

R

I've used Badass II bridges on my Js for years. IMO, there is clearly a noticeable difference in sustain, harmonics, etc. Higher mass = aforementioned results. It's possible the results would be less noticeable on other basses, but on a Jazz it's a match made in heaven (which is why you see so many Js with them installed).

They used to come pre-slotted, and I recently heard (though don't hold me to it) that you can order them either slotted or unslotted. I've had the same slotted Badass II on my '72 for at least 15 years.

yes, they come in unslotted (my preference)



and slotted




a good source for ordering is Brian at BestBassGear

http://bestbassgear.com/badass-bridge.htm

all the best,

R

PJ and Rod, thanks for all the great info. Sad to hear that a professional's help is required, as I was hoping to bolt that baby on myself and save a few $$$. But I'm excited about the possibilities of the Badass now! So am I to understand that when the slots are drilled for the strings, the slots are drilled to different sizes for each string (the E-string gets a wider rut than the G-string)? I can see how that alone would improve the tone of the strings. Is there a standard argument for each of the spacings, 16.5mm vs. 20mm? I would assume that the wider spacing (20mm) would be better suited for popping and slapping, allowing the player more room to get under and around each string, while the more narrow spacing (16.5mm) would be better for comfort and speed? If I have a standard Fender, would the wider spacing put me in danger of sliding the E or G string off the edge of the fretboard?