LeftyBassist.com

Ah, in between major repairs, I got the bug to finally get rid of the guitar bridge on the bass. I'm not crazy about the overall design, but it appeared fairly simple to make, but as a proper bass bridge with four saddles. I looked at the one that's been loitering on Ebay for $750.00, and a decent aftermarket replacement, but that, too was over a hundred bucks. So, pretty much because I've never made a bass bridge like this before, I decided to go ahead and make one. I started with 3/4" Aluminum channel, and some 3/4"x 1/8" aluminum bar stock. Both from Home Depot. The object here was to build it as cheaply as possible- my time would not be factored in, as this is an educational process for me... I'm 67 almost 68, and still learning.
I got some 8-32 multi head screws, and bolts. I also got some 6-32 Allen socket head stainless screws, and some small springs.
I took a bunch of measurements, drew it all out on a pad, and went into the shop. Four hours later, I had a new bridge. Last night, I made the final piece, the body plate that the bridge sits on. The original Rick 4005 bridge on Ebay, is surprisingly quite crude in some ways, I didn't really want to just make a piece of junk, I wanted it heavier than the original, slightly 'overbuilt' if you get me. No, this bridge is not Callaham quality, but it's beefier than the Chinese one, and has four saddles, like a four string bass should have. I'm pleased with the results. Yes, I could take it apart and really refine it, even have some made by a machinist..but this is just a one-off. Following this text- are some summary pics of the build.

That's pretty cool. Can you move the saddles with the strings at tension?

Nicely done!

Yes, you can move the saddles under tension... I loosened the string I wanted to move the saddle for to make it easier to access. A flaw in the design -as with the original, and the Chinese one, requires you to loosen the lock nut on the opposite side of the adjuster. That kinda sucks. A small 'C' clip instead of the lock bolt, would end that. After getting the saddles pretty close, it didn't take too long to do a final slotting and setup.
The strings are right at 3/4" on centers. I reversed the adjuster screw access to the rear.
I think a post mount tune-o-matic would be a much better bridge on this instrument. But this bass looks a LOT like a real 4005, and I just wanted it to look, and work like the original, only, a little better.
Here's a photo is of the rear adjustment, and a comparison of the original bridge to the new one.

Update: I just did some practicing with the bass, and man.. it sure sounds killer. The bridge made a difference.. honestly, not that much, but some. The personal satisfaction of making this, and knowing it was designed and fabricated for this bass, as a proper four string bridge as if Rickenbacker might have made it, is what I wanted to achieve.

The Guitar Fetish 'Gold Foil' Alnicos and the 'Tone Blaster' three band preamp with the full cavity shielding, make this bass a really useful part of my rotation of gigging basses.