New Bridge for a Fender 51 RI P Bass

[Who's Who]

Hi all

I'm due to recieve a Fender 51 RI P Bass at the end of the week that I picked up in a trade.
I'm looking to replace the bridge for a 4 saddle model to get better intonation.
It will still have to be string through body and 3 hole mount as I don't want to be drilling any extra holes. I'm also looking to put the chrome bridge cover on too, so it must fit under there.

Any ideas would be very much appreciated.

Thanks

Edited April 17, 2012 by Who's Who

[Grand Wazoo]

Nothing wrong with the intonation on the 2 saddles bridge. Don't believe the hype. But if you're flash get a Badass 2 on it that'll fit perfectly.


The Badass does string through body and 3 screws but I am not sure if the ashtray cover fits.

Edited April 17, 2012 by Grand Wazoo

[tredders]

I put a Wlkinson vintage bridge on mine. Looks the part and works well: -

http://www.allparts.uk.com/online-shop/guitar-bass-parts/bridges-parts-tailpieces/bridges/bass-bridges/bass-bridges-4-string-singles/wilkinson-vintage-bass-bridge-loads-through-body-p-1722.html

The Fender bridge cover fits fine over this bridge, too.

Mark.

[Ou7shined]

As Fran said you might be ok with the one it has on it - unless your seller has emphatically told you that he's tried really hard but can't get it to intonate. I think the bum wrap comes from the inability of 2 saddle bridges on the Bronco and the like to just offering compromises when intonating. My Fender '51 intonated perfectly fine with the stock bridge.

I fitted a Wilkinson swivel bridge to one of my constructions which made intonating a lot quicker than with the standard fixed twin saddle. I don't know if you can get them in string-thru though ...

[Lozz196]

The regular Fender BBOT (bent bit of tin) will fit, keep it looking traditional, and easily fir under the cover, but allow for more adjustment. That saying, I agree with Grand Wazoo - having had one of these basses, I got my intonation set up quite easily with the stock bridge.

[Telebass]

If you must, it's a BAdAss II that fits right on, but good luck getting one. Orther alternatives are the original Fender Deluxe bass bridges, up to 2008 or so. It may well be that the later ones fit also, but this is a mod I did and works. The BBOT will not fit without extra holes.

[Baxter]

I got one of the those, It's just fine with the standard bridge - in fact it's wonderful!

[machinehead]

You need a BadAss III. It should fit straight on.

Frank.

[Who's Who]

What about the new fender High Mass Vintage bridges.
They're 3-hole mount and string through body.
Would that be ok?

[The Bass Doc]

I've just replaced a string-through-body bridge on a USA Precision with one that allows either top loading [i]or[/i] s-t-b so the original is up for grabs. It's 4 saddles, three anchoring screws and should be a direct fit for the 51 style.

PM if you're interested.

[Who's Who]

Cheers for all the suggestions guys.

Just in case anyone else is looking to do the same, I picked up one of the new Fender High Mass Vintage bridges that are fitted to the newer American Standard Basses.
Picked one up off ebay from America for under £50 delivered.

It's a great bridge that has a lot more 'meat' to it, it's 3 hole mounting and lets you load the strings through the body or through the top of the bridge. And it fits under the chrome cover easily.

A great drop in replacement for this bass, highly recommended. Although you will have to set your bass up again once fitted as they bass plate is quite a bit thicker than the original.