looking to pop my modding cherry....

[Smythe]

Hi folks..

Im currently looking into modding my Yamaha TRB1005J, the only modding i have done on other basses in the past were very slight (swapped out machine heads and input jacks) and nothing as major as i want to do with this bass. I'm looking at replacing the stock preamp with a Glockenklang 3-band and also wanting to swap the bridge for a Hipshot B style.

I have a soldering/electronics background so the preamp wont be a problem i was wondering how easy it is to swap a bridge as i relise i cant just plonk it anywhere, it'l have to placed so intonation can be kept in a comfortable place right?. Any tips on how i can acheive this? Or do the bridges come with instructions?

thanks

[paul_5]

Most bridges share the same layout for the screws, so positioning it shouldn't be a problem. You can (or should) always check the intonation after you've fitted a new one.

Be aware that under the bridge there's an unattached wire that seemingly does nothing except disappear into the control cavity - this is an earth wire and needs to be there. It's practically impossible to solder this wire to the bridge (which, in this instance acts like a mahoosive heatsink), so it's simply trapped betwixt body and bridge. Hey, it's good enough for Leo Fender...

[Al Heeley]

[quote][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Most bridges share the same layout for the screws,[/font][/color][/quote] not in my experience. you have to be prepared to create new holes so the bridge saddles sit at the same spot as before. Masking tape and a pencil mark will aid you before removing the old bridge.

[paul_5]

I've only done Fender/types before so not had to bother with marking out...

[Smythe]

yea, after some research i think i will have to drill out some new holes with the hipshot b style for my bass, i'll have to fill in the old holes with a wood filler/epoxy. Also read a good tip elsewhere saying to feed the bottom and top strings that are currently on your bass through the new bridge saddles whilst its still unattached to the bass, apply tension and allow it to meet the body to find a good position. Some others also said to take note of intonation points by measuring from 12fret to the saddles on your old bridge, cant see how that'll work with the saddles being in a stock position and most installations require saddle removal?!

[Big_Stu]

[quote name='Smythe' timestamp='1346705974' post='1792286']
yea, after some research i think i will have to drill out some new holes with the hipshot b style for my bass, i'll have to fill in the old holes with a wood filler/epoxy.[/quote]

Depending on the size of the hole you're filling I'd suggest instead either cocktail sticks or wooden kebab sticks. In either case the very point clipped off & glued in with wood glue. If you ever end up wanting to drill again in future wood-filler tends to be crumbly and doesn't hold screws well, epoxy always has a tiny bit of fluidity left in it.

[Smythe]

The Babicz Full Contact looks a tasty bridge too, but it seems to be marketed/niched as a Fender fit. Would it fit to non-Fender basses too?

[Smythe]

Ok Ive had the work done on my Yamaha TRB1005J. In the end i went for a Hipshot A Style Bridge as they looked more sturdier than the B Style. I'm really pleased with this. I also had a Glockenklang 3 band preamp installed too. I had to take it to the local music shop as it was a tough job to do. Firstly, the cavity needed skimming down so the pots could reach through. It took a couple of techys to get the preamp working as well.

I love the tone of the Glock, its really pure and clean but it is pretty quiet. I have to turn up the volume on my preamp/amp head at least another notch to be at unity with my Lakland 44-02! Is this normal for a Glockenklang or is this a sign of signal loss somewhere?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated

Smythe

[iiipopes]

I have modded guitars since 1975, when (much to the dismay of my Mum, of course) I took apart my first department store electric guitar to see why it worked (Yes, I was able to put it back together. I still have it, and I still play it occasionally). I've gone from that to my own tinkering with all kinds of pickups and other hardware layouts, rewiring, setting up and rewiring friends' instruments, to designing my own custom fanned fret P-style bass that is my #1 instrument.

Fretting: be careful of fretting. That requires special tools, training and experience, so even I leave fretting and fret repair and maintenance to my good luthier friends. But everything else is more or less standard woodworking or electronics techniques, or a combination thereof.

Why do you want to switch the bridge? Unless there is something wrong with the current bridge, say inherent instability of the bridge or not enough travel for the intonation screws, or you desire a completely different string-to-string spacing, in some ways even the most elemental Fender-style plate-stamped four-saddle bridge is fine (assuming it is actually of steel and not an inferior metal), and actually colours the tone less than some of the "high tech" bridges out there. And as set forth above, you save yourself a significant amount of work. On my custom bass I actually have a reproduction '60's style "bolt-stock" bridge (a copy of the cheapest one Fender ever made), altered to fit the fanning, and it has the most sustain and broadest tone of any bridge I have ever played on a bass, albeit also modified for string-through-body (but that's a whole 'nuther kettle o' fish).

I do differ from most folks on bridge placement. To make sure there is enough room for the E string to intonate, I tend to place a bridge so that the G string intonates with the saddle almost at the front end of the intonation screw. The downside to this is the farther out the screw, the less the break angle of the string over the saddle, and so there is a limit as to what is practical as far as downforce over the saddle for stability and tone (avoiding twang). Conversely, if the bridge plate is mounted too far forward, there will be excessive break angle over the E string saddle, causing its own intonation issues and weakening of the E string core.

Electronics are easy. Everyone makes pickups and preamps to fit Fender-standard routings. All the player has to do is pick the desired flavor. A good pencil-style iron, rosin-core solder of the approved alloy for your area (used to be 60% lead / 40% tin, but some places in the world have legislated otherwise), and a lot of patience and care, and the electronics are done.

If this is a 4-string bass, then the traditional placements of the traditional pickups for all the traditional models of electric bass usually give the best tone for a given particular style and placement of pickups, as their placements were determined by trial-and-error when these basses were in R&D all those years ago by their respective companies. For a 5-string bass, I have found the best placement for pickups is for a neck pickup to be in proportionally the same postion as the D-G segment of a P pickup and the bridge pickup where the '70's J bridge position is. This gives, to my ears, the best balance of fundamental and overtones to make sure the B string speaks well, that there is still enough "heft" in the tone to support the band, and still has "solo" contrast to the bridge pickup.

Other mods: with Schaller, Hipshot and Gotoh lightweight variants available, neck dive can be eliminated. Hence, there is no reason for a player to burden himself with the heavy traditional Fender-style tuners. None. Full stop.

Edited December 4, 2012 by iiipopes

[Smythe]

Thanks for the info there iiipopes,.. but If you read my last post, The work's already been done, the old bridge didn't hold intonation or string height very well and it totally went during string changes. I suppose you could say the saddles were the problem, but even so, i wanted a new bridge on and i liked the hipshots aesthetics, its a 5 string bass too..

The stock preamp was harsh, dark and murky and i didnt like it, not even when it was set flat. There was only one or two settings on the 3 band eq that was useable for me and It was sensitive. If it was slightly out it sounded dreadful..

I really do like the open, crystaline tone of the glockenklang and after doing some forum trawling, it seems as though they are genuinely a subtle preamp. One guy on talkbass stated theyre more about their transparency and presence than volume/gain. I guess Ive got the option of just turning up a notch or adding an internal buffer .

Thanks

Smythe

[iiipopes]

Well, yes, in that case, a bridge change is in order. I am probably a little more overkill than the rest of the forum I would drill out the old mounting screws to the next size larger, acquire a hardwood dowel, and glue in dowels and shave them flush to the top in case the old bridge did need to be remounted for any reason.

Sounds like an interesting preamp. I'm sure the bass will sound great when you're done.