BBOT Bridges

[Jono Bolton]

Are these all much of a muchness? I'm looking for a bridge for my P Bass; it's currently wearing a Hosco threaded-saddle bridge which isn't really doing it for me.

Looking at the various options, there are cheap, no-name ones which can be had for under a tenner, or a genuine Fender or Kluson one costs about 40 quid. There are Gotoh ones priced in between those options, but they either have a curved base plate, or are higher mass, like the 201, which isn't what I'm after. The Wilkinson bridge has that awful logo stamped on it. 

What's the best option for standard, BBOT, single-groove saddled bridge, or is there very little in it?

Edited February 7, 2021 by Jono Bolton

[PaulThePlug]

Some have grooves / channels for the saddle adjust grub screws... stop a bit if latteral movement.

Retro fit, picking up on the existing mounting holes may be a limiting factor. Unless the new bridge when placed right covers the old holes.

String Spacing? 19mm, 20mm?

 

Edited February 7, 2021 by PaulThePlug

[chris_b]

What's wrong with the Hosco? Any BBOT is going to look pretty similar.

Edited February 7, 2021 by chris_b

[Jono Bolton]

2 hours ago, PaulThePlug said:

Some have grooves / channels for the saddle adjust grub screws... stop a bit if latteral movement.

Retro fit, picking up on the existing mounting holes may be a limiting factor. Unless the new bridge when placed right covers the old holes.

String Spacing? 19mm, 20mm?

 

It wasn't so much the different features available on a bridge, it was more of an "is the Kluson/Fender option really worth 4 times as much as the no name one" sort of question.

[Jono Bolton]

2 hours ago, chris_b said:

What's wrong with the Hosco? Any BBOT is going to look pretty similar.

The alignment of the strings over the pickup is off on the D and G strings, but fine on the E and A. I've tried moving them around into different grooves on the saddles but it's not making a huge difference. I'd prefer to have just one groove per saddle anyway, but the Hosco was a good price and had a good rep.

[PaulThePlug]

From a quick google the Hosco is 20mm spacing... Whats is the string spacing like at the end of the fret board? Is the bridge moving the strings over?

As for the pickup. Presuming Split P,  If all good of the end of the neck perhaps the lower half of the pick up needs moving up or down, Any wriggle room? perhaps its down to the pickup holes in the scratchplate. May be a different plate will help more with the alignment over the poles.

Any pics of the end of the neck / pickups / bridge?

Edited February 7, 2021 by PaulThePlug

[Dan Dare]

The Gotoh 203 is my favourite BBOT (BBOB, to be accurate as it's brass). The bass plate is flat, although it curves up at the back end more than the typical BBOT, probably because the metal is a little thicker. 7 hole fixing, too, so a little more secure. Watch out for the supplied screws, though. Make sure you drill the correct size screw holes and don't use too much force whilst tightening. You can torque the heads off them (guess how I know).