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Your favourite bits of hardware?


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What are everyone's favourite pieces of hardware to use when building a bitzer or upgrading an existing bass — or hardware that came on a bass you bought.

Mine are:

Gotoh GB 640 tuners — These look like standard 50s Fender tuners but don't turn the wrong way, are precision engineered, don't require dimples to be drilled into the back of the headstock, and are super lightweight. They also look super cool on my vintage pro thunderbirds.

EMG Geezer butler precision pickup — Super easy to install with the included pots & socket, Passive so no batteries, and makes a bass with a 'P' route sound exactly how I think a good Precsion should sound.

Fender High mass bridge — My favourite of the badass look-a-likes, nice and afforable at around £30, and uses brass saddles as opposed to standard zinc or whatever saddles of a badass. I tested both bridges on my '81 P and I preferred the tone with the Fender bridge, however I may have imagined the difference!

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For US Fender Precisions & Jazzes

KiOgon loom

Fender Custom Shop 62 Pickups

Fender Stealth A String Retainer

Hipshot Drop D Extender

For non US Fender Precisions & Jazzes

KiOgon loom

Fender Custom Shop 62 or Tonerider Pickups

Gotoh 201B bridge

Hipshot 3-way String Retainer

Edited by Lozz196
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9 hours ago, Jean-Luc Pickguard said:

Gotoh GB 640 tuners — These look like standard 50s Fender tuners but don't turn the wrong way, are precision engineered, don't require dimples to be drilled into the back of the headstock, and are super lightweight. They also look super cool on my vintage pro thunderbirds.

I got some of these to replace the reverse-wind tuners on my MIJ  ‘62 reissue JB. Direct replacement and a perfect fit with the existing screw holes. Well engineered and now I don’t get confused when tuning the damn thing. 😂

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It’s funny that I took the hip shot D-tuners off all but one of the basses I had them on as I never used them as much as I expected to. In a previous band I used to drop down for one note in the middle of one song, but the rest of the time they just sat there making my headstock heavier. My only five string is for sale on commission in a shop for the same reason. I have kept a lollipop D-tuner on the fretless precision bitza I built though mainly as it looks cool with the other lollipop hipshot tuners on that bass.

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I have Drop-D tuners on a couple, don't use them much, but they're there just in case   I love Dunlop Straploks.

[Edit]. While I put Dunlops on every bass, I feel that D-tuners aren't appropriate on every bass.  I would have never considered putting them on a Rickenbacker or one of my old Thunderbirds, just wrong.  Spector yes, my old Aria-P, yep, my Hamers?  Nooooo.

Edited by NancyJohnson
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59 minutes ago, Doctor J said:

The two-piece Deviser bridge. Beautifully designed, superbly engineered, entirely solid.

 

3419F13E-5546-4FAC-9113-39FB7FC9A67F.jpeg

That's an interesting one! Looks like it uses the Warwick tailpiece, and the saddles look very much like those used on ABM Mueller bridges (like the monorail headless bridge I posted above). Looks nice, I like the look of a 2-piece bridge. The ones used by Mayones and Jerzy Drozd also look very appealing, and match well with the overall design of their basses. 

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This isn't something I intended and I've never bought a bass for the hardware, but. . . . . .  I've had Dunlop and Allparts (rebadged Dunlop) strap locks on all my basses since the mid 90's. Hipshot tuners since 2003 and Hipshot A bridges since 2011.

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Hipshot D tuners. Had one on a jazz bass for playing a few songs so when the jazz got traded in against a Stingray the Stingray got one! 

I'd want a Badass bridge on a jazz bass. I loved the extra zing I got from mine (please don't pile on telling me I'm imagining it, if I am then great, if I'm not, Greater still). 

Bartolini jazz pups. I butchered some into a Mex jazz I had, two bridge sized pups in to the same bass because it was a 90s Mex jazz with the same size route for each. Gave a really nice sophisticated sound to the bass. I've got a gig recording where I play a Sire V7 most the time and the Bart loaded jazz for one or two numbers and there is a difference I can notice at least and I find it very pleasing. 

I'm LOVING the DiMarzio model P pickup in my bitsa. It is classic P bass. So much so that I'm thinking of getting rid of my jazz and replacing with a P, though I've already got that in my Bitsa... 

Kiogon wiring looms. I've got one in my Kramer fretless, it has simply "turbo charged" the most budget bass I have. The bass has sentimental value and I still gig it, now with this mod it sounds amazing even with the stock cheap pups. I have a Kiogon loom in my Aria SB Elite too, its brought a new dimension to that bass and gives an extra coil switching option that the original never had. I've also got a Kiogon loom in my Bitsa, easy install and workings, powerful output, essential item! 

Edited by uk_lefty
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