Payson Bridge Conversion on a Dingwall Bass

[WHUFC BASS]

Has anybody done a Payson bridge conversion on a Chinese Dingwall bass? These bridges are standard fitment on the Canadian build basses but on the Chinese basses the individual saddles tend to be sharp and obtrusive for some playing styles.

 

Is it a straight swap? Is there any drilling required at all and was it worth the money? (they ain't cheap!)

[Hellzero]

It's been done on an NG3 for sale here:

 

 

[MichaelDean]

As far as I'm aware from a Dingwall FB group, it's a straight swap. There was a gap over the grounding hole on earlier versions but I think @Bass Direct's current stock covers the hole. I've been very tempted myself.

[WHUFC BASS]

I did look at the Bass Direct Payson bridges and I must admit that it is tempting.

[Bass Direct]

10 hours ago, WHUFC BASS said:

I did look at the Bass Direct Payson bridges and I must admit that it is tempting.

They are rather good  

 

[neepheid]

I'm finding this hard to wrap my head around.  Even the import Dingwalls are far from cheap - why is there even an issue?  Basses in this price range frankly should be so good from the factory that there shouldn't be a need for aftermarket anything as far as I'm concerned.

 

Help me out here, I just don't get it!

[MichaelDean]

The bridge was a Hipshot part. It's a decent product, but it's got a sharp edge which only becomes an issue when palm muting. I'd say it's equivalent to using a tunomatic bridge on a Les Paul comfort wise. It's ok, but it could be more comfortable. For 2025, they've reworked the bridge entirely into somethig more like their Canadian models and will be doing an aftermarket upgrade for existing users should they want to. When I bought my Combustion, it was £1350. Not cheap, but not the prices they command now. I feel like the hardware is catching up to the price point now.

 

[WHUFC BASS]

2 hours ago, neepheid said:

I'm finding this hard to wrap my head around.  Even the import Dingwalls are far from cheap - why is there even an issue?  Basses in this price range frankly should be so good from the factory that there shouldn't be a need for aftermarket anything as far as I'm concerned.

 

Help me out here, I just don't get it!

 

Agreed but it's not just Dingwall who've done this. Spector's fanfret Dimension bass, which is a similar price has similar individual bridge mounts which although not as extreme as the Dingwall offering, aren't as high quality as the Payson or even their own standard bridges.

[MichaelDean]

I think part of the problem is not wanting to necessarily pay for the tooling to create a bespoke bridge for what might (at least in Spector's case) be a niche seller. Dingwall seem to be going great guns so it has made sense to create something. There aren't a lot of off the shelf options for single bridges either and I'm guessing Babicz pricing might price them out of being used more widely as it squeezes the margin just that bit more.

[acidbass]

I'd like to make this same mod on my NG3 5 string, but I think BD only have the bridges in black.  I'd love one in chrome.  Time to email Payson I guess!

[MichaelDean]

@acidbass - you might be SOL there. They only seem to do them in black on their own website and seem to use Babicz solo rails on their own basses.

[JazzyJ]

On 20/05/2025 at 10:24, MichaelDean said:

For 2025, they've reworked the bridge entirely into somethig more like their Canadian models and will be doing an aftermarket upgrade for existing users should they want to. 

 

I believe that the body will require routing to accommodate the new Dingwall 'minimalist' bridge.

I fitted the early Payson bridge to a NG3, which didn't entirely cover the earth wire rout. A grommet was supplied to fill the gap which was just about acceptable.

As mentioned above, the current Payson bridges do not have this issue.

[Machines]

I fitted one to a Combustion 5. They are definitely an improvement on the stock bridges, but I felt the design was a little off (e.g. very close to body edge on B side) as well as the semi-visible routing hole where ground wire emerges seemed odd to have not designed away by after test fits.