OffsetGuitars.com

Hey all,

I've been looking through various bridges for the Bass VI for a while now and was a bit frustrated by the various downsides. I contacted John at StayTrem (http://www.staytrem.com) to see if he might be up for giving us a better solution for our instruments. StayTrem has produced a really nice mustang saddle Jag/JM bridge with some modifications. You can check that out here:
http://staytrem.com/epages/950002362.sf ... r_bridge1
John immediately replied and has been extremely helpful and willing to try and help us out. With his permission, I've gone to the OSG forums to get a general consensus on what exactly would help us VI-ers out the most. This is our chance to work with a manufacturer and get a bridge done just right.

So, John has some questions he'd like us to weigh in on. He is also up for suggestions, so if you have an idea for something that you think would really help with VI intonation and playability, please comment away. Seriously.

Would it be best to have the channel at 1" wide?
If the Mustang bridge is often used and the string spacing is the same at 55mm (2.16"), if so are there any issues with this, would it be better at a different spacing?
Also weigh in on what fretboard radius you'd like to see.

The way this works is that I'm going to give him the URL to this thread so he can see details, suggestions, and comments. After all this, my understanding is that he's going to see what he can build and, hopefully, have something for sale from StayTrem.

This is our chance, guys and gals. Comment away!

It's great that he's open to doing this... I recently got one of his replacement bridges for my Squier VM Jaguar, and it's far better than the stock bridge. Even my guitar tech strongly agreed. I have no doubt that a Bass VI replacement bridge would be high in quality. I don't have a Bass VI, so I don't know what the stock bridge is like, what its inherent issues are, etc. The Jaguar's and Jazzmaster's bridges' issues are well-enough known.

As for radius, I would just have him match it to whatever the radius is on the Bass VI. I got a 9.5-inch for my Jaguar because the VMs have that radius...

There is a person on here that makes batches of correct Bass VI bridges from time to time. He sells them in the "for sale" section, which you can access after fifty 'good' posts.

Not to say that getting a regular commercial builder to make them wouldn't be bad-- but the Bass VI is a rare bird, so not too many are willing to invest the time & money needed to build them.

Yeah, I understand. I'm just doing my best to pursue every open door. A publicly available bridge made to address some of the Bass VI's current bridge frustrations seems like a good thing. I am just trying to help. If people don't want to chime in and help, that's okay too.

i'd be interested in this for sure

BlixaFan wrote:i'd be interested in this for sure

x2.

My CS model has a 7.25" radius. It is well known that the CS models don't have the "correct" bridge (I actually have to turn it backwards to get the intonation right), so a solution that is more true to the vintage specs would be really cool. Vintage bridges pop up on eBay from time to time, but I haven't seen them go for less than $200.

So, yeah, basically something like this, but perhaps with Mustang saddles (with wider threads to accommodate the thicker strings) would be awesome!

Thanks for the input, guys. A bit of a shame we didn't get more comments and suggestions, but I appreciate those of you that did. We'll see what becomes of this. Maybe we'll have a commercially available alternative bridge for us VI'ers.

Definitely 1" wide - I had that on my MIJ VI and certainly had no issues with intonation.

SalsaDestroyer wrote:Thanks for the input, guys. A bit of a shame we didn't get more comments and suggestions, but I appreciate those of you that did. We'll see what becomes of this. Maybe we'll have a commercially available alternative bridge for us VI'ers.

Let's hope so. I'd also be happy to place a custom order for a VI bridge.

Well, I'm down for one, myself. I'm not sure about specs, but it looks like the 1" wide idea has gone down pretty well. I just emailed Roberto (motel_asimov) to ask about his maker. I'm thinking that the 55mm string spacing would be good for me, as well.
Here's Robertos picture of the bridge he had made in Nicaragua.

I just got one of his Mustang bridges in for a project. It's really nice, I'm thoroughly impressed with it. Seems to me like just making the same bridge only with a 1" wide channel would be perfect.

Bump! Considering the ongoing "Bass VI renaissance" (the PS models), this would be really interesting, and very handy.

Interested in this as well.

I'll copy this post I made on a different thread. If y'all are interested (as I am), I suggest emailing Staytrem to remind them that there are more people interested now.

SalsaDestroyer wrote:Our best options are either Motel_Asimov (missing in action for a while) or the guys at StayTrem. A while back, I started a thread asking for what Bass VI users would like to see in a bridge made by StayTrem. The guys at StayTrem were going to see if they could accommodate us with a nice bridge for Bass VI users.

My suggestion is to go to the StayTrem site and email them if they could make a 1" bridge version of their StayTrem bridge for both 7.25" and 9.25" radius necks. I'm sure they'd like to know of an increased demand.

Contact info can be found here:
http://staytrem.com/epages/950002362.sf ... es/Imprint

I've already been in contact with them months ago, so join the party and shoot them an email.

Krayuns wrote:Bump! Considering the ongoing "Bass VI renaissance" (the PS models), this would be really interesting, and very handy.

You're right - this certainly could be a good time for a company to run off a few hundred 1" wide bridges to sell to people who are buying the new Pawnshop VIs.