| |||||||||||||||||||||
Custom modificationsScott Dasson Thunderbird bridge1960s Thunderbirds sometimes don't intonate as well as they might, and rather than relocate the lower bridge post as has often been done in the past, Scott Dasson designed a replacement bridge - keeping the look and fittings of the original, whilst increasing the range of saddle adjustment. The Dasson bridge is an excellent way to improve the playability of a 60s bird. It is completely reversible, requiring no modification to the instrument or original bridge. Compare the image below to an original 1960s Thunderbird bridge
Scott explains I have been playing Thunderbirds since '76 . I loved the sound and the feel of these basses but as my playing style progressed I found my self frustrated with the lack of intonation at the upper register. In the summer of 1983 I took a drawing of my solution to this problem to a friend of mine, Scott Gilbert who's dad owned a machine shop. He made me a bridge to my design. it was machined out of solid brass and a little crude in it's finish but it worked just as I hoped. The bridge was designed with extra travel for the saddles and installed on the original mounting studs. "Intonation without modifacation" became my mantra. I used this bridge on various Thunderbirds over the years but it was not until I joined the Dude Pit that people took a intrest in my little invention. With urging from other Thunderbird fans I have started to produce these and make them available to my fellow Thunderbird enthusiasts. The new Badbird or Dasson bridge as some have dubbed them are machined from a soild block of brass and nickel plated. Once installed it is very hard to tell that a replacment bridge has been installed on the bass. A big thrill for me came in the July '06 issue of Bass Player magazine. Tom Peterson of Cheap Trick is shown holding his Thunderbird in his lap with my Bridge installed ! A Friend of mine Andy Babuik of the Chesterfield Kings knows Tom and got the bridge to him. Tom has since sent me a autographed copy of the magazine with a very nice note about the bridge. Quite a thrill! The bridges are available for $189.00 US plus S&H I can be contacted by email at tbird66@rochester.rr.com Evan Webb three point bridge intonation mod barIntonation problems on Gibson basses are not just confined to the past. The silk windings on the ball-end of certain brands of string must not touch the bridge saddle, as this will affect proper string vibration, and intonation. This is not a problem with all strings, or basses that can be strung through the body, and sometimes cutting back the windings can be enough to prevent this. Sometimes this isn't the case. Luckliy engineer Evan Webb has come up with a simple and inexpensive solution designed for the Gibson/Epiphone three-point bridge, allowing you to use the strings you want. This mod will work on all three-point bridges (in use by Gibson since 1973) but is not recommended for the earlier two point model (although we could certainly use one!)  Evan explainsThe Mod Bar was designed to fit under the 3 point Gibson and Epiphone bass guitar bridges. The bar is made from high grade polished 304 stainless steel bar stock that is 3/8 inch diameter. Its precision drilled to match the bridge string spacings. All you have to do is thread the strings through and tuck it under the string claw as seen in the photos. Tune up, intonate if needed and enjoy the new sound of your bass. The bar should be able to get the silk windings and/or rough end string construction out of the way and will prevent them from resting on the saddles. That alone gives you a better sound, but thats not all ! The heavy stainless steel bar increases the bridge mass by 1/4 its own weight and also makes a better string to bridge touch ratio. A big solid bar has way more surface contact then little ball ends of a bass string. With the extra mass is greater string to saddle pressure! The Mod Bar moves the string end at an increased downward angle and that will always equal better sound! The intonation bar is available directly from Evan or via ebay (see listings below). For more info, contact Evan at webbteca@earthlink.net |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
.jpg)
|
|
