Bass One Basses
5/5
Having been a Custom Luthier of Ergonomically-Enhanced, and Tonally-Enhanced Basses for over 30 years, I've always used Hipshot products on my high-end projects and they've always been the cream of the crop! The Ultralite Tuners had me hooked at first, and now I'm hooked on the Hipshot D style 2-Piece Bridge and Tailpiece. I'm very tonally sensitive, having Perfect-Pitch and Synesthesia, (the condition that makes one see colors when they hear sounds). I've used other surface-mount Bridges (to include the Hipshot type A and B style, and single string Bridges as well) with great success, and I've also used Alembic and JayDee style Bridges with separate tail pieces in the past with good success as well. However, in my honest opinion I've experienced mechanical and tonal advantages that this bridge offers that I've not experienced with other bridges, regardless of their configuration. For example, the Alembic bridge was mounted on a brass block which SEPARATED the vibration of the strings FROM the woods used in the construction of their basses. With the Hipshot D-Style Bridge, the threaded inserts that mount into the body of the Bass allow the bridge to extract (mirror and project) the vibration of the blends of the woods used in the body construction, making the Basses tonal sensitivities come to the forefront in organic, rich tones.
As far as the mechanical advantages of this Bridge: This Bridge is Rock-Solid, with no unwanted string noise or sympathetic vibrations coming from the bridge saddles, (which is a BIG DEAL, when you construct High-End Multi-Stringed Instruments)! The mounting of this Bridge was amazingly easy. The tailpieces were machined to the exact same string width as the bridges, which results in perfect string alignment once they are mounted properly. Setting the intonation on this bridge was surprisingly easy. With many years of experience (and some custom, handcrafted Bass One Basses to measure from,) I measured the distance from the zero fret on my custom basses to each string saddle with basses that had perfect intonation. From there I simply mirrored those distances prior to the installation of the Hipshot D-Style Bridge, by moving the string saddles forward or backward as necessary, adjusting the string saddles to identically the same measurements as the other Bass. Once that was done, I mounted the Hipshot D-Style Bridge, and the intonation on my Basses were perfect!
Setting the height adjustment was a breeze as well. I set the Bridge height via the threaded insert mounts so that the strings barely touched the 24th fret on my Basses. Then I individually raised each string saddle to the tolerances I keep on my instruments. The basses play perfectly in tune, with great low action, beautifully comfortable string tension, and organic tonal resonances that I've not experienced with other bridges!
FIVE STARS HIPSHOT! - Dr. Duane Greene, Bass One Basses, " The Synergy of Beauty, Ergonomics, and Tone".
