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moanjam

Well-known member
Joined
May 12, 2007
Messages
105
Hey guys. I have a 2005 Sterling H with the current bridge and I've always wanted to compare it to one of the earlier Sterlings with the Felt Mute bridge. I am thinking that it will have a bit more sustain since there's more mass/bridge area connecting to the body (I also think the Felt Mute bridge just looks awesome - to me, that's part of the Music Man "look" - like a vintage Stingray). :)

For those of you who have tried both bridges, what are you thoughts on them as far as tone is concerned? Is there a big difference? Also, what about stringing and string alignment? I believe the older bridges have the string angled slightly or no? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance! :D
 

Golem

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Joined
Aug 30, 2005
Messages
2,214
Location
My Place
`

Since my SR4s have various strings, I mean why own multiples of
the same bass and then string them up all alike ??? .... this is just
one person's very unscientific observation. My SR4 with the larger
bridge plate has no noticeable difference in sustain. Maybe it's the
fact that the increased area is at the 'front' where there's no extra
mounting screws [the mute screws do not press the bridge against
the body at all] .... or maybe it just doesn't make any difference. I
do bleeb that I WOULD notice if one ax had more sustain than any
other, cuz I'd then hafta engage even more sustain-reducing tricks
on THAT ax than on any others. Yup, you read that right, I always
seek LESS sustain, often a lot less :-/
 
Last edited:

oli@bass

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Joined
Jul 23, 2007
Messages
4,272
Location
Switzerland
IMO, there's no noticeable different in sustain from the bridge alone.

However, it's hard to tell because from vintage to modern instruments there's many details changed (bridge, nut, neck construction, fretboard radius, neck attachment truss-rod, body woods) and no two instruments sound identical anyway (even if built side by side according to the exactly same specs). So you might run into some instruments that sound much different to yours, but it's not necessarily because of the bridge.

Regarding string alignment: The vintag bridge is inferior. And the angle in the string can get annoying depending on set up, because the string might have the tendency to slip out of the saddle groove if you play hard. However, the new Classics, and the instruments with the "Flea" bridge (ca. 1995) don't have that problem and you might want to give some of them a try.
 
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