Babicz FCH-3 bass bridge installation, comparison & review

Babicz FCH-3 bass bridge installation, comparison & review - Epiphone Rumblekat short scale bass

Рет қаралды 1,462

Jonathan Wong 458 Music

Күн бұрын

Пікірлер: 41

@pacree 3 ай бұрын

Hands down, that Babicz kicks the three point bridge's ass. Thanks for posting!

@jonathanwong458music 3 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching!

@georgegandara6054 3 ай бұрын

Hi Jonathan....always something to be learned!!! 👍🇨🇱🇨🇦

@jonathanwong458music 3 ай бұрын

Thanks so much for watching!

@MrSparks54 3 ай бұрын

I couldn't tell as much difference on the neck p/u as much as the middle p/u which is considerably more noticeable to my geezerly ears. Having played bass since 1969, I really dislike Gibson/Epiphone 3 point bridge design and has kept me from buying one over the years before alternatives were available. The Babicz really makes a difference. I am thinking about tryiing the Babicz "cam" style bridge on one of my Fender J basses. Thanks Jonathan!

@jonathanwong458music 3 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching! I have been hesitant to try Babicz bridges on my Fenders, mostly because of how they look (I know,.... superficial!). I much prefer the 'vintage threaded saddle'-type bridges on Fenders. But it's a subtle difference, at best. Yeah! With the middle pickup, the Babicz was bigger and louder! No level matching in this video! I'm split whether this is actually 'better' though.....sounds less like a Gibson bass to me. Still a good sound, though.

@kevinturvey8213 11 күн бұрын

i put a hipshot on my epiphone eb - 0. a very easy and worthwhile upgrade, especially for intonation

@jonathanwong458music 11 күн бұрын

Solid. Right on! Thanks for watching!

@TedParnell-Best-rt5er 3 ай бұрын

Great video, Jon! The replacement bridge definitely made the tone “speak“more as you pointed out a more varied mid range, and there’s no question about the advantages to more precise intonation

@jonathanwong458music 3 ай бұрын

Thanks so much for watching! Yes, intonation is so important.

@sethbrown8912 3 ай бұрын

I suggest that you go back and try to use the shim instead of the washers. You may be surprised that it fits perfectly and makes "contact" with the top of that slight curve on the top of your bass. I put one on my Jack Casady bass using the shim plate. Perfect and easy fit. Now the action on my JC is incredible. If it fits with the shim you will definitely hear the difference. That was my experience. Great review. Great sound and camera work!

@jonathanwong458music 3 ай бұрын

Right on! Setup was a breeze with the Babicz. Did it change the tone on your Cassidy? Thanks for watching!

@jonathanwong458music 3 ай бұрын

That’s an interesting suggestion! Thanks!

@sethbrown8912 3 ай бұрын

@@jonathanwong458music Yes, there was a slight change in tone. I would describe it as more compressed. The bass does have more sustain (very subjective!! They never really do 😊) and is more focused in the lower range and on low E string. I think this pays off if the E is tuned to a Drop-D. Try that plate sometime when you change strings. You are doing very well with this channel. The live drums are the special sauce!

@jonathanwong458music 3 ай бұрын

@@sethbrown8912 thanks so much for the encouragement!

@StevenDoyleLuke 3 ай бұрын

To my ears . . . huge change, well described by you. That being said, in general I believe bridges make a tonal difference. Thanks for doing this.

@jonathanwong458music 3 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching! Yes, bridges make a difference, sometimes not for the better! I went into this one unsure because I knew the Babicz was not going to sit flush with the curved top - so it would still be semi-suspended by the same 3 points. Presumably the difference in materials and by the end windings not sitting on the saddles made up the audible difference.

@ue4058 3 ай бұрын

Very thorough, as always!

@jonathanwong458music 3 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching and for the encouragement!

@CommunRyder 2 ай бұрын

As mentioned, the stock bridge's attack (especially on the E string) is smoother than the Babicz. The player does not attack the strings hard and the sound demo of the Babicz almost distort when hitting that low note on the E string.

@jonathanwong458music 2 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching and for sharing your thoughts!

@gaoldias 3 ай бұрын

Hi Jonathan. If you wanted to keep the tonality that you had with the stock bridge, you might try adjusting the pickup height and/or trying a different string type and gauge. Just a thought. Excellent review and demo, as always.

@jonathanwong458music 3 ай бұрын

Absolutely! Great thoughts. I mentioned towards the end that I would indeed change the setup. But for a fair comparison, I made the setup the same for both bridges. Next video will be flatwounds on this Rumblekat! Thanks for watching!

@gaoldias 3 ай бұрын

@@jonathanwong458music Looking forward to hearing the flats!

@jonathanwong458music 3 ай бұрын

I haven't quite yet decided whether to put Thomastiks or GHS flats on. Maybe both!

@ABetterShreveport Ай бұрын

I like your emphasis on the facts and what seems to me avoidance of unsupported opinion. Interestingly, I play a Woody Allen Epi bass, so all of this measuring and general info was germane to me. I think it has a solid old-school sound. It's not versatile. But the Gibson sound is rich and deep. Previously I got rid of a Hofner Ignition bass because its sound was not as thick and rich as the Epiphone. But I overlooked a factor: guitar weight. The Epi is not light. The Hofner is perfectlu light. I think I see that I can get a deeper Hofner sound. The Epi has sweet-looking color and detail. Love it. But my current goal is to get another Igni†ion Hofner and modify the pickup. And trade off the Epi. Would you mind showing me how to get the Epi sonic depth in a Hofner? One basic step I already know: adjust my amp to beef up the Hofner sound. But I'd to get a thick sound from the bass itself.

@jonathanwong458music Ай бұрын

Thanks for watching! Here are some video links you may find interesting: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nqC0q2d5ipmnjs0 kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y6HbgGSOodSfoKs I am not confident I can truly answer your question, but I can try. German Hofner pickups may help, but I think pickup placement is of more value here. Let me explain: The neck pickup on the Rumblekat was not my favourite. It had a less coherent tone that was not woody (no pun intended), colourful nor particularly deep. Perhaps the fact that it is semi-hollow plays a detrimental role here. Not sure. But the neck pickup did not sound like a Hofner. If you measure it, the pickup placement is not the same as the neck p/u on a Hofner and pickup placement has a huge influence on the tone. On the Rumblekat, the middle pickup is where it shines, in my opinion. The Hofners are sort of a one trick pony for many people. The bridge pickup, for me, is pretty useless as it is so far back by the bridge. Not a lot of string orbit back there. **If you are looking for a more Epi Rumblekat tone from a Hofner, I think you need to look at the Cavern models. Like the Epi, it has a middle pickup and I think that pickup position is much more useful than the bridge position. If they made a Contemporary series Club bass with this pickup placement, I'd rather it than what I have. They make an Ignition series Cavern violin bass though! Blending both of those pickups may give you more variety and depth of tone. I hope that sort of answers your question! Best of luck to you!

@Nikosi9 3 ай бұрын

So, since you have to use washers, the full-contact bridge is actually a multi-point bridge. Same as you started out with. The bridge should have been made to conform to the curves on the top of the bass.I kinda like the sound of the original a bit more, but I'm not there in 3-D....

@jonathanwong458music 3 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching! You are 100% correct, it's not a 'full contact' bridge on this bass. It would be on an SG or a thunderbird or anything with a flat top. The Rumblekat has a curved top side to side and back to front and I don't think there are other production Epiphones with the same angles. Likely not cost effective for a bridge company to machine something custom for a curved top bass. Tonally, I'm split. But I do like that the string end windings no longer sit on top of the saddles! Thanks for commenting!

@Nikosi9 3 ай бұрын

@@jonathanwong458music Thanks for the reply. I think a more malleable metal that would eventually conform to the top, due to the downward pressure of the strings, is possible. But, you are correct. It would probably be cost-prohibitive and the ratio to flat-tops to curved would not make it worthwhile... Good video...

@jonathanwong458music 3 ай бұрын

I wonder if aluminum would potentially be a good metal for conforming to a top? A conforming bridge is a really interesting idea.

@adambilge2834 3 ай бұрын

Stock or Babicz I like the middle PU, don't like the neck PU. Babicz middle PU sounds almost P Bass.

@jonathanwong458music 3 ай бұрын

Yeah!! I agree. The middle pickup on the Rumblekat is where this bass shines the most. It has a great punchy midrange! The neck pickup is ok, but lacks some note definition. In my initial review video, both pickups together was muddy and ill-defined. Thanks for watching!