Bridges, Tuners & Knobs
Use this tip sheet if you need to need to figure out whether your Ultralights are the version known as 3/8” or 1/2”. There are a couple methods: Remove a tuner and measure the hole that was drilled in the headstock. a 3/8” tuner will have a hole that is 9/16” in diameter a 1/2” … Read more
The following tuners; HB1, HB2, HB3, and HB7 cover several of the harder to identify vintage style tuners found on many of the world’s basses. Whether you are trying to replace the regular tuners or need to identify which detuner to get for your bass, these diagrams will be of help. Typically, just checking the … Read more
Measure from the center of the highest string to the center of the lowest string over the saddles. In the example shown, starting at 100mm and ending at 157mm, the string spacing is about 57mm total. Most commonly, the measurement is given in the string-to-string spacing by bridge manufacturers. It is most accurate to take … Read more
Periodically we get questions asking what certain areas of a guitar body are called, so we put together a quick set of photos as a reference. Below: Top body overall view Below: Top view, forearm contour. Below: Top view, lower bout. Below: Top view, upper bout. Below: Top view, treble side lower bout. Below: Top … Read more
One particular set of RotoSound brand strings BBG carries is the Tru Bass 88, available in 4, 5 or 6 string in scale lengths of short, medium, long and extra long in a variety of thicknesses. What makes the 88 set stand out is the fact the string is black nylon flatwound. What is the … Read more
Max Kay’s nephew Jeremy Kay makes an appearance in a Reverb video (seen below) describing how to get that beloved Motown bass tone played by bass great James Jamerson. Something very important to note in the video is that Motown did not use amplifiers for studio recordings. What they used was their version of a … Read more
The Fender Jazz Bass was originally introduced in 1960 as the “Deluxe” model, and shortly afterward renamed to “Jazz Bass”. From ’60 to ’62, this bass featured stacked knob controls. The chrome upper portion is the volume control and the black lower is the tone control. What came after the stacked knob controls is what’s … Read more
While BBG does carry plenty of upgrade options for Fender bass instruments such as the Precision Bass and Jazz Bass, we also receive questions as to whether there are any upgrades that will fit into a Jackson bass. Answer: Yes. Pickups Generally speaking, the pickup size that will fit most 4-string Jackson basses is EMG35, … Read more
You would be surprised at how many bassists – even for ones that build basses – don’t always install strings correctly. It is common that many new bass players aren’t aware that on a slotted tuner (which accounts for most bass tuners,) you’re supposed to insert string straight down the center hole for use as … Read more
For those of you out there who don’t think that a light 30-90 set of bass strings would work for slap, the video below proves otherwise! But hang on, the video gets better than just demonstrating lighter strings. The video presenter even went so far as to demonstrate old strings first, then a new set … Read more
