I think that sustain is mainly from the initially design. You can’t really get more sustain nor would you want to get more sustain from a Holfner or a Rickie as their signature tone is so attractive.
I like different bridge mainly for the look and feel. Babicz is just round and curves, feels so great when palm mute the string.
And it will probably go on long after I’ve ceased to go on as well. Every guitar and bass is a “system” for producing sound. No part of one is unimportant. Everything matters. It’s just a matter of to what degree. If we can just accept that all of these debates would grind to a halt…but that won’t happen either. It would be too boring…LOL
And that may be a matter of perspective too… 
Agreed. The basic voice of a Hofner is very distinctive. Same with a Ricky. Even the way we approach playing a Hofner would likely be much different than other basses.
So for you it’s more often about aesthetics and feel more so than tonality or mechanical convenience? Would that be a fair way to put it?
Well yes as there’s little difference in tone and sound. Some bridge like the Fender Elite bridge is just superb, super easy to use and set intonation. Schallar offers adjustable string spacing, Rivera for headless is just so so damn smooth and light. RayRoss just looks so good and sound different but it’s a Pain to make adjustment but you only do that once or twice well maybe three times.
I wonder if there’s some real objective data as to the difference between high mass bridges and regular “stock” bridges vs babicz type regarding tone/sustain etc. I know there are probably some quantifiable characteristics that are different. But to my ear, I just don’t hear that much difference with the “high mass bridges”. Especially, in normal playing conditions. I’ve got a few high mass ones from all the usual sources. What I find with those is that it’s hard for me to get the guitar set up the way I want. With the high mass bridges, it seems like the strings are always a little higher than I want, even on lowest saddle settings. This is with the truss rod appropriately set. For this reason, I’ve kinda moved away from putting them on as upgrades.
As for babicz, I have no personal experience with those.
That “we” incudes the vast, overwhelming majority of us, but… 
MusicMan bridge is one of the beefiest bridge I use in conjunction with the 6 bolt (modern 5 bolt) neck it’s solid. That said there’s no comparison to the neck through Stingray. So much so that I had to switch to Tapewound to tame that extra sustain, 
The RayRoss design is intriguing in the way of “now for something completely different”. I can see how the intonation is adjusted but how does one adjust the saddle heights?
Hey, cool! Did we start another sustain discussion? So, we established that beefy MusicMan bridge and the 6 bolt (modern 5 bolt) neck adds sustain?!?!?!
Shall we talk about our nuts too? Anybody has anything to say about his nuts?
Equally awesome as well as pain in the a$$. Let’s get the bad out of the way. whatever you want to do you “must” relief the string tension, yes it’s something we should do to all bridge adjustments but I don’t know of one who does,
There’s a round disc with notch to it and you just stick a pin or provided tool and turn. It’s kinda like the truss rod wheel in vertical position. Another note you need to make is it saves you about an inch of string so practically your string starts at the intonation point. You need a shorter string than you normally need.
This is another bridge I really love. A very unique high mass single bridge.
A couple of features of the Babicz FCH Bridge I find very useful are the ability to lower the action more via the adjustable ECams than I can with any bridge using more conventional saddles which rest on those two grub screws. The angle of the string from saddle to nut is also more of a level plain than higher at the bridge. But that may also be dependent on the bass it’s mounted on. Mine are typical CV Jazz and PBasses.
The ability to lock the saddles in place also helps save time since intonation and saddle height will not change if using the same strings. This may be more helpful on guitars when strings are changed more often but I find it no less helpful on bass when I’m restringing with the same ones I’ve always used on that bass.
It’s also not a “high mass” bridge from a standpoint of weight. The material is aircraft aluminum. At 3.7 ozs it’s actually lighter than many other bridges. Babicz also offers both brass and stainless steel ECams in place of the stock steel versions.
I don’t believe anyone has published any quantifiable studies of the tonal differences between the various bridge designs. We’re more dependent on judging the physics behind each one and our own judgement as to whether or not we can 'hear" or “feel” any differences. I feel it’s very subjective as to whether or not someone gains enough to justify the cost of most any modification. I make those I believe do gain something and tend to stick with them. Babicz Bridges are one I have stuck with.
Yes and it looks so cool too. You do it manually but it feels like hydraulic.
Yeah, the only draw back is the mounting screw is underneath all and in order to mount the bridge you have to pretty much take out all of the saddles. Which mean each time you have to redo the intonation. Do that a few times you’ll be the expert at doing it.
Only that none of mine are not brass. 
So the height adjustment works in a similar fashion to the intonation adjustment correct? The saddles sit on disc that’s threaded and can be rotated to raise or lower the saddle? I guess we can still use the term saddle when it reality it’s more of a post like a tuning post.
Since the string lengths manufacturers use are typically based on standard top load or string through versions does that cause any issues with the length of a long scale E string in terms of the silk winding around the tuning post? What strings and/or string lengths do you use?
I have RayRoss on maybe 5 of my basses, I usually use long scale but when I remember I’d order standard. it’s just an inch and a half shorter.
Maybe I misunderstand you here. You have to remove that saddles to remove or install the bridge. That’s true. But not to adjust the intonation. Unless you mean the FCH-AM version. The top load FCH version doesn’t require removing the saddles.
Yes only when you install and uninstall the bridge. Intonation can be made on the fly.
By the way speaking of the bridge. I just posted this the RayRoss definitely very sparkly and deep even on a cheapo and guitar pickup no less. It can stand up agains the big girls.
Always nice to have discussions of various hardware options to make others aware of the aftermarket bridges available. It’s interesting to explore the paths that have been taken to improve upon the original bent steel bridges on Fenders first basses.
As usual how much is gained by any of them and in what manner is both subjective and based on personal perceptions and costs also vary quite a bit. Hopefully this thread has given some insight to others about some of the bridge modifications that can be made.
