metal vs. wood bridge materials

[mellowgerman]

Since the rosewood vs. brass bridge vs. plastic saddle factor has been discussed here at LTG several times, here's a cool exploration into that general topic (though no Guilds being used):

 

[mellowgerman]

I'm not sure I agree with Gregor, regarding the materials not making a difference in the studio. I did hear a slight difference on my mediocre office computer speakers. I think it would have been useful to know the signal chain and what kind of post-production was applied... i.e. the amp or preamp being used could color the sound to some degree that covers up the true character of the bass more than another amp or preamp might. Also, how much compression was introduced in the recording chain?
Final variable I thought of is the fact that one of the bridges is string-through and the other is a top-loader. I've never really been convinced that this makes a ton of difference (as many marketing materials and forum discussions suggest), but it's worth mentioning.
A friend of mine once sent me two recordings of his Starfire bass, one with rosewood saddles and one with brass saddles. Though the difference in the recordings was minimal, I was able to identify which was which. Kind of surprised myself as I wasn't 100% certain, but there was a detectable difference.
I love my Starfire as is (with rosewood saddles), but if I had a convenient chance to try the brass saddles, I certainly would (mental slip: I actually typed that out "I certainly wood" then had to correct it). Furthermore, I didn't find my early 1966 Starfire to be obviously lacking in the tone/resonance department, even though it had the original black plastic saddles.
Not sure why many of us obsess so much over the tiny details that may or may not be moot points, but I do know I enjoy the discussion! What do you guys think?

 

[hieronymous]

I thought that was a cool video - I appreciated the fact that he was willing to question his own assumptions. Personally, I didn't really hear much difference, I think my ears aren't that attuned to stuff like that, and I wasn't really going to go back and listen again and again to try and hear a difference. I find that stuff like that can be really subjective and hard to quantify with recordings.

My (Ale)M-85 has wooden saddles - I think one is a replacement. I bought some brass ones that someone was selling here a few years ago but haven't had them installed yet. I'm wondering if the wood saddles are "poingier" - how's that for a scientific term? - than the metal ones would be. The harp bridge is such a weird design, but it works. I should look into seeing how much it would cost for Alembic to make a bridge (and tailpiece) for this bass. Would definitely need to do before and after recordings for that!

 

[Happy Face]

I put a Starfire all-metal reissue tailpiece on my Guilembric which is a half way step.

Recall that someone here has a Starfire with an Alembic-style bridge & tailpiece.

 

[mgod]

Edwin does.

 

[mgod]

BTW - my Lesh M85 came with brass blocks that RT hand cut in pre-Alembic days. When we transitioned that bass to prototype his nylon string approach, we put the blocks on my primary Starfire, along with the pickups. So I’ve used it with the brass for the last 30 years.

I can’t say I’ve ever cared to do a careful study of the difference, but I sure do love it.

 

[Minnesota Flats]

I have stock rosewood saddles on my NS SF1, brass blocks on my NS SF2 and stock metal (steel? brass?) barrels on my Westerly SF2. Both of the NS ones are loaded with BiSonics and sound pretty close (aside from the SF2 having a broader tonal palette due to the extra pup). The Westerly is loaded with Guild Buckers and sounds pretty different: I would characterize it as "more woody" maybe.

Love 'em all.

 

[hieronymous]

I realized that basically I tend to work within the limitations of each instrument rather than try and make it do something it's not already doing. So of course, do what it takes to take care of problems - like my M-85 has a dead spot on the G string at the 7th fret, but a Fat Finger solved that. But until one of the rosewood saddles breaks, I don't see myself installing the metal ones.

Another thing about the video - I thought it was interesting how some people felt that the metal bridge sounded more "compressed" - I can't hear that at all - I can't even really hear an electronic compressor working unless it's compressing too much.