Badass and TonePros….Related Science?
Forty plus years ago, two fellows named Leo Malliaras and Glen Quan started a company called Leo Quan, which became famous for producing the Badass series of bass bridges. Leo owned and operated Leo’s Music in Oakland California, and Glen was the sole creator of the Badass bridge. This product was designed primarily for Fender basses (Jazz and Precision) and Leo and Glen believed that by adding mass (weight) to the common factory bridges of the day, that the Badass would not lose as much of its energy to the guitar body. Note definition and sustain increased as well as the instruments overall punch. There also seemed to be more top end and an open-ness to the notes as the mass of these bridges combined with fewer contact points (no rollers) allowed the notes to ring.
Word of these bass bridges got around quickly and soon bass playes were switching their bridges for the Badass 1. Notable players including the likes of Marcus Miller and Geddy Lee had the Badass 2 installed on their Fender guitars. Geddy also had a Badass 1 installed on one of his Rickenbacker basses. The Badass 2 was created as a direct replacement for Fender basses. The Badass 3 came out sometime later to become a replacement for the newer Fender 3 hole mount bridges.
There was a lot of research and speculation back then as to what made instruments better, and the better the players became, the more they demanded from builders. Adding weight was a simple solution, particularly for bass guitars, but there were many products created back then to add weight to guitar headstocks as well, for much the same reason. In my opinion, the mass may have helped, but the bigger deal, was less moving parts. The more parts are allowed to move or vibrate on an instrument, the more energy is lost in that vibration. (One of the reasons Gibsons wrap-around bridges were popular to some degree as well…..) When we look at our next product line, that theory will become obvious.
In 1998 a new hardware company hit the scene called TonePros, and they offered an improved bridge experience, a potential maximizer, for guitar players who used Tune-o-matic style bridges, stop tail-pieces or warp-around bridges. It was a tough start in a business that really didn’t embrace change very well, especially when those changed included hardware that didn’t look any different from the original hardware it was replacing…unless you looked very closely. Dwight Devereaux, the founder of TonePros, was an acclaimed guitar player himself having played on stage and recording with many of the greats. His experience led him to a simple solution to fixing the loose and sloppy Gibson bridges of the day.
Remember what I said about the Badass bridges? Less moving or vibrating parts on a guitar will allow more vibration to be transferred to the body (rather than lost to it) and transferred then through the pickups. Dwight started to produce beautifully crafted bridges and tail-pieces which were extremely precise, and all of which incorporated locking set screws to stop the hardware from wiggling or vibrating around. Pretty much brilliant. Locking the bridges and tail-pieces in place once the guitar has been set up, allows for more transference of sound, more precise tuning and more precise intonation. You can actually hear the difference, and if you are a tech, setting up and intonating becomes just that much more predictable and effortless. Players from Slash to Warren Haynes, or from Peter Frampton to Dave Mustaine have all discovered and use the TonePros advantage on their guitars. In fact, TonePros are now supplied from the factory on certain models from Fender/Jackson, Gibson, ESP Schecter and more.
In my own experience, years back I was working with a pretty big name in Canadian punk-rock. He was having difficulty that year with his range of oddball guitars because they were not staying in tune, and were bears to intonate. It was a very wet year as far as the climate was concerned, which only exacerbated the issues. They called me in and the first thing I did was change tuners on the guitars to something more reliable, and then I switched out the bridges for TonePros. Bad intonation and tuning is painfully obvious in distorted guitar so the effect of the TonePros was immediate and audible. TonePros didn’t solve all his problems that year, but his guitar sounded better, his tech was happier, and the guitars became much more reliable.
There are a lot of little improvements you can make to your own instruments, and to the kits you are building. One of the easiest and least intrusive ways to improve your instruments and your sound is by replacing inferior hardware with better hardware, or the best hardware. Here at Solo, we offer an amazing assortment of products that will help you play better, sound better and even look better. Check out the Solo website for our huge selection of Badass Bridges and TonePros hardware…..or call in and get some advice from one of our trained customer service people….they are waiting for your call!!!
