DIY 101: How to Mod Your Bass with a Badass Bridge

In the early ’70s, two Bay Area music-store owners and repairmen, Leo Malliaris and Glen Quan, recognized a need for replacement guitar and bass bridges that were adjustable for string height and intonation—something that hasn’t always been easy or accurate—and, importantly, simple enough for owners to install. Under the Leo Quan marquee, the pair began manufacturing the Badass line of dense cast zinc bridges, while a trend was developing toward increasing mass in the quest for more sustain. (This was the era of the brass nut, aluminum necks, and even brass pickguards and knobs.)