In the previous article, we installed the Seymour Duncan SPB-2/SJB-2 pickups and wired them up with a Fat Bass Tone passive harness. The electronics upgrade woke up this 25-year-old Biscayne and brought it back to life.

These shiny new Seymour Duncans definitely gave the bass plenty of attitude and a unique tone. But we also knew that to truly make this Biscayne gig-worthy, we had two more key upgrades to tackle: the bridge and the tuners.

Our project bass is a Biscayne 205, a relic from the late 90s budget bass offerings. Back then, you could snag one of these for under $200 – which meant "quality" wasn't exactly the main selling point for, well, anything on this bass. But, surprisingly, the bones of this particular Biscayne are actually decent. So, our mission is to elevate this diamond in the rough to proper gigging standards.

Time to upgrade the bridge

First, we’ll tackle upgrading the bridge. The biggest issue? Intonation was impossible to set properly. String height adjustability was also limited, and it’s developed a bit of a rust problem.

Fat Bass Tone has a great selection of bridges from top brands like Hipshot and Leo Quan.

The slight complication with our Biscayne is that, being a budget bass from yesteryear, it doesn't adhere to standard measurements. So, no direct, drop-in replacement bridges are available, unfortunately. If you're upgrading a Squier or a modern Fender, you're in luck – Hipshot and Leo Quan both make direct retrofit bridges that make the swap a super easy job. Simply remove your strings, unscrew the old bridge, screw the new one in, load your favorite strings, adjust and you’re good to go.

Since we’re not limited by the mounting screw placement, we considered all the options, and they’re all pretty compelling. The entire Hipshot line and the Leo Quan Badass are high-end, precision-crafted pieces of hardware that are relied on by the best luthiers in the world. So, any bridge we chose would’ve been a significant upgrade.

For our Biscayne, I decided to go with the Leo Quan Badass III bass bridge. Leo Quan bridges have a legendary reputation for a reason. We're talking about the original aftermarket bass bridge upgrade. It was first released back in the late 70s, and it's still incredibly popular today. This version that I am using, the Badass III, has a 3 screw configuration, which means it has a center screw, just like the Biscayne’s OEM bridge. This makes alignment easier, as the middle screw can be re-used, and is a reference point.

Now, because the Badass III is not a direct drop-in, installation was going to require plugging the old screw holes and drilling new ones.

First step was plugging those old screw holes. I grabbed some wooden dowels, sanded them down to be just snug (you want a tiny bit of wiggle room for the glue), and carefully tapped them into the existing holes. Pro tip: Don't force them in too tight. You want space for the glue to do its job, and if they're too snug, you risk cracking the finish around the holes.

With the dowels in place, it was time to position the new Badass bridge. I carefully centered it on the bass body, using the center screw hole as my guide. Then, and this is crucial, I took my time making absolutely sure the bridge was perfectly aligned before marking the new screw hole positions with a Sharpie.

Once I was confident in my markings, it was drill time! I drilled pilot holes for the new screws, carefully screwed in the Badass III, and then gave it one last alignment check to make sure everything was sitting straight.

It's not a super complicated process, but you definitely want to take your time and be precise. Rushing this step is a recipe for a crooked bridge and intonation headaches down the line. Remember, wood glue needs time to cure properly! I used Titebond Original, which recommends a full 24 hours for a complete cure. So, wait until the glue cures before you drill the pilot holes for the new bridge.

Time for new tuners!

These old Biscayne tuners were wobbly, imprecise, and as I discovered at band rehearsal, utterly useless at keeping the bass in tune for more than 2 minutes at a time.

For tuners, we went with the Gotoh GB707 bass tuners. Gotoh tuners are legendary for their quality and precision, and these GB707s,  are a massive step up from the stock Biscayne tuners. And at their price point, they are a really good value.

I did consider going for Hipshot Ultralight tuners. Those are also incredible, and they can help reduce neck dive on basses that are a bit neck-heavy. But the Biscayne is well-balanced. This Ibanez Soundgear-inspired design is surprisingly lightweight and sits comfortably on a strap. So lightweight tuners weren't a necessity here.

Installing the Gotoh GB707 tuners took me about 15 minutes. Seriously, the easiest upgrade of the whole project. Turns out the holes on the Gotoh tuners lined up perfectly with the existing holes on the Biscayne headstock (side note - this is the case with a lot of bass tuners that use a modern tuning machine design). No drilling and plugging screw holes was necessary. I just unscrewed the old tuners, dropped in the new Gotohs, and screwed them down. Sometimes, you just get lucky, and this was definitely one of those times.

Once the Gotohs were screwed in tight, I gave them a quick wiggle test to make sure they were seated properly. And it’s time to restring this Biscayne and see how it feels with its shiny new hardware!

Restringing and Setup: It feels like a new bass!

With the Badass bridge and Gotoh tuners installed, it was finally time to restring the Biscayne and get down to the nitty-gritty of the setup.

First up: string height. Adjusting the string height on the Badass bridge is a revelation compared to the old bridge. It's so smooth and precise. Leo Quan even includes the correct size Allen wrench with the bridge, which made dialing in my preferred string height a lot easier.

Next up was setting the intonation. Remember the intonation nightmares with the old bridge? Those are GONE! With the Badass III, setting the intonation was actually… easy! I just plugged in my tuner, adjusted the saddles until the notes at the 12th fret were spot-on, and that was it. This old Biscayne can actually play in tune now!

As for the new Gotoh tuners, they are so smooth! Tuning and retuning is now an absolute pleasure. The new Gotohs are precise, responsive, and they hold tune incredibly well.

How Does the Finished Bass Sound and Feel?

The real question is: How does the finished Biscayne sound and feel with all these upgrades? Well, I immediately plugged it in and recorded some sound samples so you could hear the transformation for yourself.

 

 

And let me tell you, the difference in playability is massive. The playability is just night and day. The bass feels so much more solid and so much more responsive under my fingers.

Tonally, the difference from the hardware upgrades alone is a bit more subtle compared to the pickup swap, but it's definitely there. The bass sounds more articulate in the low mids, and the lows are tighter and more focused. Also, the bass is much more even across each string. It took me some going back and forth between recordings to realize how different the bass sounds with its new hardware.

But the biggest difference is in the feel. The bass just feels responsive. The Badass bridge, being a much more substantial and solid design, eliminates that side-to-side wiggle you get with cheap bridges. And the material itself probably contributes to the improved sustain and clarity.

And the tuning stability? I barely have to touch the tuners. It stayed in tune beautifully during the recording of these demos. But the real test? That's going to be taking it out on a gig next week! Stay tuned for the final verdict on its gig-worthiness!

But for now, we've officially transformed this bottom-of-the-barrel, 25-year-old Biscayne into a genuinely decent playing and really good sounding bass!

Those Seymour Duncan PJ pickups and the Fat Bass Tone passive electronics breathed new life into this old bass and gave it a unique tonal character – a cool blend of classic P-bass DNA with a punchy, overwound twist. It sounds full and balanced and has that magic ability to find its own space in a mix.

But it's the hardware upgrades – the Gotoh tuners and that Badass bridge – that truly brought it all together. They took the Biscayne from feeling cheap to feeling like a reliable, solid, gig-ready instrument. And honestly, I'm still amazed at just how much of a difference high-quality hardware makes to the overall feel of a bass. It's not just about tone, it's about the entire playing experience.

The Biscayne 205 makeover is nearly complete! One more gig test to go, and then we'll deliver the final, definitive verdict: Is this budget bass officially gig-worthy? And more importantly, was it all worth it? Stay tuned for the next article. ~ JJ Monzon