Posted by Rand Moore on January 15, 2011 at 2:36am
The original 4-stringer also had a tunable bridge, but the action was too high for my liking, so it was replaced with a bolt. Next time I'll build one directly on the soundboard without the platform, and lower the height of the 4 mini-bridges to try to lower the action by 1/4 to 3/8 of an inch.
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Cool. I hadn't really thought about metal ones; I was going to try it on my banjo which has quite a back angle and the bridge is over an inch tall. I am still thinking about giving it a go.
You are welcome to use the idea. I built mine from wood, but I saw similar ideas on CBN using metal before I made this one. But, since I'm not much of a metal worker I decided to simplify it and build it in wood. My main issue with it was the high action, which some players might like, but I didn't. So, if I do it again, I'll try to make it "not so tall", and/or put a down angle in my neck so the strings meet the bridge, but have a lower action at where the neck meets the sound box.
Actually, I have been thinking about making one from metal, as you can buy the "bridge saddles" off eBay pretty cheaply. Here's a photo of them...
The idea is to build a cheap frame around them out of brass or aluminum and mount them to the top of the sound board as an adjustable bridge. Here is a link to a thread which I discussed this with another builder who uses "bridge saddles": Build #3
I build it our of scrap wood left over from earlier CBG builds, including the wood from those cigar box inserts. So its made from different kinds of wood, including plywood. The type of wood probably isn't a major issue. Go ahead and try to build one yourself. The tension of the strings hold the "mini-bridges" in. It is a pretty high bridge, so you might want to read the "Note to self" a couple of posts earlier in this thread.
Note to self: Next build with this kind of bridge, can build CBG with an angled neck to accept a higher bridge yet keep the action fairly low. Maybe the combination of building the tunable bridge directly onto the sound board, lowering the height of the 4 mini-bridges and angling the neck can make for an acceptable action level (i.e. how high the strings are off the fretboard). I guess if I played with a slide it would be no problem.
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Cool. I hadn't really thought about metal ones; I was going to try it on my banjo which has quite a back angle and the bridge is over an inch tall. I am still thinking about giving it a go.
Hi Better Trees,
You are welcome to use the idea. I built mine from wood, but I saw similar ideas on CBN using metal before I made this one. But, since I'm not much of a metal worker I decided to simplify it and build it in wood. My main issue with it was the high action, which some players might like, but I didn't. So, if I do it again, I'll try to make it "not so tall", and/or put a down angle in my neck so the strings meet the bridge, but have a lower action at where the neck meets the sound box.
Actually, I have been thinking about making one from metal, as you can buy the "bridge saddles" off eBay pretty cheaply. Here's a photo of them...
-Rand.
Damn. I was daydreaming about making something like this the other day but you went and beat me to it. That's pretty cool looking, btw.
I build it our of scrap wood left over from earlier CBG builds, including the wood from those cigar box inserts. So its made from different kinds of wood, including plywood. The type of wood probably isn't a major issue. Go ahead and try to build one yourself. The tension of the strings hold the "mini-bridges" in. It is a pretty high bridge, so you might want to read the "Note to self" a couple of posts earlier in this thread.
-Rand.
Note to self: Next build with this kind of bridge, can build CBG with an angled neck to accept a higher bridge yet keep the action fairly low. Maybe the combination of building the tunable bridge directly onto the sound board, lowering the height of the 4 mini-bridges and angling the neck can make for an acceptable action level (i.e. how high the strings are off the fretboard). I guess if I played with a slide it would be no problem.
-Rand.
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