Updated Jan, 2012
If you are familiar with this bridge you can go straight to the Ordering page
String Compensation - Introduction
All guitar builders recognise the need for string compensation. For some reason archtop builders differ greatly in their approach. Some use a straight profile which is convenient to manufacture while others recognise the difference between the wound and plain strings, but overdo the compensation. The bridge saddle offered here has been carefully designed and tested to provide excellent intonation on most archtop guitars.
Requirements
I make a few assumtions about the guitar to which the bridge will be fitted. The frets should be properly installed and crowned. The guitar should be set up properly. Archtops are usually set-up with electric guitar string action. The neck is straight with little relief (<.010"). The action should not be unusually high (.060" - .075", bass side @12th fret; .040" - .055", treble side @12th fret). The nut slots should be at the correct depth so that there is not excessive clearance between the first fret and the under-side of each string (ie. low nut-action). It is optimised for scale-lengths between 24.75" and 25.5". Most brands of flat-wound and round-wound strings are fine. Hex-core strings have caused iregularities so are not recommended. Personally, I use D'addario Chromes or jazz-lites, gauge 12 or 13. The bridge works equally well with flat-wound and round-wound strings.
Features
No tilting of the bridge base required - bridge sits perpendicular to string-plane.
Indian rosewood or African ebony as standard - other species sometimes available.
The bridge saddle is available seperately for installation on an existing base.
Typical height adjustment between 20mm and 26mm. Lower/higher bridges available if necessary.
String spacing: 52mm to 56mm (measured from outer-edge of Low E to outer-edge of high E)
Bridge base with common body-arch profile. The base comparison chart will help get a close match before fitting.
It is machined for repeated accuracy and the final shaping and polishing is done by hand.
Modified versions available for left-handed guitars and for those players who prefer a plain G (3rd) string.
Printed set-up guidelines included.
If you are familiar with this bridge you can go straight to the Ordering page
String Compensation - Introduction
All guitar builders recognise the need for string compensation. For some reason archtop builders differ greatly in their approach. Some use a straight profile which is convenient to manufacture while others recognise the difference between the wound and plain strings, but overdo the compensation. The bridge saddle offered here has been carefully designed and tested to provide excellent intonation on most archtop guitars.
Requirements
I make a few assumtions about the guitar to which the bridge will be fitted. The frets should be properly installed and crowned. The guitar should be set up properly. Archtops are usually set-up with electric guitar string action. The neck is straight with little relief (<.010"). The action should not be unusually high (.060" - .075", bass side @12th fret; .040" - .055", treble side @12th fret). The nut slots should be at the correct depth so that there is not excessive clearance between the first fret and the under-side of each string (ie. low nut-action). It is optimised for scale-lengths between 24.75" and 25.5". Most brands of flat-wound and round-wound strings are fine. Hex-core strings have caused iregularities so are not recommended. Personally, I use D'addario Chromes or jazz-lites, gauge 12 or 13. The bridge works equally well with flat-wound and round-wound strings.
Features
No tilting of the bridge base required - bridge sits perpendicular to string-plane.
Indian rosewood or African ebony as standard - other species sometimes available.
The bridge saddle is available seperately for installation on an existing base.
Typical height adjustment between 20mm and 26mm. Lower/higher bridges available if necessary.
String spacing: 52mm to 56mm (measured from outer-edge of Low E to outer-edge of high E)
Bridge base with common body-arch profile. The base comparison chart will help get a close match before fitting.
It is machined for repeated accuracy and the final shaping and polishing is done by hand.
Modified versions available for left-handed guitars and for those players who prefer a plain G (3rd) string.
Printed set-up guidelines included.
Sample Bridges - Many options available, order here
Customisable Compensated Bridge
for Archtop Guitar
for Archtop Guitar
Pictured above are examples of my original design in Indian Rosewood. The ends of the saddle are squared with a slight bevel
Pictured above show the original design in African ebony fitted to an existing base on a modern D'Angelico factory guitar. The ends of the saddle are rounded this time with only a slight bevel.
This ebony bridge is a one-off which is built with the 'stairstep' approach as used on countless factory guitars. However, it uses the compensation profile of my original design which is very different from the generic 1950's stairstep design. The base has been inlaid to a customer's specification.
Fitted to a 1960's Gibson thinline archtop, this rosewood bridge is compensated for a plain G (3rd) string. The bridge-post holes are left open for a traditional look and the existing base was used. The post-to-post spacing (measured from centre to centre) was 2.9" (73.6mm) which is the most common spacing for Gibsons.
Above are examples of my newer bridge with it's distinctive organic look. This design makes it possible to maintain the top profile when using unusual radii. The profile is easily adjustable with this design. This may be necessary if one uses an unusual set-up such as very high action or the use of an unwound 3rd (g) string. An original Hofner base is used in the first picture above. The second is compensated for a plain 3rd string. The third has a 20" radius for an old Gibson round-hole archtop.
In the first three pictures above the original base is retained. The first example is fitted to a 1950's Gibson ES 175. The original metal bridge was badly warped. The customer was curious about the tonal effects of the wooden alternative. The second example is fitted to an Epiphone where the original saddle had cracked. The third one is fitted to an Ibenez Artcore -the original base was good quality and well fitted.
The examples abover are designed to be set at extreme heights. The first is unusually low, 16.5mm in its lowest position. This is often a requirement on older instruments where the top has caved slightly or where the neck angle leaves the strings closer to the soundboard. The second is designed to be set very high, 26 mm in it's lowest position. This was for a player who played with Freddie Green style high action. I needed to copy his tunomatic bridge to allow for the extra stretching of the strings (copying the tunomatic only works if it has already been radiussed properly).
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