extra wood on bridge necessary?

[salbassrock]

like the title says, besides the purpose of aesthetics, is extra wood on the bridge necessary? for example, the 'wings' on either side. And sometimes the legs have a point on the outside. theory would be cutting these off would make the vibrating energy focus more into the bass than the 'wings' or 'points'. i tried to imagine cutting them off and smoothing them off. As long as i stay clear from going to close from the pressure points (below g and e string) i think it'll be ok. All that said, i think Joel Quarrington has his bridge slicked out. Check him out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bcz0...e_gdata_player

[Andrew McGregor]

Any change to the shape of a vibrating object will change its mode structure, and therefore the tone, in ways that are not immediately obvious. You can of course try it and see what happens... but remember, the instrument has developed over a very long time, and this must have occurred to someone before.

[Eric Hochberg]

This has been discussed. Cutting off the wings results in a brighter sound, AFAIK.

[powerbass]

I remember a thread about this awhile back, Arnold Schnitzer posted doing this bridge mod which resulted in a very bright bass - good for solo. Do a search