Quote:
Originally Posted by Felessan  Since I'm not going to be able to try it anytime soon, I'll gamble. I'd wager it brightens the sound up quite a bit, perhaps makes response of certain notes quicker, and--depending on the bass--could either increase or decrease volume/power of low notes.
-Trevor |
Now, reach and grab the salt shaker, so you can take a grain of it with what I'm about to write.
I used to make compensated banjo bridges. Bluegrass is my game and banjo used to be my instrument, now it's the bass, for the last 18 years.
Anyway, what I was trying to achieve was the ability to have the instrument in tune and be pretty much in tune all the way up the neck. A curve cut into the top of the bridge was used to try and accomplish this challenging task.
At the beginning, I was doing most of this work all by hand, finishing the edges of the bridge with files and sandpaper (after roughing it out with a bandsaw).
When I got to the point of finishing the TOPS of the feet of the banjo bridge, I thinned them much more than your standard factory-made bridge. I figured this would make the bridge more efficient, bringing more volume and hopefully, desirable tone.
It did bring more volume, but thinning the TOPS of the feet, DECREASED the bass tones of the banjo. When I went back to a more uniform thickness (as compared to other bridges) the lower or bass tones returned.
I also saw the same thing happen with a wonderful mandolin I owned back in the late 80's-early 90's. When a regional luthier thinned the tops of the feet of the mandolin bridge, away went the bass tones. Sad, but true, after that I sold the best mandolin I've ever played, to this day. I'm putting it up against modern Collings and everything else I touched, including Loars. I wish I had just put another bridge on it and not sold the mandolin.
I'm no scientist (there are those here on Talkbass) but my thinking about bridges goes this way. Bass waves are very large waves of energy. If certain parts of a bridge are taken away, then these large waves are inhibited and can't fully be transmitted into the top of the bass.
I used to sing bass in quartet settings and it takes so much more air to sing a low B than it does a note for the tenor that is situated 2 octaves above.
Interesting discussion. Again, get that salt shaker when you're finished reading my contribution, if need be.
