Wooden Bridge

[Demens]

Okay... So, for my next bass I was thinking about using a wooden bridge... any tips on how to do this? I have never built a wooden bridge before, and am not too sure how to go about it. So, some of you vets help me out .

I posted this in the MIMF, but so far nobody has touched the creation of the wooden bridge. (Maybe recommend a book where I can check out wooden bridge construction, if nothing else.)

Thanks in advance
-Lloyd

[.matthew e wengerd.]

are you talking adjustable or floating?

[Demens]

Just something similar to a CT type bass bridge. For my next project, I want to go with an all-natural kind of look.

So, I think that is a floating bridge?

Thanks
-Lloyd

[.matthew e wengerd.]

Sorry for the large pic. I'm not hosting it, stole it from Mark Eshenbaugh....He's building me a bass with a brige similar to this one:


It may end up being brass, coated in black, or it may be ebony. I left it up to Mark.

You can see my bass in this thread or this one.

[Demens]

Thanks for the pic... but I still need to know if there is any formula that you use in placing a bridge like that (how to get the intonation right, how to ground the strings, etc).

Thanks
-Lloyd

[.matthew e wengerd.]

well, I can't speak to intonation, but, for grounding, Mark places copper (?) strip behind the brass ferrules on the back of the instrument through which the strings pass. this strip is then grounded, grounding all the strings. The one main issue with a bridge like this is that a change in gagues may change your intontation.

Mark has made it clear that a new bridge can be made should I choose to change string tensions.

[Suburban]

Intonation:
Will not be very precise, in that you can only adjust the angle of the entire bridge. OTOH, that was the standard until the Tune-O-Matic on guitars, and still is used on some archtops. Those are highly sought after...
What kind of precision intonation do you need?

Grounding:
There has been some discussion about that, hasn't it? And from these threads, I conclude that I will not play outside Sweden on an unknown bass...I don't like the idea of being fried by a bad house grounding going into a good string grounding.
Ít has been said that good shielding will take care of that problem.

[Zebra]

Originally Posted by Suburban

Intonation:
Will not be very precise, in that you can only adjust the angle of the entire bridge. OTOH, that was the standard until the Tune-O-Matic on guitars, and still is used on some archtops. Those are highly sought after...
What kind of precision intonation do you need?

Grounding:
There has been some discussion about that, hasn't it? And from these threads, I conclude that I will not play outside Sweden on an unknown bass...I don't like the idea of being fried by a bad house grounding going into a good string grounding.
Ít has been said that good shielding will take care of that problem.

I suppose I might as well ask now. What does OTOH, as well as FWIW mean? I'm familiar with the more basic ones, but these I don't know.

[Cerb]

OTOH - On the other hand

FWIW - For what it's worth

[Theshortlist_to]

search for McDade's custom fretless bass, he has made a nice brass bridge and a wooden version, which he decided to go for over the brass.