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Double Bass US Patent 6803510 - Asymmetrical stringed instrument bridge

F

Felessan

May 4, 2004
69
0
Long Beach, CA
www.wulftone.com
#1
So I found this patent:

US Patent 6803510 - Asymmetrical stringed instrument bridge

Basically the bridge is shaped funny and has all these notches all over the place to "help" the thing move more and supposedly transfer the vibrations more efficiently to the body of the instrument.

Thought it was kinda kooky, but read the full pdf thing anyway. The _idea_ is cool, and the _intention_ is great, but I can't find any proof that it really does what it claims to do. Short of a prototype, anyone have any ideas?

Our current bridges seem to do the job just fine, but if there's a way to optimize them that just hasn't caught on.... Well, wouldn't it have caught on already?

The inventor's website is here:
http://www.violinbridgeworks.net/MiscStyles/index.htm

Anyone ever hear of this Tim Van Dusen guy, or try one of his bridges? Know someone who did?

-Trevor
 
#3
I once spent a couple of days browsing the musical instruments section of the patent office website. It was interesting to see all the really cool breakthroughs, like Seth Lover's humbucking design, which was in use in principal on the Fender Precision years before Lover / Gibson patented the concept. And the number on the PAF pickups actually is the wrong number. It refers to a tailpiece designed by Lester Polfus (Les Paul).

And then there were all kinds of kooky things that you just know would not work, and some that were actually pretty innovative that somehow never caught on. And fanned frets;- like it was some new idea when it was really done in the early Renaissance. It's still fun to look. Get one of the bridges and see if does anything.
 
#4
I'm not so sure I'd do any more than modify an old bridge to see what it does... From the design, it just looks like adding those notches and ledges would make the thing vibrate more.

The bridge isn't the main source of sound, so all it should do is transfer the energy to the top of the bass as efficiently as possible, not vibrate like mad only shaking the air around it.

Shrug... still could be worth a try with some scrap bridge.

-Trevor
 
#6
eroy said:
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This is a good, easy concept if you want to play with bridges. I have played with this...its interesting. I'll keep my tonal thoughts to myself so as not to skew someones opinion if they do try this.
Click to expand...

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
 
#7
Felessan said:
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
Click to expand...

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.
 
#9
ok, it´s a little offtopic, but where else could i post this pics ? :)
 

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#13
LOL, those are awesome. Imagine playing on that elephant bridge with only the E and G strings. Wicked double stops!

I agree with Ken, though, the current design seems to do the job very well, but that shouldn't stop people from experimenting! I think when my current bridge dies I'll cut off the sides, bevel it, maybe enlarge the heart hole, and see what each modification does to the sound... who knows, I may end up having a solo bridge and an orchestra bridge, haha.

-Trevor
 

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