Official Luthiers Forum!

Just getting a feel for what target weights for bridges are out there...not including saddle and pins I'm around 31 grams +\- with ebony.

_________________
Doug

Don't let fear or common sense stop you from trying to build something

Doug, probably not much help, since I've only been building classicals, but I try to come in around 20 grams using rosewood. Seems like this has been a recommended target in some of the past threads I've read, even for steel strings. Also seems like ebony tends to run a little heavier when people have discussed various woods (e.g., rosewood versus ebony).

27 gram 6x1-ish ebony bridge on my #2
15ish gram bridge on the little classical I just finished.

I'm thinking of experimenting with cf on my next.

I made a bridge out of African blackwood and it weights like 45 grams... really heavy for sure! The ebony bridge that is slightly thinner (about 1/8" thinner) weights 10 grams less!

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

My madrose bridges weigh in at about 22 grams average.
Mr Gore recommends as light as possible - as low as 15 grams if possible.

I didn't do much about the high weight mostly because an original Gibson SJ300 (or J200) used a really large bridge that is probably heavier... But given the higher density of African blackwood it seems lower density wood would give lighter bridges and therefore better sound..?

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

With my standard belly bridge, the one in the photo, I have a hard time getting the weight of Ebony down below 30g. 31 or 32 for Macassar. Depending on the piece, I can get Brazilian down to about 28g. The last guitar I stung up had Paua Ferro for a bridge. It so far has been the lightest belly bridge I have used at 23g. I think that is going to be a very nice sounding guitar. With a Sitka top, it sounded great right out of the hole.

I'm not sure what the lightest rectangle bridge I've made weighed in at. Sometimes in my haste to get them glued on I forget to weigh them.

Never weigh them...
Never found the weight of individual parts makes that much difference. But then, I would guess my tops are 10-20 thou thicker than most of you folks tops, use laminated braces, ladder bracing, and get my sound out of tapping and picking woods that are lively, not light. Always felt that the tone was in the wood, not what you take away and leave as shavings on the floor.
Different strokes...

My last bridge was African blackwood. It came in at 41g. (before the saddle slot was cut. I do that on the guitar)
But then it is the heaviest wood commercially available.

I also use:
BRW about 28g
Bois de Rose about 32g
Amazon RW about 37g

I have yet to figure out how to make a 18 - 20g bridge.

_________________
Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

Generally been about 20-25 g in EIR, which is all I've used so far in only 6 guitars
Last one was an OLF SJ, as per plan, 21 g before fitting, less pin holes drilled after fitting and some shaving on the guitar, so about 19/20 g.

_________________
The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Must say I'm in the same boat, 25g is about the best for me. Might have to try Trevor Gores method. Have used pau ferro for a couple and it's nice wood to work but what I have must be on the heavy end of its scale.
Tom

_________________
A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

Steel string 15-25 grm. The heavy end is when the owner wants a particular look (e.g. Braz) above other aspects of functionality.

Classical, never more than 15 grm and as low as 10 grm.

_________________
Trevor Gore, Luthier. Australian hand made acoustic guitars, classical guitars; custom guitar design and build; guitar design instruction.

http://www.goreguitars.com.au

28 g average for me, 1x6" rectangle.

Pau ferro means 'iron wood'. It can be quite heavy.

_________________
John

I haven't built enough "normal" guitars to have a good average, but I shoot for around 20g for steel strings, and 15g or less for classicals. 13 string BRW harp guitar bridge came out at 28g, which I think is decent considering the necessary size of it. No ebony for me. I want to try African blackwood sometime though, despite the weight.

The main trick I use to get the weight down is to taper the thickness toward the back end. Only the part in front of the saddle slot really needs to be tall. Everything behind can be a lot thinner and still provide the necessary glue area and plenty of stiffness, especially if you have a bridge plate underneath. Plus if you route the saddle slot first, and then taper from the underside, the saddle slot gets tilted backward a few degrees, which is a good thing.

And don't forget to minimize the weight of the bridge plate as well.

John Arnold:
I was commenting in re: to Danny V. post where he said his lightest bridge was Pau Ferro. What I have is heavy but I did not know the variation within its weight range.
Tom

_________________
A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

Mine have been in the mid twenties, using various Ebonys.

The boards I have, while still pretty dense, are on the lighter side weight wise. I used a Pau Ferro FB on the same guitar and although I didn't weight it you could feel it being light. I like this Wood Database. http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-ide ... pau-ferro/ I think it provides a pretty good benchmark. I'm not sure but I think the 2 density numbers must be the variation.

For me it depends on what I want tonally... for my normal SS I generally go for lots of volume and a fast response with little care for sustain and shoot for about 20-22g. For a slower attack and decay I want upper 20s... the higher weight brings a tone that blooms relatively slowly and has lower volume. Almost as important as bridge weight is damping which is a whole other discussion.

I have a 17g padauk bridge going on my next, which is braced super light and is as lively a box as I've made. I expect it to be a really loud, punchy, in your face kind of instrument.

It explains elsewhere on the website
Full blurb article is here http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/specific-gravity/

_________________
The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

I'm around 31 g with a Honduran belly bridge. I think my last two were 32 and 33 g. Surprising how much material you have to remove to lose a gram or two...

Bridges need to be a little heavier than this ...

_________________
Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com