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Building a Cuban Mahogany 00 with Lutz top. Binding, headstock veneer, heel plate, and probably the end graft will be Cocobolo. The fretboard is made from African Blackwood and I'm trying to decide what material to use for the bridge. It will be a simple, non-belly bridge similar to a pyramid bridge but without the pyramids to minimize weight.

So two concerns, aesthetics and tone.

I have 20+ Brazillian Rosewood bridge blanks that I could use for the bridge. None match the color pallet of the Cocobolo but nothing way different either. With the blackwood fretboard, I'm thinking a blackwood bridge may look better, thoughts?

What are your thoughts about using a dense wood like blackwood for the bridge? I think ideally, lighter is better. Acoustically, blackwood seems to have low damping so I'm more concerned about the weight. I used ebony for the bridge on my last build. Is blackwood more dense than ebony? Maybe I can get by with it since I'm not using a belly bridge and saved some weight by the shape. The bridge plate is rock maple.

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Formerly known as Adaboy.......

Heavier bridge = slower attack/decay, lower volume (especially trebles) but not by much. Generally will make a mellower sounding instrument whereas a very light bridge makes a very responsive, explosive instrument. Since damping is similar for African Blackwood and Brazilian you can ignore that contribution. Just my $.02

ABW is one of my favorite bridge woods. A bit heavier than BRW, but even less damping. With my tiny bridges, the extra mass is often a good thing, tonally. If you're one of those builders who's designs include a massive bridge, it may end up being too heavy, so consider your entire design and tonal goals while choosing between BRW and ABW.

EDIT: I just remembered after writing the above that you're making a small rectangular bridge. I say go for it! No problems with gluing(HHG), nor have I ever have had one split or break.

By the way, BRW will age to near black with time and exposure to UV light...

Thanks Mario and Lex!

I don't have an ABW bridge on-hand unfortunately. I'll get one from Jerry Hibdon and I'll likely use it. I did find a couple of the BRW blanks that are dark and match the ABW fretboard fairly well.

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Formerly known as Adaboy.......

If you oil (mineral oil) the BRW it may turn very black. The dark pieces usually do.

All the ABW I handled was much heavier than the normal rosewoods and heavier than most ebony at about 1200 Kg/m3. In terms of taptone I don't like it much, seems only marginally better than ebony and nowhere near Brazilian but other than it is a fantastic wood with superb grain and texture.

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Build log

Well that doesn't match my experience at all, the stuff I've handled had a tap tone more akin to glass, or metal. I've made a lot of ABW steel string bridges at about 25mm x 8mm, and they end up around 24-26 g. I also like to use it for bridge plates and even fingerboards, I think its a terrific material for all this. A good source for bridge blanks, at least over here, is turning blanks, and they are not that expensive.

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

Might be fine for a steel stringer, but would be a power suck for a classical.

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Waddy

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