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About a year or so ago, Don Williams and I started working on the design of this bridge. The whole process has been extremely fun and rewarding. Iterative, collaborative, and pretty casual. Just the way I like it.

When we started working it up initially, I gave him some design input and he went to work. He'd bounce ideas off me, I'd bounce them off him, and Rod True and Paul Woolson would chip in at times, too. Tons of fun. There a million belly bridges out there, but I think what we came up with is just unique enough.

The bottom of the bridge is radiused for the top and has a shallow rabbit for the finish. Don also developed a method for locating it, and made a mask template for the finish prep. Not bad.

I wish I had a better picture, but it's what I got out of a shadowy lighting situation. I think we're both very happy with the way it came out!

Pretty nice. What does it weigh?

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http://www.CostaGuitars.com
PMoMC

Thanks, Tony! It's the absolute secret to my sound, but I'll go ahead and tell you.

30g

James, I like it! it's pretty similar to mine.

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

Now I have to go and add weight to my bridges! Mine are only 26 grams.

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http://www.CostaGuitars.com
PMoMC

Ha! Oh no! Good minds think alike!

James, can you turn it over and photograph it so I can see the rabbet?

Nice

I have a bridge like that on my #3 but honestly I don't know if I should just stick to the Martin belly bridge with sharp definition between the wings and the belly.

I also had trouble cutting the bottom rabbet correctly when the bottom radius is accounted for... now I just radius the bottom of the bridge, locate it, knife the finish off and strip, then glue it on. Still looks good enough to pass. Problem is the radius is so subtle that the router plate can't follow the radius like it should, which ended up making the bridge look as though it's about to come off.

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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

Very pretty, James and Don. I like the smooth curves better than the more common dropoff to the wings seen on most belly bridges.

Nice work, guys!
What did you use to countersink so cleanly?
I have a cool bridge design,
but noticed 2 of them cracked from the saddle being pulled by string tension.
Back to the drawing board,
and looks like I'll be pulling a couple of bridges someday!
Never done that yet.
Good thing I didn't sell them.

Hi Rusty. Definitely. I'll do it tomorrow.



Thanks, Beth! We were very intentional about have a very organic, curvy flow all around. Andy Goldsworthy's work has been very influential to me, and this call to nature is a very important element of his work. Not that we captured it, but having a somewhat organic feel was one of the hopes.



Thanks, Alan. Don is much more than a craftsman and designer. He did that with his laser beam eyes.

Very nice. Only thing I'd be concerned about is pre-cutting the rabbet. Finish thickness may not be uniform on every guitar and the depth of the cut will vary. At least that's been my experience. You may also find you may want to vary the width in the future. Mine are a lot narrower that they were a few years ago.

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

In fact I am even thinking about some kind of 1930's Gibson non-bellied bridge, because it means the bridge will be very light.

_________________
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