Official Luthiers Forum!

Some time ago Don Mayes (?) posted specs. for a bridge that was thinner at the high E (pitch), than at lower E.
Do you do this? If so, is the increasing distance from string to bridge hi E to lo E an advantage to finger-pickers or flatpickers?-or both?

Am I stating the question or the facts wrong?

thinning the bridge toward the treble side allows you to maintain a greater break angle on the treble stings where the saddle is lower. anyway, thats why i do it.

Nope, I was told the exact same thing..."make it a bit thinner on the treble side of the bridge"...by the guy I built my first with.

But if I look at the pre-made saddles that are ordered from various places, they all have a symmetrical look to'em.

_________________
Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

That was me. But you can call me Don if you like....I kinda wish I were a
Don... hmm..

Anyway what Michael said is the reasoning behind it. I learned it from Dana
Bourgeois.

_________________
John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

    I've always had my bridges a bit thinner at the treble end than at the bass
end just for that reason. It allows consistent saddle height across the bridge
while allowing the typical ower string height toward the treble end.

   

Hey Don,
    How are things ot there at the Mc facility? I'm sure they're lovng having
you around.

All the best,
Kevin Gallagher/Omega Guitars

Thanks soo much for your responses guys

[QUOTE=Kevin Gallagher]     

Hey Don,
    How are things ot there at the Mc facility? I'm sure they're lovng having
you around.

All the best,
Kevin Gallagher/Omega Guitars[/QUOTE]

Going really well. I'm heading to Missouri next week to visit John Griffin
at old standard to buy a bunch of red spruce for McPherson. Should be
fun. I'll try to take a lot of pics of his operation.    I LOVE having a three
day weekend every week!

_________________
John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

   I also thin the treble side of my bridges and slot them. I do like to try an maintain a certain break angle. I use the slotting after construction to get the most from the guitar that I can.
   I don't want all treble but by tweaking the angles on the different strings you can get more depth out of the guitar and better balance the tones and voice for the client.
john hall
blues creek guitars

Interestingly, when you look at really fine Spanish classical guitars, what you'll see is that the fingerboard is planed at a twist to allow more relief on the bass side. This way, the height of the top of the saddle is more or less constant across the length, and so the torque load (assuming relatively constant string tension from string to string) is close to the same all the way across, and the bridge height is the same.   Quite deliberate, quite interesting. I've got a Ramirez 1a set up this way.