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I am at the “Gotta make a bridge now for this thing stage” and I’m wondering what everyone’s thought is on wood choice. How do you feel (for or against) about a Cocobolo bridge for an OM with Adirondack top and Madagascar rosewood back and sides? Thanks already for your thoughts.

A lot of people like to match the fretboard and bridge wood, so you may want to consider what you're using for the fretboard. Cocobolo is usually a little dense for a bridge, but if you can get it down below 30 grams you should be OK. Cocobolo does make a nice fretboard and bridge.

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A man hears what he wants to hear, and disreguards the rest. Paul Simon

No reason you can't use cocobolo for a bridge. I have done it and was happy with the result but I usually match my bridge wood with my fretboard.

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Blue Ring Acoustics
blueringacoustics.ca

I like ABW for bridges, but have also had good luck with Cocobolo. They say Coco can be hard to glue, but so far they have stayed stuck. I bought a bunch of surplus knife scales, most of which were Coco and a few BRW, a little short (5 3/4 inches) but fine for parlor guitars and other instruments.
Classical guitars often use ebony fretboards and rosewood bridges and don't mind the mismatch. Steel strings often match but I think any dark wood would go well with it.

I am going to give a try at keeping this bridge below 30 g and see how I do. Thanks a bunch!

And Ebony bridge would look good with this guitar, no doubt. This is a very dark piece of cocoa so I don’t think it would be out of place. Thanks for the feedback!

Glad you were happy with the results. That’s what I’m looking for in terms of success. Not just for looks but also whether there will be too much damping with this heavy wood.

Clay, I did not know that about classical guitar is in Miss matched words. Good to know I may not be the only one! Thanks for your feedback. I appreciate it.

I always try to match the bridge and head veneer: the fretboard tends to be black but I don't always want an ebony bridge.

Alan, In this case my head stock is Cocobolo so good to know that that would be a match and is acceptable. What do you think about Cocobolo as a bridge material? Too much damping? Too hard to glue? Have you had a good outcome on tone with this material?

For me, it varies according to the tone I'm after. Cocobolo, would probably tend towards "dark". For liveliness, I like Padouk, though it might not match anything else on the guitar. I use BRW often. Make a few, and drop them on a smooth concrete floor from a couple inches up and compare how they ring: not just the pitch, but how the tone of the attack and decay between them compare. Yes, your S.O. might think you're off the deep end, but if you build guitars, it might already be too late.

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

Pat yo u just gave away my neck testing procedure., but its usually 48 in LOL

"Make a few, and drop them on a smooth concrete floor from a couple inches up and compare how they ring: not just the pitch, but how the tone of the attack and decay between them compare. Yes, your S.O. might think you're off the deep end, but if you build guitars, it might already be too late."

Hi Pat,
I will do that with the bridge blanks before I make them into bridges. My S.O. knows I'm off the deep end but for a myriad of other reasons.

I drop the blanks on the bench, same idea though. Mostly I use BRW for bridges because I like the way it rings and the light weight, more important to me than matching anything. I also like Honduran rosewood but it is a lighter color than the Brazilian. I guess it really doesn't matter as long as it works for you.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Huge fan of BRW for bridges.

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

Gettin' kinda crowded down here at the deep end.

Randolph, it's really a personal choice. If you're not after the tone you might get from a certain wood, I'd go with the cocobolo for the aesthetics.

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

Coco tends to have lower damping than BRW if the testing I've seen is correct. It's a pretty oily wood, but if you scrape the surface lightly but thoroughly just before (and I mean just before) you put on the glue it should stick well. Don't bother with any sort of solvent wash. A skew cut bridge blank, with the grain lines at 45 degrees to the glue surface should resist splitting better. I also like to rout the saddle slot at a back angle, to minimize the tipping force that's trying to break out the front of the saddle slot. Theoretically you should bisect the break angle. Rick Turner found that a 9 degree back angle automatically corrects the compensation if you need to raise or lower the saddle, and it's enough to make a useful difference in the tipping force. Coco is also pretty high in density, which would tend to favor the low end sound for sure.

I did cocobolo for all the accents on this guitar, including fretboard. You can sort of see how thin the wings are on this bridge. I feel that allows for a better cross dipole movement.




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Thanks to everyone for the great responses.