Bass Bridges

[Brian Trout]

Hi Ed,

Normally, when I used to send out bass bridges, they would come back with
the old apron and shoe attached to a new bridge body pinned and ready to
install, unless I specifically asked them to duplicate the apron as well.
That's good, if you're considering the old shoe may have small pieces of the
soundboard still attached.  It will mate up perfectly with the old
soundboard.  It indexes itself.  (No filler needed.)

I have always glued the bridges onto the soundboard, mainly using the
soundboard screws as clamps to hold it all together while the glue dries. (I
can't remember ever having seen one that wasn't glued on.?)   If there are
some major splits and cracks in the wood where the bridge came off, I'll
usually be pretty liberal with the glue, trying to get it into those places
where it cracked and split and splintered, etc.  I definitely don't want
anything loose in there to buzz at me when I'm all done.  Also, I believe
that having a solid glue joint will give you a better tone quality than just
the screws alone. I would also worry less about whether those screws might
be coming loose over the seasonal moisture swings that most of us experience
year to year.

That being said, I have moved a bit farther with my replacements of bass
bridges.  It's one thing to duplicate, but it can be another to build an
appropriate bridge assembly.  When we duplicate, we are assuming that
everything was right from the original.  But more times than not, I've been
disappointed in the results.  When duplicating, we duplicate whatever was
there, good or bad.  It may or may not have had too much or too little side
bearing.  It may or may not have had downbearing.  When we make them from
scratch, we have control over all of those factors, and then some.  It only
takes a couple of hours to make even some of the more complicated bass
bridges.  To me it's worth it.  And you won't be waiting by your mailbox for
the next 3 weeks wondering where's my bridge??!

Good luck with your bridge.

Brian Trout
Quarryville, PA
btrout@desupernet.net