I need to figure out the bridge thing. I want to start working on the neck joint, but that requires knowing the neck angle which means I need to know the bridge height.
In order to use the ebony tailpiece, I need to figure out a bracket that will properly support it, and not flex or bend from string tension. Any movement in the bracket means tuning issues. Most guitars with this style tailpiece use a system that lets the tailpiece adjust to string tension: either secured with a wire, or mounted on a hinge. My favorite guitar apparently uses a solid metal bracket. I’ve been looking for good pics for years and never found one, finally I did. I also noticed that the ‘copies’ of that guitar are now switching to solid brackets.
If the bracket is too thin, or if the angle is wrong, it will bend under string tension. It looks like the Languedoc guitar (the $15000 guitar I love) uses a 90 degree, and I guess it’s just thick enough steel that it doesn’t move.
So back to the neck angle: I need to have a secure tailpiece bracket, need to know bridge height, and need to make sure there’s enough string break angle over the bridge to the tailpiece. As it is right now, I’d need to add a bunch more angle to the neck to make the bridge pieces I have work. So what I can do to minimize that is reduce the height of the rosewood bridge base.
A good method to do this is lay sandpaper on the guitar, and rub the bridge until it takes the shape of the guitar top. But, my guitar is unfinished and has a very thin veneer. I’m afraid if I do that, I’ll rub in the grain a little (burnish?) which would affect how it absorbs stain. So what I’m thinking is to just uniformly remove material from the bridge to get approximate height, then build and finish the guitar, then come back and finish the bridge.
Here are some examples of guitar tailpieces. You’ll see the wire mount, the hinge mount, and finally the bracket mount.
Reply With Quote