teej Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 I took my bass for a set-up this week and the luthier (Godfrey Shepherd in Lancing) showed me a bass he'd made - it had a very interesting bridge style that I've never seen before, a French technique apparently. Instead of resting in grooves cut into the top of the bridge, the strings were held in place by raised 'castellations' on the sloping side, a bit like stylised waves. I'm not sure if that's a clear enough description and I can't find any pics on the net, but if you can picture that, has anyone seen this anywhere, know anything about it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hubrad Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 [quote name='teej' post='526600' date='Jun 28 2009, 11:39 AM']I took my bass for a set-up this week and the luthier (Godfrey Shepherd in Lancing) showed me a bass he'd made - it had a very interesting bridge style that I've never seen before, a French technique apparently. Instead of resting in grooves cut into the top of the bridge, the strings were held in place by raised 'castellations' on the sloping side, a bit like stylised waves. I'm not sure if that's a clear enough description and I can't find any pics on the net, but if you can picture that, has anyone seen this anywhere, know anything about it?[/quote] Hi Teej, Do you mean something like a bass version of this: [attachment=27872:mandobridge.jpg] It's common on Gibson-style mandolins as an attempt to get the intonation a bit better. I would have thought it a bit pointless on DB, as each player gets used to making their own bass sound right. Or wrong when applicable . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer of the Bass Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 Interesting - I've never seen one of those. Do you mean the top of the bridge is scalloped in between where the strings rest? I wonder if it's done to reduce the mass without thinning the bridge too much? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teej Posted June 28, 2009 Author Share Posted June 28, 2009 Thanks guys, but no that's not it. I think I'm going to have to draw it... So, if that's a standard bass bridge on the left, my impression of what I saw is on the right: I guess the idea is that the strings slide across the bridge easier, and are therefore less likely to break at the bridge or warp the bridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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