weighty issue

[caretaker]

Hi all, I have just finished building my fourth guitar body using walnut. It looks fantastic but is incredibly light. I had planned to fit a walnut bridge for aesthetic purposes but feel a heavy ebony item might be better to add some mass to the whole thing. I am thinking that it might increase sustain. Any thoughts or advice would be welcome - thankyou.

[andy3sheds]

Wheres the pics?

[caretaker]

Sorry, no pics as yet - too busy scraping the binding!

[martinedwards]

depends on what sound you want.

the lighter the bridge, the more free the top is to vibrate. and therefore the more bass you'll have.

a heavier bridge will cause the top to vibrate less so the bass will be stifled.

this can be fine tuned afterwards with your choice of pins.

Brass pins (heavy) will controll a bass heavy top,

bone pins (light) will allow a bit more bass to escape.

[caretaker]

Thanks Martin, that all makes perfect sense. The guitar shape is based on the acoustics that Parker makes ( the guy more famous for building electrics- notably the Fly ). It has come out grand auditorium size I would say so accentuating the bass would not be a bad thing. I had not considered the weight of bridge pins before, I thought that brass was used to add some metallic ring to the tone rather than it being a weight issue, but yes, violin mutes are often made from ebony obviously to inhibit the vibration. I suppose the same theory applies to the fingerboard. Anyway, I'll go ahead and use the nice piece of walnut that I intended. Thanks again, there is so much to learn isn't there!! Martin, does this mean anything to you --- Cox, Elm Park, ' You are never alone with ----- '