Banjo Bridges by Bartbanjos love them and so will your ears |
NEW FOR 2008
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Introducing Archie: a lean and
mean Premium bridge designed especially for archtop
banjos. Don't let the looks of this super thin bridge
fool you, its performance will make you rethink what you
thought you knew about bridges. Compressed sustain allows
a musician to exploit the full range of sound dynamics
from raw power growl to melodious sweetness that Archie
liberates from your banjo. Although too bright to some
ears, Archie can sure make flat tops stand out from the
crowd as well. Made from genuine Firewood. $30 Please note: Archies are thin, real thin - you need to loosen, or slack off, the strings and/or tail piece tension before installing them. |
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Introducing Radiused bridges:
both bridge wood and top are radiused for supurb sound,
tone and stunning looks. The radius (12, 14, 16 or 18
inch) is a $10 upgrade option for any of the bridges I
make. Of course, you still get to specify height and
string spacing. As shown: standard 3 footed bridge + radius = $35 |
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1 - Mystery wood,
ebony - explosive sound, fabulous for 100 mph bluegrass
picking. Ideal for any picking style. If you want to
sound as Earl, or as Don, you can get, this is the bridge
for you. $25 |
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2 - Same as above,
no topping. A smidgen mellower sound, awesome for
clawhammer or all out "pre-war" on Mastertone
style banjos. Wildwood banjos, or anything with
Fyberkin/Elite heads love this one in B weight. The B
weight one is also *the* bridge for Odes. $25 |
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3 - Teak - great
volume and superb dynamic range, ebony topped for great
clarity, mystery topped for max brightness. Especially
suitable for budget or medium price banjos (not
recommended for Stellings). $25 |
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4 - Enigma (another
mystery wood), ebony topped - clear, bright and neutral
sounding, superb volume. The Enigma bridges get along
great with EQ settings on sound systems - Stellings
absolutely love them. $25 |
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5 - Double mystery,
don't let the only-two legs bother you, a super sounding
all-purpose bridge at a budget price. Two legs only have
to advantage of muting the banjo head in two spots only
compared to the "regular" three spots allowing
the head to vibrate more freely. $15 |
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6 - Premium bridge:
ebony topped teak for a plectrum (4 string) banjo. Custom
designed for Joe C. in Texas who had special requirements
to accommodate his Celtic style playing. $25 |
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7 - Period bridge
for tenor banjo, custom slotting available for Celtic
setup string specs. $25 |
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8 - The finest
custom clawhammer bridge anywhere, untopped mystery wood
for a superb tone range from plunk to clear as a bell.
The raised 5th string (specify 1/16, or 1/8") helps
prevent your thumb from making that annoying pffft pffft
sound on the head - a low cost alternative to scooping
the neck... This particular one was custom made for a
Chanterelle (3/4" tall + 1/8" for the bump). $35 |
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9A - Two custom compensated
(mystery/ebony) bridges to illustrate the different shape
curves you could expect. On this picture, despite the
extreme compensation values, the difference is barely
noticeable but check the top view on the next picture to
get a better idea. This is really what custom compensation is, or should be, all about. If you want to make your intonation problem(s) really go away then this is the way to go, your banjo and your ears will definitely appreciate it. Custom compensated bridge: $40 |
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9B - The same two bridges: the
sweetspot offsets for the bottom one are much greater
than the top one. Actually, the offset values for the top
one are about as severe as I've encountered and it goes
to show you that it won't look weird. The offset
measurements for strings 1 through 5:
Custom compensated bridge: $40 |
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10 - A custom order for a period bridge to go on a 1846 Boucher banjo that's being restored. The dimensions were traced from the one on display in the Smithsonian. |
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12 - Radiused, ebony topped mystery wood. Talk about a custom job, the topping was even steambent to the required loopy radius shape for the best possible sound. |
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13 - A museum piece: one of my earlier custom compensated solid maple jobies for an Ode D. I sure make 'em look nicer than this now |
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14 - My first ever custom comp,
definitely a personal museum piece, for a British Windsor
Standard. Looked like heck but sure did the job and
turned an ornament into a playable banjo. Only 3/8"
tall and realistically, that's about as low as I care to
make them although I did 1/4" bridge one time. Looking at the picture now I can still smell it - at the time the only tool I had for shaping was a bench grinder... |
The thing to keep in mind, no matter what new bridge you put on, the sound will always be different than what it was with your old bridge - you'll be real pleased to hear what these bridges will do for your banjo's sound.
Copyright © 2003 Bart Veerman
No reproduction of these pages or content therein without permission
