A Violin Bridge blank and finished bridge

A bridge is a device for supporting the strings on a stringed instrument and transmitting the vibration of those strings to some other structural component of the instrument in order to transfer the sound to the surrounding air balls. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1446x584, 76 KB) Summary The finished bridge is a bit extreme, with more air (and less wood) in it than most. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1446x584, 76 KB) Summary The finished bridge is a bit extreme, with more air (and less wood) in it than most. ... The strings of a harp A string is the vibrating element which is the source of vibration in string instruments, such as the guitar, harp, piano, and members of the violin family. ... A string instrument (also stringed instrument) is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. ... Look up vibration in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Sound is a disturbance of mechanical energy that propagates through matter as a longitudinal wave. ...

Explanation

Most stringed instruments produce their sound through the application of energy to the strings, which sets them into vibratory motion. The strings alone, however, produce only a faint sound because they displace only a small volume of air as they vibrate. Consequently, the sound of the strings alone requires impedance matching to the surrounding air by transmitting their vibrations to a larger surface area capable of displacing larger volumes of air (and thus producing louder sounds). This calls for an arrangement that allows for the strings to vibrate freely, but also conducts those vibrations efficiently to the larger surface. A bridge is the customary means by which this is accomplished. Particle displacement or particle amplitude (represented in mathematics by the lower-case Greek letter ξ) is a measurement of distance (in metres) of the movement of a particle in a medium as it transmits a wave. ... Impedance matching is the practice of attempting to make the output impedance of a source equal to the input impedance of the load to which it is ultimately connected, usually in order to maximise the power transfer and minimise reflections from the load. ...

Positioning

Typically, the bridge is placed perpendicular to the strings and larger surface (which are roughly parallel to one another) with the tension of the strings pressing down on the bridge and thus on the larger surface beneath it. That larger, more acoustically responsive surface may be coupled to a sound chamber — an enclosure such as the body of a guitar or violin — that assists in sound amplification. Depending on the type of stringed instrument, the resonant surface the bridge rests on may be made of wood, as the top plate of a guitar or violin; of calfskin or plastic, as the head of a banjo; of metal, as on certain types of resophonic fretted instruments; or of virtually any material that vibrates sympathetically with the strings. Tension is a reaction force applied by a stretched string (rope or a similar object) on the objects which stretch it. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Parts of the guitar. ... The violin is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. ... This article is about resonance in physics. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Parts of the guitar. ... The violin is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. ... A four-string banjo For other uses, see Banjo (disambiguation) The banjo is a stringed instrument of African American origin. ...

Construction

Bridges may consist of a single piece of material, most commonly wood, that fits between the strings and the resonant surface. Alternatively, a bridge may consist of multiple parts. One common form is a bridge that incorporates a separate bearing surface on which the strings rest, termed a saddle. This is often of a material harder than the bridge itself, such as bone, ivory, high-density plastic, or metal. Yet another type of multipart bridge is common on instruments whose sound plate is curved rather than flat. Instruments of this type, such as arch-top guitars and mandolins, often have a bridge comprising a base and a separate saddle that can be adjusted for height. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Parts of the guitar. ... Carved (electric) and round backed mandolins (front) A mandolin is a small, stringed musical instrument which is plucked, strummed or a combination of both. ...

Operation

The bridge must transfer vibration to the sound board or other amplifying surface. As the strings are set in motion, it does this by bending to and fro along the string direction, at twice the rate of the string vibration. This causes the sounding board to vibrate at the same frequency as the string producing a wave-like motion and an audible sound. The sounding board is the largest part of a string musical instruments body. ...

This fixed guitar bridge and tailpiece assembly not only raises the strings above the sound board but also is their point of attachment to the instrument.

Bridges are designed to hold the strings at a suitable height above the fingerboard of the instrument. The ideal bridge height is one that creates sufficient angularity in the string to create enough down force to drive the top but places the strings sufficiently close to the fingerboard to make noting the strings easy. Bridge height may be fixed or alterable. Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Fretted guitar fingerboard. ...

In addition to supporting the strings and transmitting their vibrations, the bridge also controls the spacing of the strings from one another. This is accomplished by shallow grooves cut in the bridge or its saddle. The strings sit in those grooves and thus are held in their proper lateral position. The nut, situated at the opposite end of the instrument from the bridge or tailpiece (typically where the head holding the tuning pegs joins the fingerboard), serves a similar string-spacing function at the strings' other end.

Electric guitar bridges

Bridges for electric guitars can be divided into two main groups, "tremolo" and "non-tremolo" (also called hardtail). Tremolo bridges have an arm (called the tremolo or whammy bar) that extends from below the string anchoring point. It acts as a lever that the player can push or pull to change the strings tension and, as a result, the pitch. This means that this type of bridge produces a vibrato rather than tremolo, but the term is deeply entrenched in popular usage. Non-tremolo bridges supply an anchoring point for the strings but provide no active control over string tension or pitch. A small group of tremolo bridges has an extended tail (also called longtail. These guitars have more reverb in their sound, because of the stringresonance behind the bridge. The Fender Jaguar is a famous example of such a guitar. The reverb can be annoying if you want a clean sound, these bridges however can also be a enhancement for it's 3rd bidge extended technique possibilities. A tremolo arm, tremolo bar, vibrato bar , twang bar or whammy bar is a lever attached to the bridge and/or the tailpiece of an electric guitar or archtop guitar to enable the player to quickly vary the tension and sometimes the length of the strings temporarily, changing the pitch... The term hard-tail can have several meanings: A hard-tail electric guitar or archtop guitar is one without a tremolo arm or vibrato tailpiece; See tremolo arm. ... An electric guitar is a type of guitar with a solid or semi-solid body that utilizes electromagnetic pickups to convert the vibration of the steel-cored strings into electrical current. ... It has been suggested that Resistance distance be merged into this article or section. ... Tension is a reaction force applied by a stretched string (rope or a similar object) on the objects which stretch it. ... Pitch is the perceived fundamental frequency of a sound. ... Vibrato is a musical effect where the pitch or frequency of a note or sound is quickly and repeatedly raised and lowered over a small distance for the duration of that note or sound. ... The Fender Jaguar guitar was introduced in 1962. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Prepared guitar. ... Extended technique is a term used in music to describe unconventional, unorthodox or improper techniques of singing, or of playing musical instruments. ...

All bridges have advantages, depending on the playing style, but in general, a non-tremolo bridge is thought to provide better tuning stability and a solid contact between the guitar body and the strings.

Tremolo bridges

Main article: tremolo arm

Generally, the more contact the bridge has with the body (i.e. the lower the position), the better the sound transfer will be into the body. A warmer sound with increased sustain is the result. A tremolo arm, tremolo bar, vibrato bar , twang bar or whammy bar is a lever attached to the bridge and/or the tailpiece of an electric guitar or archtop guitar to enable the player to quickly vary the tension and sometimes the length of the strings temporarily, changing the pitch... Look up Contact in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Tremolo bridges usually need to be suspended in some way, which reduces contact. Most tremolo designs today use a group of springs in the guitar body, which oppose the tension of the strings. Some players feel that the vibration of the springs affects resonance in a way that makes the guitar sound better; others disagree. Naturally, it all depends on personal preference and the musical style of the individual player. Helical or coil springs designed for tension A spring is a flexible elastic object used to store mechanical energy. ... This article is about resonance in physics. ...

Since many playing styles make use of a tremolo obligatory, most solid-body guitars today are manufactured with one of two kinds of tremolos:

Non-Locking Tremolo

Non-locking (or vintage) tremolos are the bridges found on all guitars manufactured prior to the advent of the Floyd Rose locking tremolo in the late 1970s and many (typically cheaper) guitars manufactured thereafter. For many playing styles, vintage tremolos are a good choice because they are easy to use and maintain and have very few parts. Some people feel that they can also provide a better degree of sound transfer, especially with tailpiece type tremolos such as the Bigsby. However, "Synchronized Tremolo" type found on the Fender Stratocaster is balanced against a set of screws in much the same manner as a locking tremolo and offers little improvement in the way of sounds transfer. Given that this type of tremolo is installed on solid body guitars the degree to which sound transfer affects the sound that the instrument produces is minimal. Also, keeping a guitar with a non-locking tremolo in tune can be difficult. The most common types of non-locking tremolos are the "Synchronized Tremolo" type and an almost endless stream of copies and also the Bigsby type although that type has largely fallen out of favour. Floyd Rose Original Floyd Rose is the organization that licenses, distributes and manufactures the Floyd Rose Locking Tremolo invented by Floyd D. Rose. ... It has been suggested that Fender Amplifier History be merged into this article or section. ... A Fender Stratocaster with rosewood fingerboard and three-tone sunburst finish. ... The Bigsby vibrato tailpiece (or Bigsby for short) is a type of vibrato device for electric guitar designed by its namesake Paul A. Bigsby. ...

Locking Tremolo

Another type of tremolo is the locking tremolo. These bridges have a sort of vise in each saddle which clamps the string into place (usually with an Allen Key). The end of the string has a clamp, which holds the string in place, stopping it from slipping. This is especially useful for songs that require tapping or heavy/hard playing styles. Once set up for tuning stability, locking tremolos are very good. However, their fulcrum points offer extremely minute contact with the body, which may disturb sound transfer.

Non-Tremolo bridges

Badass Bridge on a Martin EB18 Bass guitar [1]

It is generally thought that non-tremolo bridges offer better transfer of string vibration into the body. This is due to direct contact of the bridge to the guitar's body. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1920x1320, 1827 KB) Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1920x1320, 1827 KB) Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

These bridges are bolted directly to the guitar body and, assuming good quality, limit longitudinal string movement completely. Therefore tuning stability is assured.

The improved transfer of string vibration into the body has an effect on the sound, so guitars with this type of bridge have different characteristics than those with tremolos even when it is removed. There are no springs in the body or a cavity to accommodate them, which also affects resonance.

See also

• Fingerboard
• 3rd bridge guitar

Fretted guitar fingerboard. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Prepared guitar. ...

References

• A.B.Wood (Admiralty Research Laboratory), A Textbook of Sound, Publ Bell, 3rd ed. 1955. No ISBN found.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Guitar bridges

• [2] Online bridge archive.