Most unusual acoustic guitar bridge that I’ve seen

[GnLguy]

This one take the cake for unusual design – some of his electric guitars have a similar bridge

http://jeffbabicz.com/models-gallery

[Michael L]

Visually interesting… I wonder if it might get in the way of the forearm while strumming. Also curious what sounds could be created by picking the strings behind the bridge. If I saw that in a guitar store I think I’d have to try it out.

[Billy]

I’m not sure what to make of this, interesting as it is in design I can’t help but wonder about the stresses this either does or doesn’t put on the guitars top, How does that affect the acoustic resonace seeing as the string vibration is no longer under the bridge…interesting stuff right enough.

..Billy..

[Vorocnan]

Sounds good appears to let the bracing be lighter letting the sound board move and resonate better wonder if the string tension is less due to the extra string length making bends+

[sunjamr]

My friend and physics prof, Mike Kasha, while I was in graduate school at FSU became interested in classical guitar design, and started experimenting with variations in bracing and bridge design. He would build guitars, then test them in an acoustic chamber to compare the results. Many of his bridges were wedge shaped, with the bridge much wider on the bass side, then tapering to a much more narrow end on the treble side. Then he began splitting the bridge in half, so that a wide bridge held the E, A, and D strings, and the other 3 strings were held by the narrow bridge. Later he abandoned the idea of cutting the bridge in half, since it didn’t make that much difference. Here’s what they have evolved into:

And you can see some of his other design features here:

http://www.hep.fsu.edu/~berg/teach/phy3091/Talk3KashaGuitar.pdf

BTW, you can still buy some Kasha guitars. Just Google it.

Sunjamr Steve

[GnLguy]

Sunjamr Steve’s post reminded me of a statement ascribed to the great inventor, Thomas Edison:

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
― Thomas A. Edison

As I’ve made myself familiar with Breedlove guitars since I bought mine, one of the things that really stands out about their guitars is how balanced the volume is across the strings. No boominess of the bass, no piercing treble, mid-range isn’t jumping out at you – Breedlove’s tone is smooth and the volume across the strings is very even.
Breedlove has learned that if they sand the guitar tops thinner on one side, it causes the volume of strings to be very balanced – pretty sure that they sand the bass side thinner to achieve that balance. The balance of tone & volume is so noticeable that it reminds me of an electric guitar with a compressor on it.
I probably played a dozen different guitars the day that I bought mine including some very nice Taylor guitars. The Taylor guitars sounded great but Breedlove’s overall tones coupled with the balanced volume across the strings totally sold me, and most importantly – my wife since she had the checkbook LOL. It was that WOW moment

Without the willingness to try & fail, we would still be primitive in every area of life; when we try that 10,001 time and something works, something happens – it makes all of the disappointments that we’ve experienced worth it.
Who would have thought that sanding a guitar top thinner on one side would balance the volume as it does? It took someone willing to try & fail – who knows how many other things that Breedlove tried before they achieved their goal? Don’t give up!

Man’s spirit is creative – look deep inside and find your answers

Applies also to our efforts of playing guitar – keep playing that lick or song – it will happen. Don’t give up!

More Thomas Edison quotes:
https://www.inc.com/kevin-daum/37-quotes-from-thomas-edison-that-will-bring-out-your-best.html

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