I have an electric-acoustic Bridge fiddle which is currently at my fiddle doctor getting a new bridge cut (a bridge for my Bridge!) - it's not a fiddle I use a whole lot, but occasionally I dep with a band when their fiddler is away. They have a much louder set up than what I normally perform with, so the electric can be handy to save any feedback problems and because it is an electric-acoustic it is made of wood which makes it much more natural to play.
So here's a few interesting (and slightly geeky) facts about fiddle bridges....
1. Bridges look very pretty but the design is not for decoration it is actually designed that way so that there are no direct connection between the strings and the body - if you look there are holes between every string and either foot. The flexibility of the bridge mellows out the sound coming from the strings, without these holes it would sound pretty nasty.
2. Bridges are normally made of maple
3. when the strings are tuned up they push down on the bridge with around 10kg pressure (the same as putting 17 pints of milk on top of your bridge!)
4. The bridge is responsible for converting the square wave sound input by the string into a more musically pleasant hamonic sound
5. The two feet on a bridge are carved to match the curvature of the belly of the fiddle so it fits correctly and won't move around.
6. Often you will see cushions (small colourful tubes on the strings) on the strings just where they sit on the bridge. This is so the strings don't cut into the bridge
So here's a few interesting (and slightly geeky) facts about fiddle bridges....
1. Bridges look very pretty but the design is not for decoration it is actually designed that way so that there are no direct connection between the strings and the body - if you look there are holes between every string and either foot. The flexibility of the bridge mellows out the sound coming from the strings, without these holes it would sound pretty nasty.
2. Bridges are normally made of maple
3. when the strings are tuned up they push down on the bridge with around 10kg pressure (the same as putting 17 pints of milk on top of your bridge!)
4. The bridge is responsible for converting the square wave sound input by the string into a more musically pleasant hamonic sound
5. The two feet on a bridge are carved to match the curvature of the belly of the fiddle so it fits correctly and won't move around.
6. Often you will see cushions (small colourful tubes on the strings) on the strings just where they sit on the bridge. This is so the strings don't cut into the bridge
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