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Bridge For Electric Violin

 
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pequnio3
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Joined: 10 May 2016
Posts: 1

PostPosted: Wed May 11, 2016 7:38 pm    Post subject: Bridge For Electric Violin Reply with quote

I'm building my own 5 string electric violin out of padauk and ebony. I've read that for electric violins, the wood species/design doesn't effect the sound as much as the quality of pickup (though I'm sure the design and wood will make some differences).

I also would assume the type and quality of bridge used would make a big difference as that is what is transmitting the vibrations to the pickup. I'm planning to make my own bridge and send it away to get fitted with a high quality pickup, which will be expensive so I want to make sure I get the design of the bridge right first.

To fit the aesthetic of my instrument I wanted to have the bridge be made of ebony. Does anyone have an idea of how this could affect the quality of the sound?

If ebony doesn't work, would ebonizing a maple bridge adversely affect the sound?

Thanks in advance for any advice Very Happy
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L P Reedy
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Joined: 02 Apr 2009
Posts: 276
Location: Brevard, NC

PostPosted: Thu May 12, 2016 4:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you're going to send the bridge out for a pickup (embedded, I assume), why not just ask them what to use? Of course, cutting and fitting the bridge will have more influence on sound than the wood will (I'm guessing because I don't normally mess with electric fiddles).
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kjb
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Joined: 06 Feb 2013
Posts: 385

PostPosted: Tue May 17, 2016 5:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

what pick up are you going to use?
making the maple black I don't think will have much of an effect.
more important is what you are plugging it in to, what type of pre amp.
just some thoughts.
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byacey
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Joined: 29 Mar 2008
Posts: 105
Location: Edmonton, Alberta

PostPosted: Thu Jul 07, 2016 1:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Check out L.R. Baggs pickups. They supply the pickup already installed in a quality bridge that only needs fitting for the individual instrument.

These particular pickups when used with a good high impedance pickup such as the Baggs Paracoustic DI, sound excellent as far as piezo pickups go.
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kjb
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Joined: 06 Feb 2013
Posts: 385

PostPosted: Thu Jul 07, 2016 7:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

they also make ones that slip into the wing of the bridge, so you can use any type, remember to figure in how heavy this violin will be. even if its beautiful if its to heavy to hold for long periods, it might not get played much.
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byacey
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Joined: 29 Mar 2008
Posts: 105
Location: Edmonton, Alberta

PostPosted: Tue Jul 12, 2016 12:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

kjb wrote:
they also make ones that slip into the wing of the bridge, so you can use any type, remember to figure in how heavy this violin will be. even if its beautiful if its to heavy to hold for long periods, it might not get played much.
I would strongly caution against these sort of pickups; I've tried a good many of these pickups: various Barcus Berry models, Shadow, Fishman (of the type you mention) and finally the L.R. Baggs.

The Fishman pickups can sound good under some conditions, but are very finicky about placement and tension between the transducer and the bridge. They can sound very good, or so awful you can shake dental fillings loose and peel paint from nearby objects.

The problem is the tension of the bridge slot changes with humidity and directly affects the tone. Because of this, often the tone is not consistent from one day to the next. Eventually I gave up on the Fishman because you can't count on how it will sound on any particular day.

Since I switched to the L.R. Baggs, this is no longer a concern.
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Franciscus
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Joined: 11 Jan 2014
Posts: 43
Location: Tuzla, Bosnia

PostPosted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 5:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just an idea: if you already want to make your own bridge, why not to make it from the wood you like (ebony, for example), make it a little thicker in order to ensure enough space for accommodating the cable pickup (Fishman Sonicore, for example) shortened according to the width of the bridge and pulled through the hole carefully drilled across the bridge, under the heart (if you decide to have a heart in the bridge which is not something very important, I'd say not at all, in this particular case). The dense structure of the ebony will damp the harsh trebles - the usual tone of the piezos, all the other loses could be compensate by the amplification and some equalization. The key of the game with the piezo pickups is in the impedance - you have to have appropriate preamp. For the Fishman's pickuos with the impedance of around 10 MOhms, use the Fishman's preamps, their belt preamps are not too expensive and work well (really well).
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