Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi everybody. What a great place to hang out. I'm a fist time builder, this is my first post, and I'm confronting my first dilemma.

My heart tells me to go with a pinless bridge, but my head tells me to take the tried and true path. I've read that a pinless bridge transfers more energy to the top because there's no bridge brace (or rather less wood under the bridge), and that a pin bridge transfers more energy to the top because there is a solid anchor for the bridge. So I'm not sure who to believe.

The two styles of pinless bridges I've seen are the Breedlove with drill holes, and the Elliot style with nails to hook the string balls over. I think I like the drilled holes best. This instrument will have a multi-scale fan fretboard, which adds another level of complexity to the design and construction.

I guess I'm asking for opinions and advice, or a path for further research. TIA

greg

Nothing like a pinless bridge to give you great deep scars in the guitar top
when a string breaks and shoots backward through the hole. . .

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Cheers,

Frank Ford

FRETS.COM
HomeShopTech
FRETS.NET

Hi Frank, you didn't mention that little pearl of wisdom at frets .com Thank you.

... unless you use Mike Doolin's design inspired by Jeffrey Elliott. Actually his design uses pins, they're just not the traditional ones.

Tie-on bridges also make it easier to scratch the top. I thought I'd found every possible way to scratch a top while changing strings, but the shooting string end Frank cites is a new one to me. On the other hand, as one of the world's best restorers, he sees a lot more scratched guitars than I do!

I've read all sorts of theories about energy transfer as it relates to how bridges work, and based on what my ears tell me from actually listening to a wide range of instruments, I've come to the conclusion that, given a properly functioning bridge that's well mated to the guitar's surface, we're talking about microscopic differences between pin and pinless, glued or floating.

For example, I recently read on a thread here that floating bridges don't transfer energy as well as a glued bridge and as a result are just no good on a flat top guitar. At the time I had just finished making a floating bridge for an old parlor guitar from the 1900-1915 era. When I strung it up I was shocked at the volume, clarity and quality of tone the old beast was producing.

I'm no expert, but I'll bet that nearly any bridge form you choose can produce great sound when it is executed properly — and will stifle your instrument's voice when it's not.

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D..

Welcome Greg !!! Franks post makes me cringe at the thought of all that work, finish, polishing, care, only to have THAT happen...

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

Welcome to the OLF Greg!
There are a bunch of pretty long discussions in the archive section about this very topic, do a search and I will bet youll find lots of info - hopefully it will help you to make your decision,
Cheers
Charliewood

I use the Doolin/Elliot design and love it.... never had a problem.

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

I guess it all depends on what kind of application you'll put the guitar through.

I had never thought about it before, but seeing Don Ross in concert, it became quite apparent why he likes to use a pinless bridge. He broke two strings! Pinless bridges allow you to change strings very quickly and without any tools.

Plus, his two Benetau's sounded pretty good to these ears!

If I were to play live often, I'd want my axe to have a pinless design...

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...