WHAT’S IN A BRIDGE?
Great mag, but please help me understand something. I keep seeing guitars that have single-part bridge and tailpiece arrangements. Surely when they finally put the two-piece system on the Les Paul that was a clue that the single bridge/tailpiece was a compromise and that a better solution had been found. The Junior kept it because it was a budget guitar, presumably?
Yet I see these antiquated things on very pricey modern guitars as well: Nik Huber, Collings, Gibson Custom Shop, PRS and plenty more. Surely it’s impossible to achieve perfect intonation with them, or have I misunderstood something? Harry Gould, now in Spain
It’s a common criticism, Harry. Hope the weather’s good, by the way. Interesting that you mention perfect intonation, because that’s pretty impossible regardless of whatever bridge you use. Sure, you can get it very accurate with individually adjustable saddles (cough, as long as the manufacturer puts the bridge and neck in the right place), but it’s always a bit of a compromise, not least because everybody frets differently in terms of finger pressure and style. So the only ‘perfect’ intonation is the setup that works for you personally.
Which brings us to the singlepiece wrapover. There’s no doubt that they sound different from a two-piece tune-o-matic and stoptail. There’s also a slight effect on the elasticity (the feel) of the strings. It doesn’t affect tension, but the marginally different string length does affect the feel over an equivalent scale length – subtle to anyone who doesn’t play such a guitar regularly and very noticeable to anyone who does.
If you look at the modern PRS or Collings ones, for example, they are works of art. Precision designed, machined and fitted to offer excellent intonation for ‘standard’ string gauges, we’ve never had a problem getting them in tune. Most are somewhat adjustable at the bass and treble end should you want to change gauges (up to 11s or down to nines, for example). If you use an unusual mix of string gauges or a particularly heavy or light set that’s outside the optimum range for a particular wrapover, then yes, a separate two-piece approach is recommended.
We have them on the guitars that ‘should’ have them, and we love them. Try one perhaps, and see what you think.