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Permalink Reply by the anonymous pick on May 30, 2015 at 11:31am

do  you  mean   a point  at the contact    of the strings  ?  if so   yes a sharper  point    will  result  in a   more precise  scale  and  have less  tendency   for the   strings  to   "rattle"  against  a  flatter  surface .     

also   , oddly  enough  ,    someone  here  did    bridge  comparisons   with     flat  bottoms  ,  2  feet  . and 3  feet  . 

 the difference  in sound was  very  noticeable  in  each  . 

which  was  best ?  is   personal  preference  i  guess  ,  

but the  difference was surprising . 

i'll  see if i  can  find  that  post and  link it here  . 

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Permalink Reply by Brent Kasl on May 30, 2015 at 3:04pm

What bridge material worked best for the point?

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Permalink Reply by the anonymous pick on May 30, 2015 at 3:09pm

best  ,  is  personal preference  again ,  but  ,  bone  and   brass   , seem like popular favorites . 

and  really a  "point"  can also  just  be a  smaller  surface area .  ie;  a thin   round  bar  /    nail  ,   /  threaded  bolt/screw  .  all " better "  and  less problematic than a   wide flat  surface . 

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Permalink Reply by Cause the Blue rat on May 30, 2015 at 3:34pm

You can get plastics like ABS ivory, resin or graphite. You can even use hard woods. They wont last as long due to the tension of the strings digging in. But easy to replace when needed. 

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Permalink Reply by Richey Kay on May 30, 2015 at 6:00pm

Have a read through this Brent:

http://www.cigarboxnation.com/profiles/blogs/4-tips-to-make-a-cbg-p...

Using a pointed bridge is one of the tips I gave. Pick is right on all counts. I use bone for where the strings contact the bridge, and sand to a point. Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Slowpaw Steve T on May 31, 2015 at 3:19am

you could use a piece of hardwood mounted with a short piece of fret though a metal key sounds good if not better, and looks cool! ;-)

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Permalink Reply by Gwil Colman on May 31, 2015 at 4:44am

A really sharp edge on a bridge where the string goes over it can be a problem because the string can hang up on it when it's being tuned up.  Also a string is more likely to snap on a sharp corner.  A small radius is better, nearly all commercially made bridges are like this (take a look at a few).  A nail/screw/bolt or whatever is ok of course. 

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Permalink Reply by ChickenboneJohn on May 31, 2015 at 5:33am

You can't go wrong with a fretwire saddle...nice clear sound, and it provides earthing continuity so you only need to earth one string at the tailpiece.  Here's the style I often use, with a raised slotted section behind to provide accurate string spacing, and it ensures the strings don't slide or skip about when picked or strummed hard.

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Permalink Reply by Tom T on May 31, 2015 at 10:16am

The fret bridge is a neat idea. Sort of like a zero-fret at the other end. With the wood holding string position, it really is like a zero fret. Cool idea.

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Permalink Reply by Dane Donato on June 1, 2015 at 1:47am

What a terrific idea. Do you mind if I try this out sometime? Or is proprietary info?

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Permalink Reply by ChickenboneJohn on June 1, 2015 at 1:54am

I got the idea from Harmony, so the basic idea was out there anyway.

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Permalink Reply by Primitive Acoustics on June 1, 2015 at 4:31am

Thanks for sharing that idea Chickenbone! A clean functional design.

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