Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by carverman on March 30, 2011 at 2:45pm

Is yours a steel string or a nylon string?  If it's a nylon, you should be using a  traditional uke bridge (ie: classical guitar style bridge/bone saddle), where you pass the nyon string over the saddle and loop it around the holes at the back of the bridge and twist the

nylon string on it's self a few times so that the string doesn't slip when brought up to tension.

 

If you ar using a steel string with ball ends, then the choice is obvious..use a bridge with pins.

Permalink Reply by Bluesheart on March 30, 2011 at 4:35pm

Nylon. Thats what I was thinking, but I also see them with a slot in the bridge to hold a knot tied in the string. I guess I'm a little nervous about gluing the bridge in place before I can check the intonation. With pins and a floating bridge I'd have some adjustment once the strings are on. I also was wondering which method would transfer the most vibration to the top?

Thanks for the help.

Permalink Reply by Don Thompson on March 31, 2011 at 3:08am

I've had very good success sound wise and ease of building using string pins and a floating bridge. Just my take on it.

http://www.ianchadwick.com/ukuleles/northern.htm

Don

Permalink Reply by carverman on March 31, 2011 at 4:52am

Bluesheart said:

Nylon. Thats what I was thinking, but I also see them with a slot in the bridge to hold a knot tied in the string. I guess I'm a little nervous about gluing the bridge in place before I can check the intonation. With pins and a floating bridge I'd have some adjustment once the strings are on. I also was wondering which method would transfer the most vibration to the top?

Thanks for the help.

 

With a uke, the intonation probably is not as critical as with a longer scale guitar string/bridge.

I'm building a concert size uke modeled after a flying V. I saw somebody on youtube play one of those

and thought it would be a neat project. While I'm not using a CB in the traditional sense, because of

the V shape, pretty much all the CB principles apply, as it is hollow inside. I got a Stew-Mac nylon

uke bridge for it that I will glue down, once I make my custom FB for it.

Permalink Reply by carverman on March 31, 2011 at 4:58am

Don Thompson said:

I've had very good success sound wise and ease of building using string pins and a floating bridge. Just my take on it.

http://www.ianchadwick.com/ukuleles/northern.htm

Don

 

Those are cute triangular- irregilar shaped ukes, Don.  Kinda look a bit like a Russian 3 string Balaika.

Just like with CB, I think there is room for lots of experimenting not only with the shape, but with the

hollow body thickness as well. I was thinking that on my "flying V" model (which I will paint white),

I will make the neck area thinner than the tips of the two "wings" so that the bass string can

have a little more resonance.  Being a nylon acoustic, I will definite put a couple of piezos on

it so it can be plugged in as well.

Permalink Reply by Bluesheart on March 31, 2011 at 12:10pm

I really lean toward the pins. I kind of like the look and love the ability to move the bridge if I need to. Don, it was you that first showed me those Northern Ukes and that is where I got the idea. The thing is that of all the hundreds of Ukes I've looked at,those seem to be the only ones that use string pins. Someone wrote, I'm not sure if it was Carverman, that intonation would not be critical on a uke? I always thought that the shorter the scale the more critical intonation would be. Seems that a long scale bass would be more forgiving of errors than say a mandolin? Am I wrong about that? Cause I've been wrong before, just ask my wife.

Permalink Reply by econnofoot on April 3, 2011 at 5:10am

my take is I like the more traditional fixed bridge/ tail piece, thus far I've not had any issues.