Archtop bridge... How the ZAKK do I keep it from moving?

[Electric Blues]

Ok, got the bridge set in place and carefully intonated. How do I keep it in place? I know string presure will keep it in place now but when I change strings, I like to take all off at the same time to clean the fretboard and entire guitar.

 

I don't want to go through the whole hassle everytime I change strings.

 

Any tricks I should know?

[DaveAronow]

 

Ok, got the bridge set in place and carefully intonated. How do I keep it in place? I know string presure will keep it in place now but when I change strings, I like to take all off at the same time to clean the fretboard and entire guitar. I don't want to go through the whole hassle everytime I change strings. Any tricks I should know?

 

 

ANYTHING you put between the bridge and the body of your guitar will alter the tone, particularly in the area of sustain and clarity of tone.

 

There are alot of things you "could" do, but none that I would do personally.

 

You just have to decide if you are willing to trade a little tone for getting rid of the hassel of the moving bridge.

 

For example, you could use some double sided adhesive tape or some spray adhesive, but then the connection from your bridge to the top, or soundboard, is through a layer of celophane and or glue.

 

And it also depends on what type of finish the top has.

 

There are some finishes I wouldnt want to put tape or even light duty spray adhesive glue on.

 

Others would stand up to it fine.

[samueldb88]

Maybe mark where the bridge is using a grease pencil or something of the like that is non-permanent. I know it's not going to keep the bridge in the spot you want, but it will allow you to quickly re-align the bridge without altering the natural tone of the instrument.

[DaveAronow]

Maybe mark where the bridge is using a grease pencil or something of the like that is non-permanent. I know it's not going to keep the bridge in the spot you want, but it will allow you to quickly re-align the bridge without altering the natural tone of the instrument.

 

FTW.

[Electric Blues]

Thanks for the tips.

How about I stick a sewing pin through the bridge and the guitar top. That sounds kind of radical but it would only be a pin hole?

I do have drill bits that thin.

[Filter500]

Is it a tune-o-matic bridge? If so, you can buy the Tone-Pros locking bridge which uses allen screws that tighten against the posts and keep it from moving.

[rachelraylubsme]

i have some plastic floyd rose holder thing that seems to do the job well can't remember what its called

[Electric Blues]

Is it a tune-o-matic bridge? If so, you can buy the Tone-Pros locking bridge which uses allen screws that tighten against the posts and keep it from moving.

 

Yeah, it's a tune o matic but set up top a piece of wood that isn't fixed to the body. It's one of these...

 

[DaveAronow]

 

Thanks for the tips. How about I stick a sewing pin through the bridge and the guitar top. That sounds kind of radical but it would only be a pin hole? I do have drill bits that thin.

 

 

Yeah, it does sound radical for a few reasons.

 

It actually is a good idea and would probably work fine, but a few things to consider.

 

The tiny hole could encourage the top to crack especially if it is a solid piece (not veneered), there is simply a lot of downward pressure happening at the bridge area, and I wouldnt want to give any crack a head start with a begining hole.

 

Also, there is resale value.

 

How nice of a guitar is this, and how worried about possibly messing it up are you, and how important is the bridge not moving to you, as opposed to a little bit of tone loss?

 

Some 3M spray adhesive on the bottom of the bridge would probably hold it fine, but once again, depends on what type of finish I would trust with this method, and how much tone loss you could stand to lose.

 

You would infact, be transfering your tone through a blob of goo, as opposed to from the wood of the bridge, through the finish of the top and into the wood of the top.

 

You could even use some heavier duty more solid glue for better tone transfer, but then you will run a bigger risk and be more likely to remove finish if the bridge ever comes off for any reason, or even worse, crack the top.

 

The tone loss will be affected also, by what you actually use the guitar for.

 

If it is an absolutely pristine clean and bright sound you are going for, you are going to notice it with something between the bridge and body, alot more than if you are going for a bit more dark/and dirty sort of tone, say rockabilly type tones or something.

 

They dont glue violin bridges down for a reason.

 

The bridge is an extremely critical and sensitive medium for transfering the vibrations of the strings to the body, but that becomes less and less important, the further away you get from a clean pristine acoustic tone.

 

In that case, I dont think you would nortice much of any change at all.

[ashasha]

If you are talking about the saddles moving when you are cleaning I usually clean the bridge when its strung up. I take a soft brush and try to loosen up anything and then use an air compressor to blow anything out of there. After that I can usually wipe it with a cloth carefully or even polish it later on.

 

If you are talking about the height studs you can tape the tops of them with blue painters tape and secure them to the body and clean the rest of the guitar. Once you get to there just be careful after you pull the tape off.

[Tweedledee]

What I do is before I change the strings, I take two pieces of painter's tape (the blue stuff) and put one strip on either side of the bridge to mark the location. That way you can take all the strings off and still put the bridge right back in the same exact location when you restring it. Then you just remove the tape. Simple, effective, doesn't mar the surface, doesn't alter the instrument.

 

People do pin the bridges, but it seems unnecessary.

[Electric Blues]

 

Yeah, it does sound radical for a few reasons. It actually is a good idea and would probably work fine, but a few things to consider. The tiny hole could encourage the top to crack especially if it is a solid piece (not veneered), there is simply a lot of downward pressure happening at the bridge area, and I wouldnt want to give any crack a head start with a begining hole. Also, there is resale value. How nice of a guitar is this, and how worried about possibly messing it up are you, and how important is the bridge not moving to you, as opposed to a little bit of tone loss? Some 3M spray adhesive on the bottom of the bridge would probably hold it fine, but once again, depends on what type of finish I would trust with this method, and how much tone loss you could stand to lose. The tone loss will be affected also, by what you actually use the guitar for. If it is an absolutely pristine clean and bright sound you are going for, you are going to notice it with something between the bridge and body, alot more than if you are going for a bit more dark/and dirty sort of tone, say rockabilly type tones or something. They dont glue violin bridges down for a reason. The bridge is an extremely critical and sensitive medium for transfering the vibrations of the strings to the body, but that becomes less and less important, the further away you get from a clean pristine acoustic tone. In that case, I dont think you would nortice much of any change at all.

 

 

It's the Hagstrom HJ600 I bought a couple of months back and have been working on ever since, the top is laminated Spruce.

 

I think I'll just make a few marks with a grease pencil as suggested before the next string change. I guess that would be the smartest move.

[Electric Blues]

 

What I do is before I change the strings, I take two pieces of painter's tape (the blue stuff) and put one strip on either side of the bridge to mark the location. That way you can take all the strings off and still put the bridge right back in the same exact location when you restring it. Then you just remove the tape. Simple, effective, doesn't mar the surface, doesn't alter the instrument. People do pin the bridges, but it seems unnecessary.

 

Good tip, I'll go with that.

[coreopsisjay]

I've never done this, but i've heard someone say they tape Around the bridge before removing the strings so they can clearly see where the bridge belongs, then when you're done restringing just remove the tape.

 

I find that not cleaning the guitar makes it easy for me to see where the bridge goes:lol:

[DaveAronow]

 

If you are talking about the saddles moving when you are cleaning I usually clean the bridge when its strung up. I take a soft brush and try to loosen up anything and then use an air compressor to blow anything out of there. After that I can usually wipe it with a cloth carefully or even polish it later on. If you are talking about the height studs you can tape the tops of them with blue painters tape and secure them to the body and clean the rest of the guitar. Once you get to there just be careful after you pull the tape off.

 

 

He is talking about a free floating, non attatched bridge on a hollow body guitar, that completely comes off when string pressure is removed.

 

The tape idea is a good one.

 

Why not just tape it in place temporarily, through the string spaces(parallel to them, to hold the bridge in place when removing everything else?

 

This still depends on the type of finish, of course.

[DaveAronow]

 

It's the Hagstrom HJ600 I bought a couple of months back and have been working on ever since, the top is laminated Spruce. I think I'll just make a few marks with a grease pencil as suggested before the next string change. I guess that would be the smartest move.

 

 

Best way for what you wanted? Maybe not.

 

But smartest, and safest? Yeah.

[Pope on a Rope]

Why not just take off three strings and clean the half with no strings and put the other three strings on and remove the rest of the old strings and then clean that half?

 

Or else you could tape the thumbwheels in place before removing the strings.

[Electric Blues]

 

Why not just take off three strings and clean the half with no strings and put the other three strings on and remove the rest of the old strings and then clean that half? Or else you could tape the thumbwheels in place before removing the strings.

 

 

The thumbwheels aren't the issue, the whole bridge is.

I guess this type of bridge is used in archtops since there's nothing underneath to screw them into.

[Pope on a Rope]

 

The thumbwheels aren't the issue, the whole bridge is. I guess this type of bridge is used in archtops since there's nothing underneath to screw them into.

 

 

Ooh. That kind of bridge.

 

I have seen on acoustic guitars where people have used an Exacto knives or razor blades to mark the corners of the bridge with tiny cuts in the finish so that at least two corners that are set diagonally apart will have little V's so that you can easily see where to replace the bridge. You really just want to scratch lightly on the surface at the corners so that you can easily buff them out if you need to adjust the bridge in the future.

[DaveAronow]

 

Ooh. That kind of bridge. I have seen on acoustic guitars where people have used an Exacto knives or razor blades to mark the corners of the bridge with tiny cuts in the finish so that at least two corners that are set diagonally apart will have little V's so that you can easily see where to replace the bridge. You really just want to scratch lightly on the surface at the corners so that you can easily buff them out if you need to adjust the bridge in the future.

 

 

Dude.

 

Just use thin strips of tape to temporarily hold the bridge in place when cleaning, and then remove them when done.

 

Problem solved.

[Pope on a Rope]

 

Dude. Just use thin strips of tape to temporarily hold the bridge in place when cleaning, and then remove them when done. Problem solved.

 

 

It's no big deal to mark the corners with a razor blade. The little cuts are imperceptible.

 

There is also the bonus feature of knowing exactly where to replace your bridge if for some reason it gets knocked out of place.

[docjeffrey]

 

Why do you need to move the bridge to clean the guitar? Use a Q-tip or a small, soft paint brush.

[ashasha]

Why do you need to move the bridge to clean the guitar? Use a Q-tip or a small, soft paint brush.

I guess that I missed the fact that it was a free floating bridge in the beginning of the post. Hell I thought that he was asking how Zakk Wylde did it so I automatically thought that it was going to be an LP question.

 

No string tension, it falls right off. Its not something that he is doing on purpose, its just part of the deal.

 

At least tape would still work so it wasn't like I was completely useless, just clueless.

[DaveAronow]

I guess that I missed the fact that it was a free floating bridge in the beginning of the post. Hell I thought that he was asking how Zakk Wylde did it so I automatically thought that it was going to be an LP question. No string tension, it falls right off. Its not something that he is doing on purpose, its just part of the deal. At least tape would still work so it wasn't like I was completely useless, just clueless.

 

Nice one.

 

I made an ass out of myself in another thread just yesterday by failing to actually read the O.P.:thu::lol:

[Pascal]

Gypsy jazz guitars use "moutaches":

 

 

The center of the bridge is floating, the side "moustaches" are glued.

 

Otherwise, yes, cleaning the fretboard each half at the time or using repositionable tape makes sense.