The Ray Nurse cittern that I had on loan for awhile had a simple triangular bridge, like you describe. Unfortunately, it wasn't in playable condition (the back had partially separated from the rib), so I don't know about the sound. The owner played it in a broken consort some years ago, however, and was happy enough with it.
Guy ----- Original Message ----- From: KEVIN LAWTON<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Andrew Hartig<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ; [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, October 31, 2006 6:34 AM Subject: [CITTERN] Re: bridges - tone effect? Andrew, I would suggest that the bridge should ideally have three properties: (1) - Light - so as not to dampen the sound vibrations. (2) - Rigid - so as to transmit the vibrations as clearly as possible. (3) - Well connected to the top - so that the top is 'driven' by the vibrations as effectively as possible. I would suggest that while you are experimenting with bridges you try making one which is essentially triangular in cross section, solid, and carefully 'fitted' to the top. There are a few materials to try this from. Very hard woods are obvious choices - Ebony, Bubinga, Wenge, etc. Glass can make a surprisingly good bridge and is quite easily shaped using a whetstone. Aluminium can also be quite effective (I jest yee not). Bone is well worth trying, as are some of the very hard plastics like Corian. Except in the case of something like a Violin, where the mechanical arrangement of bridge and sound-post is working in a special way, I would suggest the best starting point is a light solid bridge well matched to the top. The improvement in tone can be either small or substantial - depending on many factors like just how the instrument is constructed and what bridge you are replacing. It is fairly easy to experiment as you only have to slacken the strings off a bit, not remove them entirely. With the right bridge you can expect improvements in the both loudness and tonal quality so it is well worth experimenting I think. Kevin. Andrew Hartig <[EMAIL PROTECTED]<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>> wrote: Hi all, I asked this question on the cittern-builder's list, but I thought I might cast a wider net, so to speak, and ask on this list since the subject of bridges came up recently. I am finishing constructing my Renaissance cittern (based on the instrument drawn by Sebastian Nunez) and am now wondering about the effect that bridge shape/mass/stiffness/etc. has on tone. I got the strings on it last night with a very basic rock maple bridge blank that has feet approx. 33mm long x 5mm wide and 3mm tall; the underarch for the bridge is currently about 1/3 of the bridge height; the bridge top is tapered down to about 2.5mm. The tone is currently okay, but I know it can be a lot better. I was hoping that others who have had experience with replacing bridges (even for EGs, PGs, etc.) might be able to share their insight as to what types of changes did what to the sound. For instance, what might I be able to expect to happen to the tone if I make the legs thinner? The feet shorter? The underarch higher? Any and all insights are welcome, publicly or privately -- I'm just trying to get a sense of how best to shape the tone of my instrument. Thanks in advance, Andrew To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html<http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html> -- --
