There is plenty of volume without being extremely bright, but it still rings and resonates just enough. This mandolin banjo sounds great now, with your mahogany bridge, Fiberskyn head and D'Addario J-75 mandolin strings. Three different times I had to loosen the strings and tighten the head a little more as it was much too muddy. I didn't want to get it too short right off the bat. I knew that I had to notch it and string up the instrument before doing any sanding, as the head would give a little bit. I did not have to alter the height at all. Thanks to your instructions, it worked out just fine. Hi Red, Just a note to let you know that the bridge arrived this afternoon and I immediately went to work on it. Here's a note from Ken B., who had his mandolin-banjo set up and playing the same day his bridge came in: Sincerely,Īlong with all the mandolin bridges, some mandolin-banjo bridges have gone out too. It'll be our little secret, OK? Anyway, thanks for a great idea and product. I haven't told them about the bridge (I dyed it black). My picking buddies think I'm getting better tone out of it. It'll never sound as good as your RW, or a Loar, but then again, I'm not in the same league as you as a picker! It's a better mando than I am a player so I guess I'll have to catch up to it. strong but with a slight muddy tendency compared to good Gibson. The highs have a richer quality to them, without a sacrifice to the already strong midrange. As I've played it for several months since installing the maple bridge, I'm sure I hear increase in the depth of tone and maybe presence if you will. pancake theory is in effect I hope!Īnyway, I installed the maple bridge and did notice an improvement in volume immediately.
After that, any change in tone has been too gradual for me to notice. It sounded really green and tight when I first bought it, but improved a lot with some playing time in a matter of months. As a reminder my mando is a Kentucky KM 150s, Chinese made, purchased new about a year ago. I know it's been a long time since I ordered my bridge, but I thought I would thoroughly evaluate it before I wrote back to you. This is a note from T.H., who put a maple bridge on his import mandolin a few weeks ago: I would be pleased to add my voice to any testimonials you might require. I heartily recommend this bridge to anyone looking for a significant improvement in the sound of their mandolin. This mandolin was no slouch prior to your bridge-but now it is a roaring beast. The volume,tone and clarity of the instrument have improved beyond my wildest expectations. I must commend you on such a wonderful product. As luck would have it -a beautiful used Rigel A+ found its way into my posession-and the bridge ended up on the Rigel instead. On June 28, 2008, he wrote:Ī few weeks back I ordered an 11 hole bridge for my Kentucky 350S. just installed a maple bridge on his Rigel A+. I played it in Mandolin Orchestra last night\ and it was out standing.
It was always a good sounding instrument but a little lacking in volume,wow what a difference the bridge made. I followed instructions and ended up with a good fitting bridge and the bonus was rewarding. The fitting was easy, apart from not being able to remove pick guard.(probably unremoved since 1909.) I received your bridge for my Gibson A 3 a couple of days ago. G.H., in Canada, just installed a maple bridge on his old Gibson A-3.
I have replaced the senders' names with initials. These messages are posted with the permission of each individual. Here are some responses from folks who have tried Red's maple bridges. User Reports: What they're saying about these bridges