New Bridge . . . New Pick-up ?

[rosincloud]

Dear Folks

I'm replacing the one piece 'classical' bridge on my 'electric' Freshwater Mandola for a compensated/adjustable type in ebony - to get better intonation and a lower action. After stripping the old bridge off, I discovered that the pick-up was an 'under-saddle' piezo ceramic strip.

Question is . . . can this type be re-located tightly between the single foot bridge and the soundboard? (presumably with a shallow groove machined beneath the lower element of the bridge) . . . Or will I now need an alternative pick-up?

Regards, Tony P.

[mmukav]

I looked at the mandola on the Freshwater site and I think you'd be better off replacing the pick-up also. I'm not sure what you mean by 'machining' a groove beneath the bridge. If you mean cutting into the soundboard I'd think twice about doing that. You cand get ebony bridges with the electronics built in-that may be the way to go.

[mandroid]

Putting strip piezo in a slot in the bridge underside is commonly done,[fishman,schatten] typically its into the upper part of an adjustable bridge, thats what Lebeda did on mine, runs the wire thru a hole in the top where the bridge sits, covering it.
soundboard pickups offer a tone choice, depending on where you put it.
Intonation for(my) mandola is different than for (my)mandolins,(less offsets) find a tech to make one for that instrument, rather than buying one for mandolin
[maybe webber has a brekke version from their mandolas}.
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif

[8ch(pl)]

Could you not drill a very small hole halfway up the bridge, then using a scroll saw cut a slit to insert the pickup and fix it in place with epoxy?

[rosincloud]

Thanks you guys . . . I had a look at the Schatten design and I can see my way through now. I'll rout a 1/4" deep groove in the underside of the upper bridge component . . . seat the 6 element piezo and follow this with a section of bone saddle which will be just oversized enough to protrude and bear on the saddle jack screws - which should (in theory) ensure compression between the piezo strip and its machined recess beneath the compensated saddle arrangement. (I hope!)

Anyway, I'll let you know . . . and thanks for your help

T.P.

[mandroid]

FWIW; Schertler bluestick is a condenser strip sized like thin undersaddle piezos, but a microphone, check it out at shertler site. ideally suited to flattop bridges ,rather than F5 types. compression is not an issue with those they say.