Brekke bridge

[Rob Griffin]

I was just wondering if anyone has replaced the Loar style bridge on their mandolin and if it improved the tone and/or volume. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[Joe Mendel]

The short answer is, maybe. Some folks report improved tone & volume, other expeirence the opposite & still others don't hear much difference at all. I've never used one,but have installed a few for other people. I didn't hear much of a difference. I've tried fossilized ivory saddles & heard a dramatic improvement on one mandolin & hardly any difference on 3 others. I think it varies a great deal from one instrument to another. It won't turn a plywood mandolin into a great instrument, but there might be some improvement. Try it & see what happens, it's not a permanent alteration.

[diamond ace]

I loved mine and plan on putting another on my new mandolin! But every mandolin is different. I used the Brekke Traditional bridge, I don't like the other one. Try it and see what hapens, like Joe said it's not permanent and you could sell the bridge if you don't like it.

[Rob Griffin]

I was thinking of trying the non traditional Brekke bridge. I guess I'm curious after reading the articles on the Weber web site.

My mandolin is a Eastman 515 and the bridge is a little different. There is no area in the middle of the base of the bridge that is scooped out so that it doesn't make contact. So the base of the bridge is in contact with the top the entire length of the base. Does anyone know how important it is to have an area in the middle of the bridge that doesn't make contact with the top? http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif

[diamond ace]

I "think" the reason for the "gap" area is so that the preasure of the bridge will mostly be placed on the area of the top where the tone bars are. I'm not sure about this, but It may reduce presure on the middle of the top where the book matched pices are joined together. I know some players say that you get more sound out of the mandolin when the bridge makes contact all the way across the top. Maybe a builder can cime in here to let us know the "real" reason for the "gap".

[Ken Berner]

It absolutely depends on the individual mandolin! My first mandolin was a '90s Kentucky 250S (tone bars), which sounded like a tin can. The original Brekke bridge certainly gave the instrument more "warmth" to the tone. The same bridge even helped the tone on my '92 Flatiron F5 Artist (X-braced) and later adding a Weber cast bronze tailpiece really pleased my ears! I tried the "traditional" Brekke bridge on my '99 Weber Beartooth (X-braced), but it killed the mellow tone, so I put the original Brekke back on. You will just have to experiment with each mandolin to see how it reacts to the bridge.

[Joe Mendel]

I'm not sure of the exact reason for the gap on the bridge foot & I'm sure it does make some difference. My Collings MT-2 does not have the gap, my Breeedlove Alpine does, both A- shaped mandolins. They both sound very good, but very different from each other.

[Mike Buesseler]

Check with Peter Coombes. He uses a specially modified Brekke non-traditional on his mandos. I had Vern Brekke make one special for my old Gibson A model. It sounds great compared to the broken down rosewood model I had before. I love the ability to adjust under tension. It's worth a try, I'd say. I love mine.

[johnwalser]

I have tried a Brekke non-traditional on several mandolins with varying degrees of success. I just always wanted better tone than it gave me. After reading so many good things on the Cafe about Sullivan bridges, I finally popped for one. I NOW HAVE THREE!!!
I have NO financial interest in First Quality Music, I have just found what gives me the sound I want for the kind of music I play.
John

[Mando Medic]

I have tried the Brekke bridge on a lot of different mandolins and each one responds differently. I have found that to my ear most of the high end mandolins are not an improvement but some are. The biggest area of improvement came with mandolins that come from Japan, Korea, China or Indonesia. The Brekke tend to darken the sound, much like the teens Gibson A-0,1,2,3,4's did and they were one piece bridges too. It takes a lot of the tinny tone away and gives it a warmer, darker tone. Sometimes you will lose some volume when this happens but you lose the brightness that was your volume.

Where they really shine is when you replace the one piece bridges on those early A's and F-2 & F-4's. Same principal but adjustable. It's a very inexpensive place to try and improve your instrument. I think that it's not for everybody but you won't know until you try one, and when you do, remember that you need to play the instrument in with the new bridge, so give it at least a week. Kenc

[Rob Griffin]

Thanks to everyone for your insight. I'm going to give the Brekke a try. I'll post after I get the bridge installed and played in.

I'm still curious about the purpose of the gap in the middle of most mandolin bridges, the bridge on my mandolin doesn't have one. If anyone has an explanation I think some of us would be interested in hearing it. Diamond Joe's explanation makes sense but it would be nice to hear other opinons. Thanks to all!

[Mando Medic]

I've tried to find out if it makes a difference or not, and it appears to me that it does not. I meant to address that in my post but forgot. I make a lot of bridges and the best thing about the gap in the middle is it makes it easier to set the bridge and work the feet to the top. Some might even argue that a full footprint would impede the top vibrations. Kenc

[Daniel Nestlerode]

I had Michael Lewis put a Brekke on my Capek last June. It was a disaster at first. Tone was too tinny and there was no low end to the mando at all. After about 10 days of hard playing http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif and a new set of strings it finally became listenable. 6 months later, I can say that the Brekke provides my tone bar mandolin more balance string to string and and gives me a more blended sound. In ither words it sounds more like a flat top than it did with the old Loar style bridge on it. I'm sure the Brekke will not stay on my mandolin, the "chop" isn't exactly where I want it and the trebles are still a little too biting.

If you're interested in "bridge studies" have a look at Red Henry's Mandolin Bridge site (http://www.murphymethod.com/redbridge.html). Among other things Red discusses the size of the foot relative to tone.

Best,
Daniel

[jim_n_virginia]

I have a Brekke traditional bridge on my Flatiron and I love it! It increased the volume and added more sustain.

For a while last year I owned two Flatiron Performer Series madolins. Both made the same way with integrated necks and same wood and even made the same year 1995.

One had a regular Loar copy bridge and the other had the traditional Brekke bridge. There was a HUGE difference in the tone and volume between the two.

I think that the reason for the big disparity between people who have installed the Brekke bridge is in the way it is installed. If you don't install it right it will not work right. I think if you install it correctly then the improvement in sound is very obvious.

You cannot install a traditional Brekke bridge like you do the old way by merely putting a piece of sandpaper on the top and sliding the bridge back and forth until the shape of the bridge matches the contour of the mandolin top.

In the traditional Brekke bridge there is a brass bar that is embedded in the bridge.That brass bar can't touch the top of the mandolin. Thus if you sand to much on installation you can ruin the bridge.

That brass bar CANNOT touch the wood surface. It messes up the sound and can also damage the top on your mandolin!

[250sc]

What is the function of the brass bar?

[neal]

The brass bar is on the top of the bridge, it's to transfer the sound better and prevent sagging. The base is wood, so I don't think you have to worry about sanding too much. This is the Loar style Brekke. Check out the website, it's on the front page and it'll give you a good understanding.

[Michael Lewis]

Each mandolin is a unique structure that makes and responds to frequencies as only it can. As many here have said, you will just have to try it to find out if it works for your instrument. Just because a specific mandolin responds well with the Brekke bridge doesn't mean that the next example of the same model will respond the same. There is no black or white rule here that you can apply with certainty. This thread is much like the one pertaining to CAST TAILPIECES, where one fellow says that only high quality mandos benefit from their installation while another fellow states just the opposite, that only cheap Pac rim imports benefit. Both fellows are reporting from their experience, and their experience doesn't lie, it just doesn't go far enough. 3 or 4 examples do not make a trend. Too often someone will assume that since one or two examples are similar that ALL OTHER examples are the same. It is if it is and it ain't if it ain't.

[jasona]

3 or 4 examples do not make a trend. Too often someone will assume that since one or two examples are similar that ALL OTHER examples are the same. It is if it is and it ain't if it ain't.
This is completely, 100% true. That is why we have the world of statistics. The more examples, the more confident we can be that we are getting close to the truth because there is ALWAYS variation and your individual experience could be way out on one edge of the range of normal variation and the next guy way out on the other end. Both are normal and both are correct, but neither can generalize.