Is the bridge supposed to lean?

[asmiler]

I just noticed that the bridge on my mandolin has a rather pronounced lean. The bottom part is firmly seated on the mandolin, but the section above the thumb screws is leaning towards the headstock. Is that normal?

[John Flynn]

No, it's not normal, but it happens. It happend in on my Rigel and had a luthier re-fit the bridge base to the top with a very slight backward lean. The tone improved and now the bridge base and saddle stay lined up.

[donnied]

I don't believe this is a normal occurance. I noticed the same thing on my Eastman a few weeks ago. The bridge was leaning toward the nut probably 10 or 15 degrees. I heard that this was a very common problem among the early Eastmans and they have since solved it at the factory. I removed the bridge, took it apart and the screws were slightly bent. Not only that, the holes in the base looked to be elongated, worn in the direction of the nut. I would like to know if it's worth replacing the screws with slightly larger ones or should I get a whole new bridge (maybe Cumberland Acoustic, Brekke?, etc.) Any suggestions?

Donnie D

Eastman MD515
Rigel A+ Deluxe

[asmiler]

Thanks. #This is a stock Eastman bridge/saddle. #Any advantage to upgrading it to something different?

[JHo]

Asmiler, I'd say yes. I upgraded my stock Eastman bridge to a Brekke. Aside from making my instrument sound woodier which I like, I don't have the leaning issues that I had with the standard style Eastman bridge with thumb screws. With the Brekke, one piece of wood (saddle) slides into a channel in another piece (base), so the two are automatically aligned with one another. I got the Brekke to get those metal thumb screws out of there, for structural reasons and for tonal reasons. Glad I did.

[donnied]

Asmiler - Thanks for starting this thread. Appreciate this valuable info.

Jason - Did you fit, cut the slots and install the Brekke yourself? Was it a difficult task? Was the improvement in tone (woodiness)immediate or did it take a while for the bridge to settle in? Hope this isn't too many questions but I've been looking for someone with a Brekke on an Eastman. Thanks.

Donnie D

[MikeEdgerton]

Perhaps it would be better if you could post a picture. Some bridges appear to lean when in fact they are simply oriented when they are fit to be on the same plane as the fingerboard. Looking at them they will not appear to be perpendicular to the body. It's normal and correct. That doesn't mean your bridge doesn't have problems, it means that your bridge may not have problems and may be in fact mounted correctly. Before you rush to judgement let someone see it that would actually be able to tell you if it's correct.

[JHo]

Well put, Mike. Have it evaluated first, unless you just want to swap out the bridge either way.

Donnie, to answer your questions:

1) I did not fit the new bridge myself, I took it to someone I trusted to do it right. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
2) I did notice a tonal difference right away, but still it did take a couple of weeks for things to settle back into place. It was worth the wait though. I think it sounds much better than it did. Also, I like that the Brekke bridge has a nice rounded profile, which feels nice under the picking hand.

[asmiler]

I will post a pic shortly. Another observation I have made is that the strings aren't laying flat across the bridge. While holding the mandolin in playing position, I can see that the strings are resting more on the back ( or right) side of the bridge. This leaves a gap between the strings and the left or front side of the bridge.

[Calvin]

My Kentucky has been doing it too. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[donnied]

I don't think I need a professional evaluation, the thumbscrews are bent. I was hoping it was an optical illusion but that's definately not the case.

Jason - Thanks for the good input on the Brekke. That confirms my thinking. I was kicking around the idea of trying to fit it to the top myself but maybe I'd better re-think that. We'll see. I just don't know anyone around here that I'd trust with it. Thanks again.

Donnie D

[Martin Jonas]

I will post a pic shortly. Another observation I have made is that the strings aren't laying flat across the bridge. While holding the mandolin in playing position, I can see that the strings are resting more on the back ( or right) side of the bridge. This leaves a gap between the strings and the left or front side of the bridge.
That is a problem, and likely to lead to a buzz and/or poor intonation. It is essential that the strings have a clean termination on the forward edge of the saddle, i.e. the edge facing the headstock. This must be the last point of contact between wood and string.

Martin

[Scotti Adams]

Its not supposed to but with the effects of tuning and perhaps changing strings then again tuning the pull of the strings as they tighten causes the bridge to lean foward. Its an easy fix and can be done by yourself. Just carefully grab the bridge with both hands between the thumbs and forefingers right above the posts and carfully straighten it up.As you said the base is firmly seated so that cant be the problem. I have seen bridge bases that have been fitted wrong and this will cause a lean also. Your strings are making contact with the back of the bridge because the saddle is leaning foward.

[Steevarino]

Scotti is right. #In most cases, if the saddle (top piece of the bridge) is leaning forward, you can usually grab it with both hands and pull it back. #Not something everyone would like to try, but not scary at all once you get used to it.

As mentioned somewhere above, all interaction with the mandolin (playing, tuning, changing a string, etc.) are all actions that pull the saddle forward. #Nothing (short of Scotti's suggestion) pulls it back, so it is actually a fairly common occurence.

When I make my bridges I strive for as tight a fit as possible between the saddle holes and the threaded rods that go in these holes. #I think this helps to keep a Loar Replica Style bridge from leaning foward.

Another thing that is being experimented with these days is actually allowing for this forward creep by designing in a small amount of back angle on the mandolin bridge base, while fitting it to the top. #I know of some builders and repair folks that are doing this. #I have done it on a few mandolins, with very favorable results.

The guy who mentioned the bent rods above could try this. #Remove the bridge, twist the rods so they are angled backwards instead of forward, tune-up the instrument, re-intonate the bridge, and see what happens.

Just a thought (or two) . . .

Steve Smith
www.CumberlandAcoustic.com

[Doug Edwards]

Another thing that is being experimented with these days is actually allowing for this forward creep by designing in a small amount of back angle on the mandolin bridge base, while fitting it to the top. #I know of some builders and repair folks that are doing this. #I have done it on a few mandolins, with very favorable results.

The guy who mentioned the bent rods above could try this. #Remove the bridge, twist the rods so they are angled backwards instead of forward, tune-up the instrument, re-intonate the bridge....

Just a thought (or two) . . .

Steve Smith
www.CumberlandAcoustic.com
The last several bridges I fitted, I oriented the base to allow for forward shift. It works very good.

Steve, your suggestion about the bent posts was brilliant. So many simple ideas work so well. BTW, your bridges are great.