Recomendations For A Good All Round Modern Bridge

[Bmachine]

I am building a new guitar for my son. He plays in a punk / metal band.

I am trying to find out what bridge to use since I have the option to use pretty much anything. It has to stay simple (no Bigsby or Floyds) and could be tremolo even though he probably wont use that part of it much.

I've been using Mustang bridges on Jaguars mostly so I'm not too sure what else is out there for a "general purpose" good quality bridge.

Thanks for any input.

[Bmachine]

I read a fair bit about the Hipshot Hardtail and Tremolo. Would either of these be a good option for this purpose?

Thanks

[skibum5545]

Well, whether you use a hardtail or tremolo makes a big difference in the buiding process: huge routing differences, to name one thing. Also, tremolo bridges notoriously have less sustain and are do not stay in tune as well as hardtails. If your son isn't going to use the tremolo bridge, then I reccomend you use a hardtail.

There are fairly standard hardtail bridges, and there are Tune-O-Matics.

Those are just two examples. There are all sorts of options here, which might help you decide. Then there's fine tuners, hybrid bridges (like the Baby Grand), tele bridges, and that's not even getting into bridge piezo pickup systems and the like.

Decide hardtail or tremolo, fine tuners, etc., and then people can help you with brands and whatnot. Good luck!

[johnsilver]

I put this bridge on a guitar I made recently. It is very solid and adjustable, including the string spacing. Unfortunately, I see its gone up about $15 since I bought mine and it wasn't cheap to begin with.

Schaller Roller Bridge

[crafty]

The Hipshot hardtail will keep things simple for both you and him:

a. You won't have to route the body for a tremolo

b. If he breaks a string, the rest of the strings will stay in tune much better

-and-

c. Most new "punk/metal" bands don't have extensive guitar solos anymore. Needless to say, he probably will have no use for a trem, much less a Floyd Rose. The Hipshot is also made of machined brass, which is well known as "the" true musical metal. Very high quality unit for only around $50.

Now, you haven't mentioned if you're building a carved-top guitar or a Fender-style flat top guitar. If it's a carved-top, the Hipshot won't work--but I'm willing to bet you already know what you're doing anyway.

[soapbarstrat]

The ones I've made from scratch, could be described as " punk metal ". LOL

http://photobucket.com/albums/v398/soapbar...ss_bridge1a.jpg

[Cracked]

Wow SoapbarStrat, you are like the King of DIY! Looks like you adapt alot of things to make your own tools and jigs. Great job man!

[PerryL]

Bmachine, Like the others have said you have lots of choices and it all comes down to preference much of the time with many of us ease of installation.

The Hipshot bridges are Top Notch and are my personal preference since they are easy to install and they look great as well. The strings going through the body help with sustain. I'm doing a body with a tune-o-matic bridge with strings thru and just found some top ferrules at Warmoth that look great on the top.

[Bmachine]

Thank you all for the good feedback.

I have decided to get a Hipshot hardtail to try it out (indeed, crafty, it is a "flat" body). Looks good, price is right and most people speak highly of it. The Schaller 475 is also getting a lot of good press. But more expensive and I'm not crazy about its very "open heart surgery" design.