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Topic: How much does the bridge affect sustain? |
James Mayer
From:
back in Portland Oregon, USA (via Arkansas and London, UK)
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Posted 14 May 2009 12:54 pm |
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I have an old Teisco lap steel that has great tone. It doesn't sustain as well as my Fouke aluminum steels, however. I read somewhere that cutting the right notch in the bridge affects sustain. If it's shaped like a V then the sustain is better than if it's shaped like a U.
Here's the thing, the Teisco bridge is a metal bar that sits in a cradle and is held down by the pressure of the strings. There are no notches. If I was to have notches cut in the bar, would any of you guess that it would change anything at all? |
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Bill Hatcher
From:
Atlanta Ga. USA
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Posted 14 May 2009 1:14 pm
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| I do not think that cutting notches will improve the sustain. |
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Jim Konrad
From:
The Great Black Swamp USA
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Posted 14 May 2009 2:25 pm
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I agree with Bill......IMO I think it would actually hurt you sustain  |
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Bill Hatcher
From:
Atlanta Ga. USA
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Posted 14 May 2009 3:07 pm
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| What does the nut look like? If you have just a piece of plastic up there then you might consider swapping out to as nice and beefy a piece of aluminum or brass as you can fit in. That might increase your sustain more than you might imagine. |
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James Mayer
From:
back in Portland Oregon, USA (via Arkansas and London, UK)
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Posted 14 May 2009 4:21 pm
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| It's a chrome saddle. Just a bar, kinda like a Stringmaster nut, but without the grooves. |
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Bill Hatcher
From:
Atlanta Ga. USA
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Posted 14 May 2009 7:33 pm
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| Well if you have a metal bar for the nut AND the bridge then I think your lack of sustain is due to the body. |
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James Mayer
From:
back in Portland Oregon, USA (via Arkansas and London, UK)
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Posted 14 May 2009 9:13 pm
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| Bill Hatcher wrote: |
| What does the nut look like? If you have just a piece of plastic up there then you might consider swapping out to as nice and beefy a piece of aluminum or brass as you can fit in. That might increase your sustain more than you might imagine. |
Sorry, I misread this and assumed you were asking about the bridge. The nut is also made of metal but it does have notches in it. |
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Tom Pettingill
From:
California, USA (deceased)
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Posted 14 May 2009 10:28 pm
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As Bill and Jim noted, notching of the nut and or bridge is not going to make much if any difference in sustain.
More important would be how well the nut and bridge are coupled to the body.
If the nut or bridge piece is loose fitting or making minimal contact with the body, it could be an issue.
Other things that can negatively effect sustain are thin / flexible head stocks and or body flex. A pickup too close to the strings can also kill a lot of sustain.
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Richard Brandt
From:
Waymart, Pennsylvania, USA
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Posted 15 May 2009 2:51 am nUT
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| All this time i though the nut was behind the bar |
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James Mayer
From:
back in Portland Oregon, USA (via Arkansas and London, UK)
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Posted 15 May 2009 10:17 am
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| Thanks for the suggestions, guys. The steel has adequate sustain, but I always look to tweak to make things more than just adequate. I suppose I'll just leave it alone, seeing as it's 50 yrs old. |
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