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| Fitting bridges to string instruments properly is one of the more challenging tasks of violin repair. The bridge is very important to the tonal quality of the instrument. The problem begins with the selection of the bridge blank and requires skill and experience. The feet of a bridge should be knife fitted to the belly of the instrument, and most any other method is inadequate. Not only are the tonal results marginal, a poorly fitted bridge also may damage the instrument permanently. |
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The self-adjusting bridge with pivoting feet supplied by Glaesel has eliminated most of these problems by simply pushing the bridge down on the belly of the instrument and the feet will adjust to the curvature of the belly. Whether a bridge blank is fitted with a knife or a Glaesel adjustable bridge is used, the height of the bridge may be determined as follows: |
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| 1. Place the bridge in its proper position on the instrument and hold with one hand. With the other hand, place a well-sharpened, full length pencil on top the fifingerboard, the tip showing toward the bridge. |
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2. Without applying any pressure to the fingerboard, make a mark on each side of the bridge (E and G side). NOTE: These marks are about 3mm above the extended surface of the fingerboard.
3. The mark on the E string side gives you the height of the bridge necessary to produce the desired clearance of the E string from the fingerboard at the very end of the fingerboard. To arrive at the proper height on the G string side, simply make another mark 1 mm above your first pencil mark; and with the help of a bridge template, connect the pencil marks on the E and G string side.
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4. Trim bridge down to the pencil line with the help of a knife and a file.
5. Next the thickness of the bridge is to be trimmed. The top edge of the bridge should be about equal to the diameter of the heaviest of the 4 strings. The bridge should be thinned down only from the side facing the finger board, resulting in this side to be slightly curved (the belly) while the side facing the tailpiece should stay perfectly straight.
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6. String grooves should be marked with the help of a divider (12mm spacing for 4/4 violin -- see bridge diagrams for other measurements), then notched with a knife and rounded with a needle file. Pencil graphite may be rubbed into the string grooves a a lubricant.
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7. Sand the flat surfaces and the top of the bridge slightly. (Cutting out the holes and trimming the bridge feet to balance the tonal quality requires experience and is optional.) |
