Electric Guitar Bridge

by TJ on Saturday, June 13th, 2009 | Comments Off

Hi all, great to see you back here! Today we’re going to learn more about the electric guitar bridge and some of the common problems that you may encounter.

First off, let’s see the main functions of the bridge itself. A bridge is placed between the guitar strings and the guitar body to set the strings length in order to get a proper intonation. The distance from the guitar nut to the bridge should be calculated precisely. The bridge sets sufficient distance a.k.a. string action from the fretboard to the guitar strings. Together with the nut, the bridge also provides strings spacing at the fretboard and guitar body.

Electric Guitar Bridge Common Problems:

The guitar stays out of tune no matter how good you tune the strings.

Poor strings intonation, i.e. open string pitch is OK but when pressed at a certain fret the pitch is off.

Strings keep on buzzing on one or more frets.

Strings breaks frequently at bridge.

Daily Suggested Maintenance:

Wipe dry the strings and the bridge after playing. Electric guitar bridge is very prone to get corroded because every time your palm rests on the bridge it will deposit some sweat there. If corrosion happened on the saddles you can expect to spend more bucks because the saddles may have worn edges sharp enough to break your strings.

Check whether the bridge is still in good position. If you feel that it is out of place better seek help from an experienced guitar technician.

Setting the Saddles:

The guitar saddles can be adjusted up or down to alter the strings action. You may want to do this if you feel that the guitar playability is not right. On some electric guitars you can alter the strings action by raising or lowering the whole bridge. The other types have six individual saddles (or seven for the seven strings guitar) that allow you to set the string action individually. On some other types you may find both of the adjustable bridge and set of saddles.

Whilst you can also shift the saddle back and forth I don’t really recommend beginners to do this because it will change the guitar intonation. Again you’d better seek for a help from a guitar technician should you think your guitar has a poor intonation.

To Your Guitar Success,

-TJ-

Beginner Guitar Lessons Admin

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