Acoustic Guitar Bridge Dimensions? Top Answer Update

The guitar bridge and associated hardware are often considered to be one of the most identifiable parts of the guitar, in no small part because they are usually so shiny. So focused on the overall pitch of the strings, this aspect of guitar hardware often doesn’t make much of an impact when an aspiring guitarist is trying to buy a new ship.

Despite the fact that there are so many different types of guitar bridges, the debate is known to fall into a fixed, dichotomous binary between the more obvious options: either vibrato arm or no vibrato arm.

However, in the middle of these two peak poles there are many options, all of which can have a really significant impact on the overall tone of a guitar and more importantly the overall playing experience, which is doubly important for a guitarist just starting out who might have a have a bad taste in their mouth that they can’t get out.

For example, some more experienced guitarists refuse to use locking tremolos because they feel they’re bulky and awkward to use, so they opt for something lower-maintenance instead. On the other hand, some use Floyd Roses and similar systems exclusively because of their reputation for being strong, sturdy, and reliable for performing whammy tricks while staying in tune the whole time.

Which guitar bridge type is the best?

As with so many aspects of learning an instrument and the various business activities involved, there is no objective best of everything. The beauty of learning an instrument, especially one as personal as the guitar, is that you can make it your own and use it to carve your own path in the world of music, using it like a carpenter’s own tools.

That being said, there are certainly some that are better than others, e.g. B. ones that are simply better able to hold tune better compared to those of a similar model, unless you’re a particular fan of how completely out of tune in the outsider music circles seem to be.

That’s not to say that there are some guitar bridge types that are better than others, as it’s all a matter of taste, context, and the style of music that the bridge will act as a channel for. However, that’s also not to say that all types of guitar bridges are the same, because they’re not, and it’s their differences that lead people to make such biased decisions when asked.

However, I’m sure we can all agree that of two guitar bridges of the same type and construction, the one that better fulfills the musician’s function and intent is the better guitar bridge for the job. In this sense, while all guitar bridge types are equal from the objective point of view of God, not all guitar bridges themselves are equal as autonomous objects.

Fixed Guitar Bridges vs Tremolo Bridges: A Dichotomy

While it’s obviously important to look at the details as closely as possible, when you’re just starting out it can be useful to narrow down the often overwhelming array of guitar bridge types to a more palatable dichotomy that almost anyone can digest. including budding guitarists like you.

Therefore, the range of guitar bridge types that we are going to have under our magnifying glass today will be divided into two factions to better digest them and organize them according to the needs of those reading this. After all, what’s the use if the reader and prospective buyer of a guitar or a new guitar bridge, who has already decided to buy such a guitar bridge, is told what to look out for in a different type?

The dichotomy is thus established between guitar bridge types that are designed to be used for vibrato and those that are fixed to stay in tune longer.

I’m aware that I said in the introduction to this article that simply framing the debate in such a rigid dichotomous symbiosis can be harmful and my opinion hasn’t changed since! This is just a kinder way of approaching such an ambiguous and overwhelming aspect of the guitar world.

Although some of the examples below are more common than others, it’s important to get a feel for the market so you can best choose what best suits your musical style’s intentions. In an age of seamless and greased internet shopping, you can source just about any niche piece of gear you couldn’t have found just a few decades ago!

Fixed guitar bridge types

Here I explain the different types of guitar bridges that are grouped under the generic term “fixed bridge”. These bridges are inherently fixed firmly in place and allow little to no adjustment of the guitar’s vibrato on the fly.

Many famous guitarists have circumvented this aspect of this particular type of bridge, perhaps with looser screws to allow the bridge to be supported with the palm of the plucking hand for an added dimension of expression.

This is still a much-debated point today, as throngs of guitar enthusiasts still don’t want to touch a vibrato arm, or conversely a horde of equal numbers who don’t want to play a guitar without it, or feel incapable and feel their expressiveness is totally reduced by it Lack of a vibrato arm to really make the notes sing.

Adding a vibrato arm to a guitar can have a massive detrimental effect on the guitar’s tuning over time, making it difficult to keep in tune consistently. Earlier models of the guitar, like Fender’s Stratocaster, were notorious for not being technologically quite caught up or ironed out to cope with guitarists’ incessant leaning on the vibrato arm. In fact, it was quite common for the springs to become completely blocked, fixing the bridge and making it more like its Telecaster brethren.

hardtail bridges

Hardtail bridges are among the most common types of guitar bridges and can be found in varying degrees of quality throughout the western world. Guitar bridges don’t get much simpler than this design, which is little more complex than the simple designs you might find on an acoustic guitar.

There are many good reasons for their popularity, a popularity that can be seen right down to the bottom of a guitar catalogue, where even the wholesale guitar copies come equipped with them. They are easy to re-string, particularly useful for doing this on the fly during a performance, they are sturdy and reliable and tend to hold their pitch against the various pitfalls of the guitar’s tonal coherence etc.

In fact, re-stringing couldn’t be much easier. First, you strip the old strings (if you have them – I personally prefer to leave at least half at a time to maintain tension in the truss rod), then you thread your new strings through the appropriate holes in the back of the guitar (D’Addario -Strings are colored very distinctly to make this part of the process decidedly less painful).

From here the strings go through and hurdle over the saddles set into the bridge – some hardtail bridges even come with holes in the back for the strings to go through, although this shouldn’t make much of a difference. The process from this point will be the same for almost any other guitar, inserting the strings into the tuning pegs and tightening according to the tuning you will be using.

You can find these types of bridges on many guitars, and they may look and function slightly differently than others. One of the most popular types of hardtails is the Telecaster version, which is unique in that it uses 3 saddles. In fact, the hardtail bridge was the original bridge type for Fender guitars, until naturally Stratocasters started using synchronized tremolos.

Tune-O-Matic Bridges

It’s hard to imagine a time when this wasn’t one of the primary guitar bridge types. A quick peek next to a Gibson Les Paul and you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about; Even brands that try to usurp this guitar model tend to use it on their own devices, and with good reason!

It’s hard to say if the Tune-O-Matic bridge is simpler than the hardtail bridge, but suffice it to say that they are both as simple as guitar bridge types get, with the things that are important take precedence over everything else. Pitch, tuning, intonation and tone are estimated as they should be by any luthier in the know.

The simplicity of the Tune-O-Matic bridge is very evident in the sheer lack of parts as it consists of only two main parts. The first piece is a tailpiece equipped with adjustable screws to find the right height for each individual player and their individual context. The latter is the bridge itself, which carries the strings onto the fretboard and beyond.

As the more experienced of you might have guessed, this is one of those guitar bridge types that really appreciates tuning in any form. The easily accessible and understandable saddles make this a perfect bridge to sculpt perfect intonation, or even a more experimental intonation if you feel like it.

This guitar bridge puts more power in the player’s hands, allowing any guitarist to modify and perfect their guitar the way they want and how they see fit. It must be said, however, that while intonation is a matter close to the heart of the Tune-O-Matic, it is only with the right saddles. Often these bridges are made with cheap saddles from cheap materials, and that can actually have the opposite effect, the out-of-tune-o-matic!

Wrap Around Bridges

This is a piece of history, one of the oldest types of guitar bridge type to ever grace the electric guitar and acted as a direct predecessor to the Tune-O-Matic, which is actually the reason for its existence, the latter designed to respond to the pitfalls the former. So if you come across a wraparound bridge guitar in the wild, it’s probably worth a significant amount of money because it’s so old, so tread carefully and tread carefully, folks!

Although this type of device is older, it can look like a hybrid of the two parts of a Tune-O-Matic. It has the tailpiece adjustable slots while it has the bridge saddles. The Tune-O-Matic essentially just separated the wraparound bridge in two, which helped improve some of the latter’s intonation issues.

While wrap-around bridges have a long history and have been more or less relegated to the past due to cheaper designs that treat your tuning and intonation with a little more respect, you’ll find this style of guitar bridge on many entry-level guitars because it’s inexpensive in of manufacture and yet so effective considering.

And while it can look a little fiddly, you simply insert the strings from the bottom of the bridge and wrap them around the top, attaching them to the top of the tuning pegs. As such, it can be a perfect bridge for beginners who are unable to tinker on a guitar with the wrap-around bridge’s successor, the Tune-O-Matic.

Tremolo/Floating/Vibrato guitar bridge types

The addition of the vibrato arm to the bridge was simply revolutionary for our understanding of sound in popular music and for its progression throughout the rest of the 20th century. Electric guitars prevalent at the time featured six adjustable saddles for the relative intonation of each string, although the Stratocaster came out in the 1950s with a two-point tremolo system that allowed for quick pitch adjustments, which was said to be more accurate than be called Vibratoarm.

This aspect of accuracy is one that has often plagued guitar bridge types of this type over the centuries and seemingly since their introduction to the annulments of guitar scholarship and popular music culture. No one knows the exact reasons for this, but what should be called a vibrato arm or vibrato system is most often incorrectly called a tremolo arm or tremolo system.

These are without a doubt some of the most popular types of bridges, especially for metal guitarists. You can thank many guitar heroes for the rise of some of those vibrato systems that offered a wild, creative, and expressive way of playing guitar in the ’80s. However, you will soon learn that the floating bridge dates back even further than those years.

Subsequent generations of musicians have done little to help this trend, one of my favorite bands from the 1990s, My Bloody Valentine, even going so far as to name an entire EP Tremolo after the so-called tremolo system used so frequently in their music is experimented with. The bridge itself would be more accurately described as floating, being able to fluctuate between pitches. For the sake of continuity and clarity, I will often refer to the entire system as a vibrato system, vibrato arm, or vibrato bridge, and I urge you to continue to do so in the future!

Synchronized vibrato systems

The synchronized tremolo system was one of the first to really introduce the concept of vibrato systems and vibrato arms to guitar bridge types and therefore to musicians who were keen and willing to experiment.

This became well known in the 1950s, developed by Fender in roughly the same way and released with the adjacent Fender Stratocaster from the same decade. It’s easy to see how this particular design has become so synonymous with the Stratocaster and various copies of the Stratocaster, although one would be greatly mistaken to think that this is the only place to find and play with them can.

These systems can somewhat resemble a hardtail bridge and are even the same in terms of how you would re-string them. However, they work differently, particularly due to the tremolo and springs that are required to make it work as intended. When the guitarist uses it, it moves and pivots the jig, allowing the pitch to be changed. Pushing or pulling the vibrato arm moves the bridge forward or backward, lowering or raising the pitch respectively. This is essentially what vibrato is in a nutshell.

These systems were also some of the first to use springs that apply tension and allow the bridge to stay on the guitar. They’re needed for balance, and if they’re not adjusted properly, it can cause some serious internal problems. So always get a guitar setup and don’t try to fix it yourself if you’re not sure what you’re doing.

Lock vibrato systems

This particular style of guitar bridge and adjacent vibrato system has garnered a bit of bad press from music equipment lovers, many deeming it a real pain at times, although I think it’s only fair to give it the attention it deserves in order to to allow you, humble and aspiring guitarist, to find your own path and draw your own conclusions in this chaotic world.

The system itself got its name for its ability to clamp strings and hold them in place, meaning that tuning can be more accurately achieved without losing the ability to express yourself like a singer that a vibrato system can can offer so inclined guitarists so often. A single-locking tremolo will only do this on the bridge, but a double-locking tremolo clamps to the bridge and also has a locking nut that you can tighten and loosen with an allen wrench, a must-have guitar tool.

One of the aspects that gets the most bad press is tuning, which can become quite cumbersome and fiddly when involving a vibrato system so complex that it’s computationally intensive. Sometimes there are small pieces that can shift, and some require you to cut the ball ends off the strings. Setting them up also takes more time and effort, which is why guitar techs usually charge more to work on them.

The Floyd Rose

One of the leading examples of the locking vibrato system is the Floyd Rose, of which there are several variants, although all do more or less the same thing.

Mr. Floyd Rose developed his design in the mid to late 1970s in response to his Fenders’ inability to stay in tune when using the tremolo bar. It was later made famous by guitarists like Eddie Van Halen and Steve Vai, who were known for doing crazy things with the whammy bar, dive bombs and the like, capitalizing on Floyd Rose’s innate ability to hold the mood and not let go as well when his life depended on it.

The original Floyd Rose did a very good job and was endorsed by leagues of guitarists from genres and styles far and wide. To this day, the Original Schaller Floyd Rose is the crème de la crème of this type of guitar bridge. However, derivatives were created and the quality just wasn’t the same.

The Ibanez Edge

Constructed in a very similar vein to its Floyd Rose brethren, the Ibanez Edge is a variety of locking vibrato systems attempting to serve a very similar purpose in its own niche way.

The Edge grew out of Floyd Rose’s licensing with Gotoh, and consequently many of these Edge designs were designed by Gotoh but with their own twists to avoid lawsuits. As with Floyd Rose, there is a quality difference between Ibanez/Gotoh Edge tremolos, so proceed with caution.

If you’re buying a guitar with a locking tremolo, try to do some research beforehand to find out what type it uses. If it’s not of good quality, you might be better off with a simpler bridge. After all, what’s the point of having a whole vibrato system, a system that also makes tuning and setting up the guitar a pain, I might add, if you’re hesitant to use it for fear of it going off-tune in the first place ?

Bigsby Vibrato Systems

This is one of those guitar bridge types that comes with a ton of history, although I doubt you’ve guessed that already, as they look like they were designed in a flurry of steam-punk idealism when that was still popular – ideas of a mechanized and industrial future from the Victorian era.

The Bigsby vibrato system is officially the first type of vibrato system at least to be strapped to an electric guitar, predating at least a few years the synchronized tremolos designed, developed and world famous by Fender and like the former released in 1951 This style of electric guitar bridge has become something of an antiquity due to the effectiveness of its competitors, but it’s always had an iconic and distinctive aesthetic, and you can still find it on some new guitars today as new guitarists sneak into the Appearance if nothing else.

The Bigsby design is unique in that it is a type of tailpiece tremolo and therefore works alongside a separate bridge with saddles. So a Bigsby is not technically a bridge. The spring function is completely different in that it sits directly under the bar and doesn’t work in the back of the guitar like our previous types of tremolos. The nibs are also much smaller than your traditional ones, meaning the vibrato’s span from highest to lowest point is usually smaller, making it perfect for more subtle flourishes.

This vibrato system has many functions, however, and is still in popular use today, often tied to the back of an antiquated-looking Gretsch. Brian Setzer, a longtime enthusiast of the Gretsch sound fed by filtertron pickups as well as the majesty of the Bigsby, would have something to say if you cast a shade at the Bigsby.

Always vibrato systems

This is a very interesting alternative to the other guitar bridge types we’ve explored so far. The predecessors were much more concrete, more their own units and branding, many of which were already there to move forward and pave new avenues for the history of the guitar. However, this vibrato system is slightly different.

The Stetsbar is actually a unique system that tries to adapt to the different guitar bridge types that these guitars are already equipped with. This originally came about as a solution for installing vibrato systems on Gibson SGs and Les Pauls without using the storied Bigsby system. As we found the Bigsby is all well and good, but can be a little too subtle in control for some tastes, so the Stetsbar was the perfect alternative.

Later in her career, Stetsbar created models that worked with all sorts of different bridges, including many that we’ve already explored: There’s the Hardtail and T-Style systems, which mount on the regular and Telecaster hardtail bridges , as well as the S-Style, which works with the Stratocaster’s synchronized system.

Because of this, finding a Stetsbar doesn’t seem all that common when looking for a guitar for sale. They appear to be more of a custom piece for those looking to upgrade or try something new with little to no changes to their instrument or general hassle. Perfect for some, maybe for you too?

https://stetsbar.myshopify.com/

last tones

So there you have it, a comprehensive and (hopefully) helpful guide to navigating the sometimes confusing and sometimes boring world of guitar bridge dudes. I hope that you are at least a little better equipped to think for yourself about such things as you find yourself gravitating towards in relation to your musical purposes and needs.

I also pray that you may feel better able to discuss these things with a friend, an aspiring guitarist and music buddy, or even an associate at your local music store who may be better able to address your questions, ideas, and needs.

FAQs Types of guitar bridges

The Edwinson Talon Bridge is an asymmetric, two-tier, pinned bridge design and is probably the most prominent visual feature on an Edwinson guitar. I’m sure I’ll get a lot of comments on this. Dubbed the “Batman Bridge,” it has also garnered comparisons to ninja weapons. Stylistically, this bridge might not be for everyone—traditionalists may balk—but most people I’ve heard of express admiration for the Talon’s angular sweep. Anyway, it’s become my most recognizable trademark and I’m sticking with it.

This design evolved more for functional and structural reasons than for its looks. The Talon is what I call a two tier bridge. The saddle is on the top step. The bottom tier is where the bridge pins are anchored and is carved a fair bit deeper than the top tier.

In order for the bridge to efficiently drive the soundboard, the strings must apply the correct amount of contact pressure to the nut. The Talon has the breaking angle of the strings across the saddle to the bridge pins set at an optimal fifteen degrees. There is a lot of downward force here, transferring the vibrating string energy directly to the soundboard with very little dissipation.

The underside or base of the bridge is concavely rounded to match the dome of the top, so no component forces another. A perfect match between bridge and soundboard is essential.

The carving of the Talon Bridge makes it very stiff and strong. The bridge is carved tip-to-tip to have minimal flex across the dipole. It works like a shaped I-Beam. The bridge itself acts as the primary upper strut, structurally coupled to everything below. The rigid structure of this bridge limits cross-dipole “wobble” of the soundboard and, in theory, gives the guitar a more focused and balanced sound. The bridge isn’t just for the ride. The bridge is the ride, the engine that makes the top go GO.

In 2011 I had a client named Ernie who asked me if I would be willing to design a somewhat mainstream looking bridge for his custom performance guitar. That’s what I was going to do anyway, but at Ernie’s behest I stopped putting it off “until the next guitar”.

My design criteria were mainly that the new bridge had to have the same functional aspects as the Talon; that is, a two-stage cut, a fifteen degree string break angle, and a cross dipole stiffness. It also needs to look modern, but a little less dangerous than the Talon, while still having a recognizable Edwinson aesthetic. The new bridge design first used on Ernie’s guitar is called the “Element” style bridge. On the left is Ernie’s guitar.

The Element Bridge has since undergone some tweaks and I’m now on version 3.0 as seen below. About half of my custom guitar orders now specify the Element style bridge, so I’m very glad that Ernie pushed and pushed me to develop this new bridge design.

For multiscale guitars (fan fret) I build bridges in Talon style and in Element style. Below are a few examples.

For the multiscale bridges I go with a saddle width of 3/16 inch. As seen above, I voice the saddle with a step-step pattern so that the strings run across the saddle at right angles. The wider saddle provides the necessary leeway for accurate intonation of each string.

The standard saddle width on a uni-scale bridge is 1/8 inch.

Over the bridge plate…

The bridge plate is located on the underside of the soundboard, just below the bridge. Its function is to provide a stable internal footing for the bridge and it also serves as a platform for anchoring the ball ends of the strings. The bridge plate is a very important part of the guitar top as it has a major impact on both the structural integrity of the soundboard and the quality of tone production.

Traditionally, the bridge plate is a piece of maple or rosewood that intersects the lower fighting legs of the X-Bracket. On most stock guitars, the plate is 1/8″ to 3/16″ thick. I’ve always had the impression that so much mass in such an acoustically active part of the top could have a significant damping effect; but it is primarily necessary to prevent the ball ends of the strings from chewing through the soundboard after years of string changing, and to keep the forward torque of the bridge under control. However, many well-used vintage guitars will eventually require expensive and difficult work to restore function to a badly eroded, warped, or stripped bridge plate.

The Edwinson bridge plate addresses these concerns with a new design. I use a two piece lamination of rosewood and aerospace grade carbon fiber bonded with epoxy and molded to the same 25 foot radius as the soundboard. This laminated bridge plate is just under 5/64″ to 3/32″ thick, very low in mass, and is stiffer and stronger than it needs to be for its job.

The rosewood and carbon fiber are both acoustically alive materials, so damping is minimal. And this construction has the added advantage that the ball ends of the strings never chew up the carbon fiber sheet to which they are anchored. This is a repair that will never be needed on an Edwinson guitar.

As you can see in the photo above, I also glue a triangular cross-grain patch of spruce or cedar into the crotch of the X-Brace. This prevents a dent from forming in the top, which often occurs with conventionally braced guitars. It also helps to tie the entire bridge plate and strut system together.

Buck wrote:

“Reducing the torque on the bridge will significantly affect the tone and volume.”

I partly disagree. A few years ago I conducted a fairly thorough series of experiments on this subject. Recorded samples of “regular” mechanical plucks on the same guitar were taken from the top with the string height changed. Comparing A-B tests of the sounds heard through headphones showed that humans could easily tell the difference between a string height of 11mm from the top and one of 18mm with the break angle unchanged. An objective analysis of the sounds showed that there was no measurable difference in attack, sustain or maximum amplitude: the actual output power was the same. What changed was the power blend in the overtones.

The string vibrating “up and down” relative to the plane of the soundboard pulls the soundboard with it. The tension in the string increases twice for each full cycle of oscillation; once when it’s “up” and once when it’s “down”. This pulls the top of the saddle towards the saddle, causing the soundboard to rise under the bridge and sink in front of it when the tension is higher. The resulting movement does produce some noise, but it’s not as much as some people think.

On the one hand, the opposing movement in the two parts of the soundboard cancels out the sound radiation. Also, we build guitar tops to resist this type of deformation, so a given force doesn’t create much movement. The actual force generated is on average only about 1/7 of the up and down force on the top of the saddle by the rising and falling string. Finally, the total energy of a plucked string is limited; When used to produce sound at one frequency, it cannot produce sound at another. The higher saddle produced a sound with slightly more power in the straight overtones; the second and fourth mainly, but a little less at other frequencies: the balance was different.

It turns out there is another signal in the string that works similarly to the twice per cycle ‘tension’ signal, but might be more important in terms of timbre; the “Zip Tone”. If you slide your finger lightly across a wound string, you will get a high-pitched “zipping” noise due to the way the winding catches your finger. You can achieve the same thing by rubbing along a plain string with a rosin rag. This is a longitudinal pressure wave, like a sound in a long, thin tube, and it pushes and pulls the saddle plate just like the voltage signal. The “zipper” frequency is a function of string length, material, and structure (wound or not), but has no direct relationship to the pitch to which the string is tuned. On guitar strings, it’s often around the 7th or 8th part of the string, but it’s usually dissonant. It doesn’t take much power to pierce such a sound. Actual performance is difficult to measure; It is intermittently driven by string movement and tends to come and go with each cycle of the string root. There’s certainly more of it when the strings are higher off the top, but again it doesn’t add to the overall power, but rather changes the balance of the timbre.

We could spend a lot of time debating the definitions of “power”, “loudness” and “projection” and debating who benefits from what changes in the box’s output. I have other things to do at the moment. My take on this is that lifting the strings from the top doesn’t produce more sound, but what’s there might be more audible, at least for some people. As far as “tone” and “volume” are subjective, both can be changed, but there is no more sound.

For the most part, guitar bridge pins are by no means universal. They come in a variety of sizes and shapes, especially when made from a variety of materials including bone, ivory, rosewood, brass, or plastic.

Due to the fact that they can be different sizes, you may need to take your guitar and pins to a luthier to properly fit them into the bridge.

As I just mentioned bridge pins come in many flavors including bone, ebony, rosewood or brass with most people preferring the bone bridge pins but it really depends on the person and their taste.

If the bridge pins are not the right size, the luthier will have to ream the holes to make them fit.

In my personal experience I bought bone bridge pins a few years ago and they were just a bit too big for the guitar’s bridge. They work and fit the holes, but they are so tight that they often take pliers to remove them. Obviously this is not ideal.

By the way, there are always special offers in the guitar and music world, so here are some of my favorite products and gear that are on sale right now:

If you’re worried about getting the right bridge pins I would recommend picking the type of pins you want based on what you think sounds best and then taking them to a luthier who will then doing the right work on it.

What do bridge pins do?

Typically, most people think that bridge pins hold the guitar strings in place in the bridge, but their primary function is to hold the ball end of the string against the bridge plate in the guitar’s sound hole.

The string curves around it and goes through the bridge, then it goes through the saddle.

If the ball end of the string is not fully anchored to the bridge plate, the string will slip out and the pin will be thrown out of the bridge.

While it’s certainly possible to buy bridge pins the right size to begin with, especially if they’re plastic, you’ll most likely need to resize them properly if you switch to a different material.

Each type of bridge pin has advantages and disadvantages, including the fact that some of them require the bridge hole to be reamed in order for them to fit properly.

Pros and cons of each type of bridge pin

Plastic bridge pins

If they’re plastic, they’re usually inexpensive and available at almost any music store, especially those that mainly sell guitar gear and accessories.

These are notorious for not only being cheap, but also not doing much for the overall tone of the guitar.

Wooden bridge pins

Wooden bridge pins, on the other hand, are slightly more expensive and tend to improve the guitar’s sustain. In some cases, however, the bar has to be milled out in order to adapt it to the instrument.

Ivory Bridge Pins

Ivory bridge pins increase the sustain of the guitar and create a warm tone, plus they look really cool. However, they are expensive, extremely expensive and difficult to obtain.

Some people believe they are also unethical as they are made of elephant tusks.

bone bridge pins

Bone bridge pins have the same sound quality as ivory bridge pins. They tend to produce a similarly bright sound, and they look really cool too.

They’re harder to find and relatively expensive, but they can usually be bought online. They sometimes require the luthier to drill out the bridge as well.

Brass bridge pins

Brass bridge pins, on the other hand, are more distinctly different from the rest, primarily because of the tone they’re known for, which tends to be much, much brighter. They are expensive and difficult to find. Some people say they are just too bright for most gamers.

In terms of popularity, bone, ebony and rosewood are probably the most preferred, while brass is often too light for humans, as I just mentioned, and plastic is the cheapest and therefore the lowest quality and more likely to break.

What to do when you need new pins

Assuming you’re reading this article, that means you’ve probably noticed that the bridge pins have started to break or show some kind of wear.

If the bridge pin breaks, the ball of the string will travel up into the bridge and can actually cause the pins to fly out. In addition, this can cause both the bridge plate and the top of the guitar to begin to crack.

If the bridge plate breaks or cracks, the same can happen to the bridge. If the struts fail, you risk damaging the guitar even more.

If the bridge pin gets stuck inside the bridge, it is common to remove it by simply pushing the string inside the bridge towards the inside of the guitar and then pulling the pin out.

If you’ve decided you need new bridge pins and you want to switch to a different material, take it to a luthier and let them show you what to do. A luthier may need to use a tapered reamer to fit into the bridge.

It’s worth noting that you can actually get away with using incorrectly fitted bridge pins, but of course this isn’t really optimal.

What will end up happening is that the bridge pins will stick out just a little bit from the bridge and tend to look a bit awkward, and the sound won’t be quite the best either. They can be either too tight or too loose.

For example, one user on Ultimate-Guitar.com, probably the largest guitar website on the web, said he/she had to use pliers to remove them because they were too tight. This is the same problem I had all those years ago and it shouldn’t be happening.

In summary, bridge pins come in a variety of different sizes, but luckily most guitar manufacturers, including Martin and Taylor, use the same sizes repeatedly for all of their instruments. Some of the smaller guitar manufacturers also use the same size bridge pins and saddles.

According to Guitar Saddles, bridge pins from manufacturers such as Martin and Taylor can be available in 3mm or 4mm.

YouTube video tutorial

Are guitar bridge pins universal?

Watch this video on YouTube

Conclusion

In summary, guitar bridge pins are by no means universally similar to knobs, as I have explained elsewhere on the site, as they come in a variety of shapes and sizes. For this reason, it’s definitely worth picking your bridge pin of choice, whether bone or brass, and taking it to a proper luthier who will then ream the holes so they fit the bridge 100% perfectly.

When it comes to things like this, it’s best to go straight to the person who knows how to do it right rather than messing around not knowing what you’re doing and ending up wasting not only all your time but yourself as well There is a risk of damaging the bridge plate and other parts of the instrument.

Just take the guitar to a luthier and have them use the correct size pin you need.

Interesting.

I fixed the slit on this Epi and widened it, just slightly because I really didn’t care if I messed it up.

A “luthier” here locally widened it without asking me to fit a new bone nut rather than grinding the nut to the correct width to fit the slot. (I was just starting to play and didn’t know what I was talking about or what I was looking at. If a knowledgeable person had seen that thing when I got it back from him they would have laughed at him). The newly widened slot was unevenly cut, the saddle bottom was uneven, and the saddle leaned heavily forward in the slot. I used an exacting knife to level the walls of the slot. It has improved but I still didn’t like it so I sold it. I have no plans to expand the slot on the D25, more curious than anything else that goes into the decision when building a guitar. Why would a Tacoma d50 have a 1/8 slot and a Westerly d50 have a 3/32?

I’ve read a lot about scalloping braces on a standard braced guitar, removing “popsicles”, etc.

Curious if anyone has ever widened the saddle slot on a good guitar, why they did it and what kind of effect it had.

B

When building a new guitar, or even a kit, the neck position isn’t always marked for you in advance. Since your build may have shifted the neck position, things may not be obvious and if the bridge is not positioned correctly or within the fit tolerance. You will never have correct intonation.

Where should the bridge be positioned?

On pretty much every guitar, the bridge should be positioned so that the breaking point of the string is exactly the scale length from the nut. The scale length of a guitar is defined as twice the distance from the nut to the 12th fret.

The definition of scale length

Because the definition derives from the position of the 12th fret and the length from the saddle to it, the overall scale length determines, and is not determined by, the position of the bridge. Whether you build the neck yourself, if you bought one pre-tied or the one that came with a kit, measure the distance from the inside edge of the nut to the middle of the 12th fret, doubling that distance then enter the exact scale length.

How far should the bridge be from the 12th fret?

The bridge, or the point where the string leaves the bridge, is the same distance as the saddle from the 12th fret on the other side. This will vary a little from bridge to bridge depending on the type of saddle.

You should also consider the travel and adjustment of the saddles and position them somewhere in the middle so they have room for adjustment in either direction.

How do I position the bridge/saddles on a multiscale guitar?

Multiscale guitars usually have a cascading bridge with individual ones. The easiest way to determine the position of each individual saddle that makes up the bridge is to measure the distance to the 12th fret on the low E string, double the distance, and find the position of that saddle. Next, do the same for the high E string. Make sure you measure along the string line and not the edge of the fretboard (there is a significant difference on multi-scale fretboards). Now that you have the two extremes, all you have to do is draw a straight line between the two and mark the other four.

As with any other bridge, individual saddles should be preset at about mid-travel and may need fine tuning for intonation after stringing, but this way you’re in the ballpark and looking good.

How should a guitar bridge be adjusted?

Each bridge type has a specific type of assembly that directly affects the way they are adjusted and adjusted.

These hardtail bridges have some static mounting bolts.

Normally the saddles are adjusted from behind with one screw per saddle. The saddles may need to be removed to bolt the bridge to the body and should be brought to mid (or 2/3 of the way forward) of their travel once assembled. This is the position where they should match the scale length. This is also the point where you should start adjusting intonation after you have strung the guitar and gone through the initial setup.

Vintage tremolos

Original vintage Strat Bridges as well as aftermarket bridges still use a 6 bolt row to attach to the front of the bridge. These screws are not fully tightened and serve as a hinge for the tremolo. The saddles and the adjustment are adjusted and refined with a screw at the back, as with the hardtail and telecaster. Again, the neutral starting point should be slightly behind the foremost position of the saddle.

Watch how to install and adjust a Fender Strat Tremolo from the pros:

More modern tremolos like Fenders, Gotoh’s, Hipshot and of course Floyde Rose all use mounting bolts that act as both anchors and hinges. This is usually a pair that mounts to the body at the front of the bridge. Unless you’re talking about a direct replacement, they each have their own diameter and thread.

tremolos

Some have both, but also know metric vs. imperial measurements depending on the origin of the guitar and bridge. Regardless of the complexity of the bridge (and some of them can get very complex), you’ll still be referring to the saddles themselves for positioning.

The TunOmatics and their aftermarket counterparts all have a distinctive shape and mounting studs. These include the classic Nashville or “Historic Spec ABR-1” as well as versions from Schaller, Graph Tech, Gotoh and more. Unlike the floating tremolos, the uprights these mount to have the thumbwheel height adjustment as part of the bolt rather than the saddles.

Do-Omatics

These will also usually end with much higher string positioning, guaranteeing an angled neck typical of most Gibsons. The saddles in this style of bridge are blade-like and notched (or unnotched to accommodate). Travel on these is typically a bit shorter than For-style saddles and there are two ways to address this. The first is the ability to flip them over so the “blade” can be at the front or back of the bridge and get its own thickness for travel distance. The second has to do with compensation and mounting the entire bridge at a certain angle.

What is string compensation

Strings of different gauges are intoned differently, and that’s why “scale length twice the distance from nut to 12th fret” is our starting point, and why bridges have adjustments. If you look at the picture of these different bridges after they have been adjusted, you can see a clear trend of saddles being adjusted more back for the heavier strings.

There is a slight difference between the unwound and wound strings, but the thicker ones seem to need a bit more length to intonate properly. This is called compensation and serves to compensate for the material stiffness of the string itself, and the more pronounced it is, the thicker it gets. Gibson Tun-Omatic bridges are actually mounted at an angle to account for this exact phenomenon. The lower side post of the E string of Tun-Omatic bridges is typically drilled and positioned 1/16″-1/8″ further back than the actual scale length or other post. This compensates for the relatively short travel of the Tun-Omatic saddles.

Which side of the guitar bridge should be higher?

This has to do with both assembly and setup. Aside from the Tun-Omatic style and some Floyd Roses bridges, where the height of the entire bridge can be adjusted with a key or thumbwheel, most bridges are flat and parallel to the body. The height adjustment is actually made on the individual saddles. There are a few general guidelines for adjusting the height of the strings/saddles on the bridge. The thicker strings often need more room to vibrate without hum. You will tune the high E and low E strings as low as you want or can without humming. Then adjust the four middle strings to fit the radius of the fretboard and the height of the first and last strings. Chances are the low E string side is slightly higher. On a Tun-Omatic bridge, the height is set with the thumb wheel, and once the low and high E’s are set, the radius is already set. If the Tun-Omatic bridge is not the original one that came with the guitar (or kit) make sure the radius matches the fretboard, otherwise you will have to compensate by slotting the saddles themselves to match.

How do you measure fret spacing on a guitar?

There is a mathematical formula to calculate fret spacing and spacing, but the easier way is to use one of many fret calculators. You can also download and print (handy when annoying) a complete table for most common scale lengths from my downloads page.

thebassclef said:

I’m not a Luthier and have no experience in it, but I did something weird on my custom jazz that seemed to work great. I set it to a 35″ scale length, which eases tension on my flats and eases intonation. I originally did this because I put dampers on them and didn’t want them to be right up against the bridge. I figured if it wouldn’t work, I could always move the bridge.

Just thought I would add something.

Click to expand…

The angle is there to improve intonation. If you’ve ever tuned an electric guitar intonation with adjustable saddles, you’ll notice that the bass strings are slightly longer than the treble strings. This is due to the gauge of the strings: heavier strings need to be slightly longer than lighter strings. The anomaly of the B string that you point out has to do with the fact that it and the high E string are plain steel and not wound and therefore their intonation setting is different than the wound strings. However, since the B string is heavier than the E string, it needs to be slightly longer.

What does string gauge have to do with length?

When adjusting the intonation of a string, you want the overtone at the 12th fret to match the pitch of the string when you fret the 12th fret. But when you fret a string, you slightly increase both its length and tension. If there are two strings of the same length, their fret lengths are also the same. Since the tension of a string is proportional to the product of its mass and its length, the heavier string will increase in tension at the fret more than the lighter string. Therefore, the pitch of the heavier string rises (slightly) more than the pitch of the lighter string when fretted. To accommodate this larger increase, the heavier string needs to be slightly longer than the lighter string.

Update: I just want to point out that if you look closely at the photo you will see that the saddle itself is carved so that the contact point for the low E string is on the back of the saddle while the contact point for the G string is in front. So not only is the saddle angled, but the strings touch the saddle itself at different points, increasing the differences between their lengths.

Guitar bridges are the anchor points for the strings, keeping them under tension. But that’s not their only function, as they also transmit string vibrations to the guitar top, help maintain string spacing, and control the guitar’s string action. Therefore, acoustic guitar bridges and their components are integral parts of most acoustic guitars due to their functionality and tonal quality.

The bridge of an acoustic guitar consists of the nut, bridge plate and bridge pins. Whereas a nylon-string classical guitar has no bridge pins and the strings are attached directly to the bridge. Lower string tensions on classical guitar allow this. Let’s discuss each of these ingredients in a little more detail.

guitar bridge

All sound generation depends on air displacement. Vibrating strings can only displace a very small amount of air and produce a very weak sound. If these vibrations are somehow transmitted to a larger area that can displace a much larger volume of air, the acoustic instrument can produce a louder sound. That’s what the acoustic bridges actually do. They transfer the energy of the freely vibrating strings to the guitar top, which has a much larger surface area.

The top is coupled to the acoustic guitar’s cavity, enhancing the sound through resonance between the two. The bridge is placed perpendicular to the strings pressing it onto the body. The materials and construction of the acoustic bridges define their effectiveness in performing their intended functions and are discussed next.

Materials for the guitar bridge

As discussed above, acoustic guitar bridge materials should be able to transmit most string vibrations without significant loss of energy. So it has to be hard, not very heavy, and strong enough to withstand the string tension. Some of the commonly used materials are:

Wood: Hardwoods meet all of these criteria. Acoustic guitar bridges are almost always made of wood, in contrast to electric guitar bridges, which are all made of metal. For most high-end instruments, it is common to use the same wood for the bridge and fingerboard for aesthetic reasons. Ebony is usually the first choice. But the higher price limits its use to the very best acoustic guitar models. Compared to ebony, rosewood is slightly softer and produces a slightly less brilliant tone. Few top acoustic guitar brands prefer rosewood bridges more as they fit much better into their overall design. Rosewood bridge is the first choice for classical guitars because ebony is considered harsh sounding for them. Mid-range instruments may use ebonized walnut or other hardwoods.

Hardwoods meet all of these criteria. Acoustic guitar bridges are almost always made of wood, in contrast to electric guitar bridges, which are all made of metal. For most high-end instruments, it is common to use the same wood for the bridge and fingerboard for aesthetic reasons. Ebony is usually the first choice. But the higher price limits its use to the very best acoustic guitar models. Compared to ebony, rosewood is slightly softer and produces a slightly less brilliant tone. Few top acoustic guitar brands prefer rosewood bridges more as they fit much better into their overall design. Rosewood bridge is the first choice for classical guitars because ebony is considered harsh sounding for them. Mid-range instruments may use ebonized walnut or other hardwoods. Ivory: Martin and other 19th-century manufacturers used ivory bridges on some of their models to improve aesthetics and brightness of tone.

Martin and other nineteenth-century manufacturers used ivory bridges on some of their models to enhance aesthetics and brightness in tone. Plastic and extruded nylon bridge: Inexpensive plastic and extruded nylon are used in many inexpensive guitars. Even Gibson used them in their budget models in the 1970s.

Bridge shapes for acoustic guitars

Most acoustic guitar bridges carry shapes popularly known as “belly bridges” because they look like a rectangle with a belly. The belly increases the surface area for gluing the bridge and disperses string tension and vibration. The gluing must be done directly onto the raw wood and not across the surfaces, otherwise the connection will not last long.

On Martin and most other acoustic guitars, the belly points toward the bottom of the guitar. On Gibson guitars, on the other hand, the bridge is mounted with the belly facing the sound hole. They became popular in the 1930s, probably with the advent of steel-string instruments. Before them, simple rectangles were used with ornate variations such as Martin’s carved pyramid on each foot, Gibson’s ornate mustache on his J-200, inlay work on bridge feet, and flare on the bass side to increase acoustic efficiency.

Bridge plate and bridge pins for acoustic guitar

The bridge is a flat piece of hardwood, usually maple or rosewood, to improve acoustic transmission and add extra strength and rigidity to the top. Contrary to popular belief, it is not the bridge or pins that hold the strings on the guitar, but the bridge plate.

When the strings are inserted through the hole in the bridge pins, the ball pulls against the bridge plates, preventing them from digging up the ceiling. Bridge pins simply keep the ball clamped against the bridge plate. Firm contact and good coupling are crucial for the quality of the tones. Tuning an incorrectly anchored string can cause wear on the bridge plate and bridge.

The size and material of the record affect the volume, sustain, and balance of the instrument. Plywoods or other cheaper woods tend to introduce unwanted elements into the tone. Maple is more resistant to chipping and shows neutrality to bass or treble. Rosewood gives more musical and resonant tones when tapped.

Bridge pins help the strings carry their vibrations up. They come in two main types – slotted and unslotted. The difference between the two is the groove cut into the shank of each slotted peg to accommodate the string. Slotted pins are used in conjunction with an unslotted guitar bridge, while unslotted pins work with the slotted bridges.

Non-slotted pins are more common. They don’t have a groove. Instead, the guitar bridge has a notch in front of the hole to accommodate the string. The pin presses against the string and prevents it from slipping out. Choosing the right pen material can make a difference in getting the tones you want.

Bridge pin materials

Brass: They are durable, sound bright, and increase sustain. Use them when your guitar is bass heavy.

They are durable, sound bright and increase sustain. Use them when your guitar is bass heavy. Bones: Bones are not affected by temperature or humidity and are durable. They increase the clarity, highs and sustain of your acoustic guitar.

Bone is not affected by temperature or humidity and is durable. They increase the clarity, highs and sustain of your acoustic guitar. Wood: Wooden pencils are aesthetically pleasing and improve tone, but are susceptible to the effects of moisture. Many manufacturers offer ebony and rosewood pins to match the guitar bridge.

Wooden pencils are aesthetically good and improve tone, but are susceptible to the effects of moisture. Many manufacturers offer ebony and rosewood pins to match the guitar bridge. Ebony: They add warmth, depth and volume to your acoustic guitar.

They add warmth, bass and volume to your acoustic guitar. Ivory: Made from mammoth or walrus ivory, they are rare to find today and subject to ethical issues and restrictions. They look beautiful and have the biggest impact on volume, clarity and quality.

Crafted from mammoth or walrus ivory, they are rarely found today and are subject to ethical issues and restrictions. They look beautiful and have the biggest impact on volume, clarity and quality. Tusq: It’s a synthetic polymer material that doesn’t suffer from the soft dead center problem that some organic materials can have and is an ethical alternative. They offer a slight improvement in clarity and highs over other standard pens.

It is a synthetic polymer material that does not suffer from the soft dead center problem that some organic materials can have and represents an ethical alternative. They offer a slight improvement in clarity and highs over other standard pens. Plastic: If you are too price-conscious, you can use cheap plastic pegs. They don’t offer much in terms of sound enhancement. Plastic pins are insensitive to climatic changes, have high impact resistance and form an excellent fit in the pin hole. This, coupled with their lower price and availability, makes plastic pegs the preferred choice for most budget acoustic guitars.

Acoustic guitar bridge arrangement.

As mentioned above, guitar bridges are pieces of stiff hardwood that add some strength to the area. The panel wood, along with the instrument’s top bracing, plays an important role in tuning the acoustic guitar to its natural tones. The acoustic guitar’s X-brace design allows luthiers to accommodate the bridge pin holes and plates, which is not possible with the fan braces.

For example, the bridge of the classical guitar has small holes drilled through a raised section on the back of the nut through which the strings are looped. The arrangement is known as a loop bridge and it is the bridge that carries all the string tension and not the plate.

Acoustic guitar saddle

Saddles are strips of dense material like bone that are placed in the groove of the guitar bridge known as the saddle slot. The strings sit on the saddle before passing through the pin holes. A properly adjusted saddle is essential for the best intonation. As you may know, intonation is a measure of an instrument’s tuning along the length of the fretboard.

By sanding down, raising, or replacing the saddles with shorter or taller saddles, you can adjust the height of the action. Higher action strings require more pressure to fret the notes. The animal bone saddle is almost a standard in most high-end instruments. It increases the volume and dynamics of the guitar.

The top of the saddle must curve smoothly to avoid string breakage. Flat top acoustic and classical guitar saddles, unlike archtop, electric, and 12-string guitars, are typically uncut grooves. The only exception may be when the bridge pins are not perfectly positioned in the guitar.

Why use a compensated saddle?

The perfect positioning of the saddle and thus the acoustic guitar bridge is essential for your guitar playing in tune. The twelfth fret should be exactly halfway between nut and saddle. Different string compositions and gauges result in different vibration lengths, requiring different adjustments for each string. The phenomenon is more pronounced between wound and unwound strings and must be compensated for.

To compensate for this, manufacturers adjust the shape and angle of the saddle on the bridge. The nut slot on most modern guitars is cut at an angle, causing the low string ends to sit farther from the neck than the higher ones. Even better compensation is achieved by separate offsets for the two high and four low strings. A separate saddle groove is required for each offset.

Another way to compensate for this is to provide grooves on the top of the saddle. This lowers the height and break angle of the strings. The grooves are provided on the high-end strings.

Many players modify their acoustic guitar bridge saddles by adjusting the treble and grooves to fine-tune their instruments.

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There are several ways to measure the size of an acoustic guitar.

I mean when you look at a guitar? quite a complex shape – and they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes.

But why do you want to measure your guitar?

There are a couple of reasons you might want to measure your acoustics.

First, you may want to know the size of your guitar to know what is the best size for you. If you are a smaller player or are buying for a child, you may want a smaller body guitar and/or a shorter neck guitar.

However, the most common reason for measuring your guitar is to find the most suitable case for it.

diagram

Check out the diagram below if you are unsure what the below mentioned parts of the guitar are.

The different measurements

You may need some or all of the following measurements. All you need to measure your guitar is a tape measure.

Body length

The body length does not include the neck and head of the guitar. To measure the body, measure from the top of the body, where the neck meets the soundboard, to the floor – not including the strap pin.

width of the upper bow

Measure across the width of the guitar at the widest point of the upper bout. This will be roughly directly above the sound hole (if you leave the guitar upright).

Reduced combat breadth

Measure across the width of the guitar at the widest point of the bottom strap. This is located under the bridge of the guitar (when the guitar is upright). This will be the widest part of the guitar.

length of the neck

Measure the neck from where it intersects with the body of the guitar to the nut.

scale length

Scale length is measured by taking the distance from the nut to the 12th fret and then multiplying by 2. For more information on scale length and why you would want to measure it, see the link below.

combat depth

With the guitar lying flat, measure the height of the sides of the guitar. This measurement should not include the bridge. Measure this on both the lower and upper bouts.

full depth

Measure the full depth of the guitar according to the hitting depth but including the bridge.

In full length

Measure the entire length of the guitar from the top of the head to the bottom of the body.

waist measurement of the body

Measure the width at the narrowest part of the body. This will be the point between the top and bottom fights.

Neck width (both at saddle and body)

Measure the width across the fretboard (fingerboard) both where the neck intersects the body (usually at the 14th fret, but sometimes at the 12th fret) and at the nut.

neck distance from the floor

With your guitar on a level surface, measure the distance from the surface to the bottom of the neck. Measure at both the 12th fret and the saddle.

headstock from the surface

Also measure from the surface to the bottom of the headstock.

Final Thoughts

Differently shaped guitars fit specific measurements, but there are often slight variations. An overview of the most common shape variations can be found under the following link.

I hope this post has given you more information on what parts of the guitar you may need to measure and how to measure them.

>>Acoustic guitar reviews by size and shape

The bridge is an essential link in the sound chain that, alongside your guitar’s pickups and the wood that makes up the body, determines the core tone of the instrument, especially if you want to hear deep, harmonically rich resonance throughout the body of the guitar.

1. I am your anchor; i am your rock

That means solidity is important. This is the body end point for the speaking length of your strings, and their vibration needs to travel through the bridge to get into the tonewood in the body. Therefore, the quality of body resonance is determined in large part by the composition and quality of the bridge (and tailpiece, if they are separate units).

2. Slightly coupled arrangements can be useful in the tone equation

Less-than-rock bridges can also positively contribute to the signature tones of several groundbreaking guitars. For example, Gretsch guitars mounted with Bigsby B3 or B6 vibrato tailpieces—which don’t have pull rods—have fairly low string tension across a floating bridge, and the relatively easy coupling of this setup is a key part of the jangle content in “that great Gretsch sound.”

Similarly, Fender Jazzmasters and Jaguars are made with vibrato units, which represent low string tension across moving “rocker” bridges. You can buy a device to increase the string angle across the bridge and therefore the tension, which the manufacturer claims will “improve” the tone, but the only sure thing is that it changes the tone. Many fans of these guitars will tell you that such a change robs the instruments of some of their distinctive tonal character.

(Image credit: Future)

3. Composition affects tone

Bridges and saddles made of different materials vibrate differently and therefore give your guitar a different sound.

Stamped steel bridge saddles (50’s and 60’s) and Mazac die-cast (70’s) sound different; Brass, threaded steel, and notched steel Tele saddles sound different; Chrome-plated steel and nickel-plated aluminum wrap-over bridges sound different; floating rosewood and ebony bridges sound different; etc.

Tonehounds venture opinions on which sounds better, but the only sure thing, objectively speaking, is that switching from one type to another will change your tone slightly.

4. You won’t play in tune if it’s not set correctly

The adjustable element of your guitar’s intonation is set right here, and if you don’t get it right, you’ll never play in tune, no matter how accurate you tune.

Guitars with Tele-style three-saddle bridges, wrap-over bridges, and floating single-saddle bridges offer fewer opportunities for fine-tuning intonation, but tune-o-matic bridges and Strat-style vibrato units and their derivatives offer excellent possibilities for precise tuning Attitude. This is also where string height is set, so it’s critical to any proper setup in a number of ways.

5. The bridge is crucial to the feel of a guitar

In addition to all of this, different bridges can make guitars feel different. Although the tension required to bring strings of the same gauge into pitch is the same, strings strung on a Strat-style vibrato or Bigsby unit feel a little looser, spongy, and drop easier bend as strings on a wrap-over or telebridge or similar.

This is because the springs in the vibrato unit “give” a little when you press the strings, and the extra string length behind the bridge tabs also contributes to this feel.

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Not everyone is familiar with the different types and sizes of acoustic guitars that are available. So when they set out to buy one, they end up buying the wrong fit.

The most important things to consider when considering different sizes are playability and tonal qualities.

While smaller guitars are easier to transport, larger acoustic guitars are louder and have different tonal characteristics.

Acoustic Guitar Size Chart:

There are some other bizarre sizes and shapes, but these are the most common.

Note that it’s difficult to narrowly categorize guitar sizes and shapes as each brand’s sizes and shapes are subtly different. This post focuses primarily on Martin and Taylor shapes – most other shapes mimic these shapes.

Our favorite guitars

mini guitars

These half and 3/4 size guitars are specially designed for children, so they are very small. They’re quieter and less full-bodied than full-size guitars, but they’re also cheaper. They are perfect for kids just starting to play the guitar.

They also work well as travel guitars if you are looking for a more traditionally shaped travel guitar.

Our top pick mini guitar

travel guitars

These are the smallest and cheapest acoustic guitars available, ideal for players who travel a lot and need to play in different locations. Travel guitars weigh about 3 pounds and have a thin sound.

If you don’t need volume and full tone and just want something to pick around that’s easy to travel with, a travel guitar might be an option.

Our top pick travel guitar

classical guitar

Also known as Spanish guitar and mainly used for playing classical music and Spanish style guitar. This guitar uses nylon strings as opposed to the steel strings used on electric and acoustic guitars and is smaller.

The sound quality of these guitars is smooth and warm. They are generally smaller than classical guitars and larger than mini guitars, but there are a few different types and sizes of classical guitars.

But only pick up a classical guitar if you’re looking for that sound or because you like the feel.

Our top pick classical guitar

salon

The parlor-sized guitar is the smallest steel-string guitar size, along with travel and mini guitars. This is an old-style size/shape, but it’s gained something of a cult status/resurgence lately with some guitarists looking for a traditional sound or a unique sound.

Parlor models are typically 12-fret (the guitar’s neck joins the body at the 12th fret). If you are unsure about these types of guitars, visit our article What is a 12 Fret Guitar and Why You Should Get One.

Our top pick parlor guitar

concert guitar (0)

A concert guitar belongs to the family of 6-string acoustic guitars with steel strings. While the nylon strings on classical guitars give them a smooth tonal quality, the steel strings on this guitar produce a brighter, louder tone.

In Martin’s nomenclature, a concert guitar is usually a 0, depending on the length of the guitar and its thickness. (The rule is: the larger the guitar, the more zeros are used to represent it. A 00 is less than 000 but greater than a 0).

Big Concert (00)

A 00 guitar (Martin sizes) or Grand Concert style acoustic guitar (Taylor sizes) is larger than the classical guitar and is usually more expensive. These guitars are louder than their concert cousins ​​due to their size.

However, they don’t need as much punch as louder guitars to get good volume. For example, if you play softly on a Grand Concert/00, it will be louder than if you play softly on one of the larger guitars. But if you’re trying to play loud, there’s a lower volume cap – so you can only play that loud, no matter how hard you strum.

This size guitar is best suited for finger playing. You can definitely still play strum and flat pick, but it’s better for players who would play finger style more than half the time.

Grand Concerts (00) these days often have a choice of coming in a 12 fret or a standard 14 fret model.

Auditorium (000/Big Performance)

These Auditorium (or 000) guitars are similar in shape to Grand Concert guitars but larger. Martin’s Grand Performance Shape might also fit into this size category

These guitars have a thinner body and more pronounced waist than dreadnought guitars.

Grand Auditorium (0000/M)

These guitars are typically similar in shape to the previous shapes (although shapes and sizes vary from manufacturer to manufacturer).

These guitars are roughly the same size (or slightly larger) as a dreadnought in terms of narrower width and body length, but the shape is different with a narrower waist. The more angular dreadnought has a wider waist, so overall a larger top (soundboard).

The Grand Auditorium/0000 size is a great all-rounder. They have a big enough sound to play fairly loud, but they also respond fairly well to a softer touch. They have a balanced tone in terms of emphasis on highs, lows and mids. They’re great if you enjoy playing strum, flat pick, and finger pick.

Great Symphony

This is Taylor’s second largest shape in terms of narrower temple width and is slightly larger than the Grand Auditorium.

Battleship

Dreadnoughts are the most common guitar type (although for Taylor the Grand Auditorium is actually their most popular shape), with a large body that produces deep, powerful bass tones. A large size, a D in Martin’s system, dreadnoughts are quite noisy and not ideal for shorter people.

They favor players who prefer strum and flat pick and are less suited to finger style. These guitars are great for playing bluegrass.

They have a high volume ceiling so you can play them hard and they will play loud – but if you play with a soft touch it’s more difficult to get a good tone out of them than if you play a smaller size like a Grand Concert would ( 00).

Big orchestra

This is Taylor’s largest guitar. It has a bottom bout width of 16 3/4″. For a large guitar, however, it has a balanced sound and the guitar was braced in such a way that you still get a good response even with a light touch. So you can play it like a Grand Concert and get good volume with a light touch, or you can give it more and the volume cap is high too.

jumbo

Of all guitar sizes, jumbos are larger. They have a very loud, powerful sound and are ideal for players with a strong strumming style. Because of their size, a jumbo acoustic may have a 17″ narrower bout width, they tend to be more expensive.

They are more of a concert/auditorium style shape with a more pronounced waist, but are considerably larger.

Related: Guitar Reviews by Body Shape/Size

What is the size chart of a full size guitar?

As you may already know, there are numerous guitar sizes on the market. The size of your guitar mainly depends on your age and height. Children are more likely to play the guitar with a smaller size as this makes the instrument much more comfortable to play.

If you are an adult, a full size guitar is the best option for you. The size of a full-size guitar is between 36 and 40 inches. This measurement is measured from the bottom of the guitar to the neck to the highest point of the instrument.

There is no set-in-stone standard size for full-size guitars. So keep that in mind if you’re looking to buy one. Depending on the brand of guitar, the overall length of the instrument varies. If you’re not sure what length guitar to go with, go to the store to see what’s comfortable for you.

What is the chart for different guitar sizes?

Guitar sizes vary widely. You can choose tiny guitars like Guitarleles, which are like ukuleles but a bit bigger or gigantic, with jumbo acoustics. It is usually a choice of personal preference, body or hand size, and ability that determines what is best for a person.

The smallest guitar is a ukulele, which is perfect for those who find full-size guitars a little big, like kids or those with smaller fingers. Unlike ukuleles, a guitarlele has the usual six strings that you get on most guitars.

These combine the portability of the ukulele with the versatility of typical full-size guitars. Next is the half-size guitar, which is half the size of a standard guitar. Then you have the three-quarter sized guitar that is popular with 8 to 12 year olds.

Next come the larger saloon guitars, the auditorium guitars, the classically shaped dreadnought guitars, and finally the jumbo type. Electric guitars don’t come in that many size variations, with most falling in the half-size, three-quarter size, and full-size ranges.

What size guitar does a child need?

When they are first learning to play the guitar it is important to have an instrument that is the right size for your child’s height, otherwise they may have more problems than they need to with the guitar being too small or too big could halt in order to carry them conveniently.

As anyone with children will understand, their attention span is difficult to maintain anyway. So if you make it as easy as possible for them, they’re less likely to give up.

Here are some sizing guides to help you find the right size guitar for your child:

Electric guitar

Age Height (cm) Recommended Size 5 – 8 80 – 100 1/2 Size 8 – 12 100 – 125 3/4 Size 12+ 125+ Full Size Electric Guitar Size Chart

acoustic guitar

Age Height (cm) Recommended Size 5 – 12 100 – 120 3/4 Size 12 – 15 120 – 165 Small Body 15+ 165+ Full Size Acoustic Guitar Size Chart

classical guitar

Age Height (cm) Recommended Size 2 – 5 75 – 100 1/4 Size 5 – 8 100 – 125 1/2 Size 8 – 12 125 – 165 3/4 Size 12+ 165+ Full Size Classical Guitar Size Chart

Final Thoughts

The shape and size of guitar you should choose depends on a number of factors including your physical characteristics and the style of music you enjoy playing.

As I said before, this post is mainly based on Martin and Taylor forms.

Finally, visit our guide to choosing an acoustic guitar size to help you decide which type of guitar is best for you based on your style, ability and physical size.