Reverse tension bridge - RTB

[Nuuska]

Hello

Stumbled on this on FB



Then studied a bit of the subject.

It is supposed to allow lighter bracing - in above case it may have been used as alternative to bridge doctor.

Do any of you have any experience of said system.

Link to company who builds such guitars - http://www.rtguitar.com/

 

[Wilmywood]

I saw that on Facebook, I wonder what the advantage would be to retrofit one that had standard bracing?

 

[Walter Broes]

I saw that on Facebook, I wonder what the advantage would be to retrofit one that had standard bracing?

Get a top with severe bellying back to "playable action"? Anything to avoid that pesky neck reset, I guess?

 

[Smiert Spionam]

I can't imagine any universe in which that would sound good.

 

[Rocky]

I can't imagine any universe in which that would sound good.

Flattops are designed/braced for upward tension. Archtops are designed/braced for compression. I'm guessing this is a band-aid for somebody who doesn't know what their guitar is supposed to sound like.

 

[chazmo]

I could see how that would allow lighter bracing and perhaps a different type of bridge plate design.

I'm not sure, however, if this is really any different technically than a trapeze bridge.

On an existing guitar, like the Guild in the picture, I would presume this would have similar effects as a Bridge Doctor. An interesting alternative.

 

[lungimsam]

I think it looks good, which begs the question:
Why don’t they make acoustics with tailpieces and floating bridges like on the hollow body electrics?
I’d think that would solve the bellying issue and make it easy to replace the bridge if needed.

 

[Rocky]

I think it looks good, which begs the question:
Why don’t they make acoustics with tailpieces and floating bridges like on the hollow body electrics?
I’d think that would solve the bellying issue and make it easy to replace the bridge if needed.

They have. They generally sound like crap.

 

[chazmo]

Note: a trapeze bridge like that Silvertone is a very different situation solution than having a pinned bridge with strain relief from the tail block like Nuuska showed above. The transferred energy with a pinned bridge is way more than you get from the trapeze.

The pinned bridge solution is essentially the same thing as the JLD bridge doctor just done externally.

 

[Rocky]

The pinned bridge solution is essentially the same thing as the JLD bridge doctor just done externally.

I don't have any experience in how a bridge doctor changes the sound of a guitar that's braced for normal pin-bridge tension.

I do have a Breedlove 12 string that comes from the factory with what is essentially a bridge doctor. However, the factory bracing is designed around that, so it's likely braced lighter than one with a retrofit. It sounds pretty decent. It has a pinless bridge, however, which I'm not particularly fond of. It's a PITA to put in strings and get them to ramp up to the saddle, especially those high G strings.