How much difference do you think it will make on a 6-string Banjitar, with Remo frosted top head, to swap the plain wooden bridge, with an ebony topped wooden bridge that is compensated?
Mostly, will it sound much different, but also, is the intonation compensation really necessary?
You're not going to get an answer to these questions until you try the bridge out and see what it does. While you expect a quality bridge to help a banjo wearing a cheap bridge, in reality and in the banjo world, it is practically impossible to know what any one bridge will do until it does.
Bobby
Different bridges make banjos sound differently.
Most banjos, whether 4, 5 or 6 strung don't need a compensated bridge
Use this method to find out if you need compensation and if you do, then a bridge maker will need those measurements :
https://web.archive.org/web/20180825093301/http://banjobridge.com/br-05.htm
https://web.archive.org/web/20180825090841/http://banjobridge.com/br-06.htm
Compensation is a choice,not a cure.
Any stringed instrument benefits from a compensated bridge if the difference is appreciated.
The difference is in how closely the fretted notes tend toward "0" when played.
The benefit of not needing to retune when capoing is a big one for me,but I am a player of fiddletunes and I enjoy the accuracy of my notes in melodic playing all over the neck,too.
A good compensation in my studies has the 12th fret fretted notes fretting 0 when the open strings are 0 on the tuner.
A straight bridge won't give that 0 to 0 comparison on any banjo.
Not because of some building problem...it's just the nature of straight frets and a straight nut
Don't even start looking for a compensated bridge, unless you are being bothered by intonation problems of the particular sort that a compensated bridge can correct. A banjo has all kinds of other ways of playing out of tune, as well.
And... I don't know of anybody offering an off-the-shelf compensated bridge made for guitar-banjo. You'd likely have to get one custom-made, or DIY.
I've sold a good number of compensated bridges to clawhammer players.
quote:
Originally posted by Dan GellertDon't even start looking for a compensated bridge, unless you are being bothered by intonation problems of the particular sort that a compensated bridge can correct. A banjo has all kinds of other ways of playing out of tune, as well.
And... I don't know of anybody offering an off-the-shelf compensated bridge made for guitar-banjo. You'd likely have to get one custom-made, or DIY.
Amazon sells them. I have just ordered one to try it, as it was not expensive.
quote:
Originally posted by BobbyEYou're not going to get an answer to these questions until you try the bridge out and see what it does. While you expect a quality bridge to help a banjo wearing a cheap bridge, in reality and in the banjo world, it is practically impossible to know what any one bridge will do until it does.
Bobby
Does the ebony cap change the sound?
If I were to make a compensated guitar bridge I would start with Martin's guitar bridge measurements.
The differences between a straight bridge and a well-compensated bridge are subtle and surprising.
Bill Keith liked the Moon bridge for good reasons.
The Moon bridge does a lot of good,but gets the first string a bit short.
In designing a guitar/banjo compensated bridge it would be very simple to figure it out by simply grabbing a Tele and adjusting the saddles to "zero" the 12th fret comparisons for a pattern.
quote:
Originally posted by CheapBanjoquote:
Originally posted by Dan GellertDon't even start looking for a compensated bridge, unless you are being bothered by intonation problems of the particular sort that a compensated bridge can correct. A banjo has all kinds of other ways of playing out of tune, as well.
And... I don't know of anybody offering an off-the-shelf compensated bridge made for guitar-banjo. You'd likely have to get one custom-made, or DIY.Amazon sells them. I have just ordered one to try it, as it was not expensive.
Cool. It's been a long time since I looked at 6-string bridges, obviously!
Onto a tangent, but when I looked at Amazon.ca yesterday I didn't come across any, but when I looked today, there's oodles. Go figure.
As for the tangent part ..... In my looking, I came across this one. https://www.amazon.ca/Grover-71-Tenor-Banjo-Bridge/dp/B00495XPAO/ref=sr_1_42?crid=150QL157E44EE&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.1Id7mBF9md-5nEm5RF5vltCvIPDiwdVyIhqO_7bXO2DgV5rueRyB7IRWyeA8SHnr-CW5KAE75_8zsST_ymjK_ff1an-aJLmcsGtAx3leL-ZoSy5MXl5RDzAUMUYmv0FDtwQRG3pIrvy4Pig7WHuN5FnfkBQBMnEYypjWRFO6r120BkOuBU6qUj-GnajKx72TS2DbxObtrNVx9YFumBxdiTEF_aDkoib57m2OHSlAJGdIho3oy4FxZpog6B8FS0MyjoshmMd-KHu2jyo9RV2l4kF35WFpUw9kIdCQv3FV_Ek.e-g7bx5w7mLTGa14twIvrZRP7v5G_3HvB957DZB3E4s&dib_tag=se&keywords=compensated+banjo+bridge&qid=1790776207&sprefix=compensated+banjo+bridge%2Caps%2C126&sr=8-42
Is it really worth $37 Cdn. / $26 US ?
[Nobody mistakes me as being an expert, and I've been told to not judge a book by its cover, but it looks pretty routine to me.]
Right, I just finished trying the new bridge I got from Amazon.
A common opinion seemed to be that you just have to try it. Well, it turns out the new ebony capped one has a much less bright sound, so even though it is compensated, I still prefer the straight plain wood one the banjo came with. It's just a simple bridge, made from a light coloured wood, but it has a brighter sound that I like better.
Interesting experiment.
Brightness or lack thereof has more to do with weight or mass of a bridge,no matter the design.
>>Does the ebony cap change the sound?<<
It should; but you won't know if its better or worse until you try it. Also sometimes, different can be interpreted to be better. Sound is so subjective anyway. My point is it is extremely difficult to know what a bridge will do until you try it on your banjo. IMO though, a good quality bridge is likely to help improve the tone in most cases.
Bobby
quote:
Originally posted by CheapBanjoRight, I just finished trying the new bridge I got from Amazon.
A common opinion seemed to be that you just have to try it. Well, it turns out the new ebony capped one has a much less bright sound, so even though it is compensated, I still prefer the straight plain wood one the banjo came with. It's just a simple bridge, made from a light coloured wood, but it has a brighter sound that I like better.
Interesting experiment.
See what Steve just said. Look at how much thicker a compensated bridge is than a straight one. (and IMO, nearly all mass-produced straight bridges are heavier than they should be!)
For the next experiment, try filing/sanding/whittling away some of the excess wood from that new bridge.
I've messed around with most every sort of stringed instrument I could for the last 3/4 century, and find the banjo to be unique among them in the degree to which one can FAFO with a minimum of expense and risk. Have fun!
Edited by - Dan Gellert on 10/01/2026 10:14:28
quote:
Originally posted by steve davisBrightness or lack thereof has more to do with weight or mass of a bridge,no matter the design.
Well, OK. Makes sense, the new bridge is a bit bigger than the first one.
When I first started making bridges I tried to make them as lightweight as possible and had them as light as 1 gram/compensated.
I took my banjo with one of these bridges on it over to Jimmy Cox and after picking it he asked why I had made the bridge so thin and I said "to get it as light as I can."
He said "Why would you want to do that?It sounds too bright."
I kept that bridge for a lesson learned,bought a little scale that weighs grams to 2 decimal points and started weighing every bridge I've made,since.
Two days ago I changed an uncapped dogwood bridge for an ebony capped bridge (one made by David Cunningham). The uncapped bridge was causing a buzz on the 4th string as the steel string had eventually worn the slot too low.
Not only is the ebony capped bridge ok, I hear a tone improvement. And no more buzz.
Edited by - EEB on 10/02/2026 10:42:03
My banjo bridge scale is a "ProScale LC50" and cost about $10 ten years ago.
There are many small scale choices,but not all offer grams to 2 decimal places.
A scale that reads 1 decimal place calls any bridge from 2 to 2.9 grams "2 grams" and these two bridges have quite different tones.
Bridge weights ranging from 2.22 to 3.45 grams offer a wide variety of tones.
Clawhammer bridges tend to be on the heavier end as ordered by my customers and those are mostly sycamore with rosewood tops.
....about the ebony 'cap':
I think there are some folks who assume that all 'ebony caps' are created equal - or said another way, that ebony bridge caps are consistently machined from good stock.
Bad assumption.
Under magnification I closely examine bridge caps in particular to assess porosity, wood density, and any obvious structural issues. Structural issues ? - yes, upon examination from time-to-time I've found 'fault lines' or grain separation (splits/checking) only visible under magnification. I would think that such defect(s) would have a direct bearing of string-to-head energy transmission or the sound 'quirkiness' of certain bridge-to-banjo pairings.
It's also my finding that the less expensive, high production bridges (Grovers; Saga, etc.) are frequently not produced with optimal cap quality. (.....I buy in bulk quantities.)
Conversely, I don't suggest that you'd find the 'best' quality ebony material on 'expensive' or 'boutique' bridges (either due to inattentiveness or unawareness of the bridge maker)....I'm just sayin' that there are more relevant details to the makings of a 'good' bridge than bridge weight or what else appears to the naked eye.
And, FWIW, I have also found similar defects in material used for nuts - particularly bone nuts - only apparent under magnification.
Edited by - banjoT1 on 10/02/2026 14:44:21
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