BRIDGE BLANKS/HEADPLATES
HOME ORDER ONLINE PRODUCTS REGISTER WHAT'S NEW?
DESCRIPTION
Price
Price List
Click on Part No. to add to Shopping Cart PART No. BRIDGE BLANKS Each 6 -12
13+
Ebony steel/classic, 7"–8" X 1.75"–2" X 3/8" $4.50
$4.00
Wholesale Ebony steel/classic, 2nd, 7"–8" X 1.75"–2" X 3/8" $4.00
$3.50
Wholesale
Indian rw, steel/classic, 7"–8" X 1.75"–2" X 3/8" $2.80
$2.20
$1.90 Madagascar rw, steel/classic, 7"–8" X 1.75"–2" X 3/8" $3.20
$2.70
$2.20 PART No. HEAD PLATES Each 6 -12
13 - 24
Ebonoid headplate, 8" X ~3.25" X 1/8", laminated veneers Out
Out Ebony headplate, 8" X ~3.25" X 1/8" $6.20
Ebony headplate, 2nd, 8" X ~3.25" X 1/8" $4.00
Cocobolo rosewood, 8" X 3.5" X 1/8" $3.00
$2.50
$2.00 Indian rosewood, 8" X 3.5" X 1/8" $3.00
$2.50
$2.00 Madagascar rosewood, 8" X 3.5" X 1/8" $4.25
$3.75
$3.25 WHZR Ziricote, 8" X 3.5" X 1/8" $6.20
$4.20
$3.20
EBONY BRIDGE BLANKS
Ebony has been the traditional bridge material for steel string guitars. It is occasionally used for classical guitars, but because it's heavier and is known to possess greater damping properties than rosewood it's not favored.
We currently stock mostly African and Indian ebony for bridge blanks, and we expect to have Madagascar ebony available in February of 2003. What's the difference? African is less dense, not as black, and more stable. Taylor Guitars has used almost exclusively African ebony for their fingerboards, bridge blanks and headplates. They like the material, and they like it to look like wood. If you are unsure of the differences in appearance the next time you see a Taylor instrument take note. The Madagascar ebony for the most part, looks blacker, and more or less like plastic (which is not meant as a derogatory comment). We try to use one size for both classic and steel string (8" X 2" X 3/8") with most of our blanks, just to simplify things, but occasionally we will have blanks sized for both styles.
Left, Indian rosewood bridge blanks, below, Kasha-Schneider bridge on Jay Hargreaves guitar. This bridge is ebonized maple laminates. It's very stiff, with very low mass.
INDIAN ROSEWOOD
Has taken the place of Brazilian as the bridge material for classical guitars because of the scarcity of Brazilian. It is one of the most stable of hardwoods, and makes excellent bridges, whether for steel strings or classical.
MADAGASCAR ROSEWOOD
There are a good number of Dalbergias in Madagascar, and they vary just as all the different species do. The one we offer is close to Cocobolo in density. Very fine grained, about as porous as Brazilian, Madagascar rosewood works well for either classic or steel string bridges. As I write this, all of our blanks are stickered for drying, so take a look at the fingerboards and headplates on this page to get an idea of appearance.
Example of our Madagascar rosewood. In color, tends toward reddish brown.
HEADPLATES
Above, Healdsburg luthier, Eric Monrad's flamenco guitar peghead.
Peghead with Macassar ebony cap. Made by musician and teacher, Jack Saunders.
We can often offer peghead overlays in a variety of woods that we don't list. Just ask. We'll be adding Macassar ebony soon, as we have plenty of side offcuts that can be used for both binding and headplates. Otherwise, we offer the industry standards, shown below. We will be getting in some wider ebony peghead veneers toward the fist of 2002, otherwise, the widest we have in ebony is 3-3/4", which is not listed as a separate item.
Above, ebonoid headplates are great for inlaying, are stiff and strong, and have none of the problems common to ebony headplates, like mineral, or lack of quartersawness, etc.
Ebony headplates are getting harder and harder to get, and the quality is not getting better. We think this is a great substitute. They're made from veneers and impregnated with phenolics under heat and high-pressure.
At right, one of the most striking of woods, Ziricote makes great looking headplates. Click on thumbnail to enlarge, for the full experience.
Below left is Madagascar rosewood, and right is Indian rosewood.
Address
General Information
Sales/support
Telephone:
707-431-3760
POB 217, 498 A Moore Lane, Healdsburg, Ca. 95448 USA
Fax:
707-431-3762
