Stringed instrument bridge

A bridge for use with a stringed musical instrument having a body and a plurality of strings extending over said body, said bridge comprising:

• a base, said base having a plurality of parallel elongated bridge slots therein arranged side by side, a plurality of saddles each slidably received in a respective one of said slots for slidable movement relative to said base along the length of said slot, each of said saddles including a portion extending out of its associated one of said slots and beyond said base for supporting a respective one of the strings of the instrument with which said bridge is used, adjustment means for releasably fixing each of said saddles to said base at any desired position within its range of movement relative to said base, a means located rearwardly of said bridge slots for connecting said base to a body of an instrument such as aforesaid so that said base is restrained to universal movement relative to said base about a point fixed relative to both said body and said base, and means located forwardly of said point of universal movement providing two transversely spaced abutments individually adjustable in height relative to a body such as aforesaid and against which said base is adapted to be held by the pressure of the strings supported by said saddles to provide with said point of universal movement a three point support for said base relative to an instrument body such as aforesaid.

A bridge for use with a stringed musical instrument having a body and a plurality of strings extending over said body, said bridge comprising:

• a base adapted for attachment to a stringed instrument body such as aforesaid, said base having a top surface, a rear end, a forward end and a plurality of parallel elongated bridge slots recessed inwardly of said top surface and arranged side by side, each of said bridge slots at its rear end terminating short of the rear end of said base and at its forward end terminating short of the forward end of said base, a plurality of saddles each having a length considerably less than the length of each of said bridge slots and each slidably received in a respective one of said bridge slots for slidable movement relative to said base along the length of said slot, each of said saddles including a portion extending out of its associated one of said bridge slots and beyond said top surface of said base for supporting a respective one of the strings of the instrument with which said bridge is used, adjustment means for releasably fixing each of said saddles to said base at any desired position within its range of movement relative to said base, said base including a upwardly opening mute recess located forwardly and extending transversely of the forward ends of said bridge slots, and a mute received in said mute recess and movable relative to said base to bring it into and out of engagement with the strings of an instrument such as aforesaid supported by said saddles.

A bridge for use with a stringed musical instrument having a body and a plurality of strings extending over said body, said bridge comprising:

• a base adapted for attachment to a stringed instrument body such as aforesaid, said base having a plurality of parallel elongated bridge slots therein arranged side by side, a plurality of saddles each slidably received in a respective one of said slots for slidable movement relative to said base along the length of said slot, each of said saddles including a portion extending out of its associated one of said slots and beyond said base for supporting a respective one of the strings of the instrument with which said bridge is used, and adjustment means for releasably fixing each of said saddles to said base at any desired position within its range of movement relative to said base, each of said bridge slots along an axis perpendicular to its length having in succession a top portion and an intermediate portion each defined by two spaced parallel side walls with the side walls of said top portion being spaced farther from one another than the side walls of said intermediate portion so as to define a pair of upwardly facing shoulders at the bottom of said top portion and a pair of downwardly facing shoulders at the bottom of said intermediate portion, the one of said saddles associated with each of said slots having a bottom surface slidably engageable with said pair of upwardly facing shoulders and a pair of parallel side faces slidably engageable with said side walls of said top slot portion, a plurality of nuts each associated with a respective one of said slots, each of said nuts having a top surface slidably engageable with said pair of downwardly facing shoulders of its associated slot, and said adjustment means including a plurality of screws each passing loosely through an associated one of said saddles and threadably received in an associated one of said nuts to fix when tightened said saddle in a given position of adjustment relative to said base by drawing said saddle and nut into tight engagement with said pairs of shoulders, each of said screws having an exposed head adapted for rotation to loosen and tighten it when making an adjustment of said saddle.

A bridge for use with a stringed musical instrument having a body and a plurality of strings extending over said body, said bridge comprising:

• a base adapted for attachment to a stringed instrument body such as aforesaid, said base having a top surface, a rear end, a forward end and a plurality of parallel elongated bridge slots recessed inwardly of said top surface and arranged side by side, each of said bridge slots at its rear end terminating short of the rear end of said base and at its forward end terminating short of the forward end of said base, a plurality of saddles each having a length considerably less than the length of each of said bridge slots and each slidably received in a respective one of said bridge slots for slidable movement relative to said base along the length of said slot, each of said saddles including a portion extending out of its associated one of said bridge slots and beyond said top surface of said base for supporting a respective one of the strings of the instrument with which said bridge is used, adjustment means for releasably fixing each of said saddles to said base at any desired position within its range of movement relative to said base, said base at its rear end and rearwardly of said bridge slots having a rearwardly projecting lip extending transversely of said bridge slots, said lip having a plurality of string slots with open rear ends, each aligned with a respective one of said bridge slots, for anchoring bead ended strings to said base, each of said string slots being narrower than its associated one of said bridge slots and each of said string slots being recessed inwardly of said top surface of said base, each of said string slots further between its open rear end and its associated bridge slot having a bottom surface sloping upwardly and forwardly from the undersurface of said lip, each of said saddles including a piezoelectric element for converting the vibration of the string supported by it into an analogous electrical signal, said saddles each having a first electrical output lead for its piezoelectric element, said base having a top wall in an area adjacent said slots and a control recess located below said top wall, a plurality of second output leads communicating with said recess, and a plurality of volume controls in said recess each connected between a respective one of said first output leads and a respective one of said second output leads for supplying a variable amount of the electrical signal appearing on its associated first output lead to its associated second output lead.