Banjo anatomy: The bridge

The bridge may be small, but it's actually one of the most important parts of the banjo. Virtually all sound the banjo produces is transferred through the bridge and its design and what material it's made from greatly affect the tone. For example:  A thin bridge resonates better and dampens the head less than a thick one, producing a sharper and louder sound.  A two-piece bridge with a hardwood (ebony) top usually gives a clear, loud tone while a bridge made from a single piece of wood tend to have a gentler, more wooden tone. Bridges with bone/sytnhetics or even metal inlays right underneath the strings tend to be the clearest and sharpest sounding of all.

Bridges are relatively cheap and easy to replace, so it may be a good idea to experiment with different types to find exactly the tone you like. Remember there's no definite "right or "wrong" here. It's all a question of your own taste and what suits that particular banjo.

It's also absolutely vital that the bridge is properly set up.

The picture shows a bunch of banjo bridges I just happened to have lying about. Not exctly a careful selection, but it should give you an idea how different they may be. You can click on the picture for a larger view.

A few words about each bridge:

Left column, top

The bridge my Aria guitar-banjo came with - just a thin slice of wood with a flat base. Such a simple design isn't supposed to work, but somehow it does on that particular banjo. I've replaced it now but only because it doesn't fit the banjo anymore (I reset the neck and needed a taller bridge).

Left column, no. 2 from top

A two-footed two-piece tenor banjo bridge. Fairly typical except it's extremely tall. I wonder what kind of instrument it would fit.
  I would expect a fairly loose and open sound from a bridge like this.

Left column, middle

A fairly typical modern two-piece bridge. Most new banjos today come with something like that fitted. It's very similar to the one above, except it's three-footed and not nearly as tall.
  Three-footed bridges tend to give a tighter and more controlled tone than two-footed ones, but there are a number of other factors too of course, so don't take that as an absolute rule.
  This one's a tenor banjo bridge, but it turned out to be wide enough to fit a guitar-banjo as well, and I'm currently using it for the Aria. My Fender five-string banjo has a very similar (original) bridge - so similar I didn't bother to include both in the line-up.

Left column, no. 2 from bottom

The original bridge for my Musima tenor banjo. It looks like it's made from ebony (but is probably just dyed too look that way), has a very thin slice of plastic on the top (for no apparent reason) and is incredibly heavy, giving the banjo a very dull and bland sound. Getting rid of it was a great relief. (That being said: there are banjos that would benefit from such a heavy bridge. It's all about what suits the individual instrument.)

Left column, bottom

An obviously home-made four-footed(!) bridge that came with an old open-backed mandolin-banjo wreck I stupidly bought on Ebay. It's rather heavy and that - combined with that fourth foot - should mean it'll dampen the head considerably. The metal inlay (just a piece of fretwire) might compensate quite a lot, but even so it doesn't look like a good choice for a small open-back to me. I have another mandolin-banjo wreck it may be very well suited for though. Both those banjos are rather low on my instrument restoration priority list though, so we won't find out for a while.

Right column, top

Err... ummm... To be honest, I have no idea where I got that from. It may be something a luthier friend of mine made either for my Bacon Belmont or, more likely, my Slingerland/Stewart although it doesn't really look like his style (he tend to be fanatic about metal inserts for a start).
  The bridge looks rather crude, but that doesn't matter much. It's good rosewood and should work well. If we could find the banjo to fit it that is. Such low bridges are mostly used on older banjos (as time goes by, the neck tend to bend forwards requiring a lower bridge) and older banjos tend to require bridges with narrower bases than this one.

Right column, no. 2 from top

A cheap two-footed bridge I bought for the Bacon Belmont once when I was a long way from home and the metal-insert bridge (third from bottom) was really beginning to get on my nerves. It really helped save my sanity.
  Later I found a better bridge for the Bacon and this one is currently doing a great job on the Slingerland/Stewart.

Right column, no. 3 from top

Just a quickie I made myself late one night when I was trying to get my Lidl mandolin-banjo to work for next day's gig. It looks crazy, but that whole banjo is crazy so it fits well. The instrument's so lively it's got to have a four-footed bridge to keep it from running wild. Actually I regret cutting arches in it at all. A single-base bridge might actually have been even better in this case.

Right column, no. 3 from bottom

That infamous metal (fretwire) inlay bridge that almost cost me my sanity. I sent the Bacon Belmont to a luthier friend of mine and got it back with this one fitted. Metal top bridges can actually be a good idea, but they don't suit all instruments. For a banjo as raunchy as the Bacon it was a complete disaster. The bridge did a fair job on the Slingerland/Stewart for a while though.

Right column, no. 2 from bottom

Regular issue three-piece modern bridge. The "bone" (well, plastic actually) inserts does give it a slightly brighter sound than an all-wood bridge. I have this on the Musima right now. Not bad although I might try to lighten it up eventually. (If I keep that banjo that is. Got somebody interested in buying it.)

Right column, bottom

The one I curently use on the Bacon Belmont. It actually started off as identical to the one above and is here a reminder that bridges you buy are supposed to be adapted to the individual instrument.
  I removed those protrusions for the sake of comfort rather than sound. With the standard "Irish banjo" right hand position I kept hitting my palm against it. Curiously enough I have no such problems with the Musima even tough it's got the unmodified one.

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