Just more solid all around and much more pleasing to (my) ear.Mike told me to try out the bridge for a week or so before committing to it, but I can honestly say I am sold already after a day of playing. Not only am I a Winner. I have a RK36 that I may just have to get one of these bridges for. Compared to a hard maple ebony cap, the mystery wood bridge soundsmellow and full, without any muddy overtones on the low end. Bart was fantastic to deal with - he made the bridge to my exact specs, including matching the slot sizes to perfectly accommodate the nylgut strings! Given the excellent quality of his work, top-notch customer service and being a really friendly fellow, I strongly recommend him. Although I have not played my banjo in a group setting as of this writing, my suspicion is that it will be able to cut through better than it was able to previously. While it was good, I would have preferred a bit more finish sanding & a light coat of tongue oil to bring out the cherrywood top. I set up my studio for rehearsal., giving both girls a mic and a set of headphones. It has a few degree slant to it and the sound was fantastic. I took it home and played it for an hour and it's like the thing was playing itself. Everything else was good, even with the new height. Highly recommended!! I have a medium weight on my Gibson Black Jack and a lightweight on my Fender FB-59. I have ordering different size of bridges for my different steel strings banjo ( one for my Ballard and one for myGoldtone), i speciallyrecommandthe laminated/compensated bridges which give a very good warming tone with my goatskin head. Bart was also right with the string spacing, I liked it immediately. This is a really fine banjo bridge. I am using this bridge for CH, and was looking to hasten the note decay on a banjo that despite having a wooden tone ring just wouldn't stop. The banjo sounded pretty damn good with the other bridges, but now it just has more "pop" and the note separation is more distinct throughout the handful of tunings I use, even when capoed and spiked. I deliberated over this bridge only a couple of days, even though it's the most expensive bridge I've purchased. That said, I really believed I had "tried it all." It's exactly as advertised. This Beech wood is a great formula for a banjo bridge. Just a few of the woods offered are Zebra Wood, Maple, Padauk, Cherry, Rosewood, and Katalox. Tim Purcell's bridge wins hands down. Ordered a couple of bridges from Tim, an old piano bridge and a red maple. I just got to try four different bridges made by Bart Veerman. I now have volume far beyond what I have ever experienced on my banjo. With his three-camera shoot and the ability for us to record single tracks from each instrument and voice, I was able to mix the recording and synch it to the video to produce a product that was so much better than I ever dreamed possible. His communication is great and I had it within a week (to the UK over Christmas too!). I tried all three out on my two banjos (RK35 Madison and Deering Goodtime Special). Addendum: I just got two of these same bridges (ebony-crowned teak, two-foot), one for my OME tenor and one for my Stelling tenor. Tim's "Old Flooring" bridge really brought a beautiful timbre in my banjo. Brighter, crisper tone towards the bridge and mellow but resonant tones towards the neck. I own better bridges, but I have also paid far more for lesser bridges than these. With the Grover bridge my maximum volume was not only much less but the useful range of volume that I was able to control was sort of tight. I had another bridge already on which is very good! I then switched to aKat-EyzCanadian maple/purple ebony and I thought that was the right bridge. Well made. It also improved the balance between the strings and added some detail to the bottom end. I'm using it on a 12" Ramsey open back with a rolled brass tone ring and a John Balch skin head. I had a scorpion bridge on it at the time which I love, but I think the Frog is gonna stay on the RB for now. Very nice tone. I'd write more, but I've got a banjo to play, so stop wasting time reading these reviews, go to Bart's site and get a bridge, you'll be happy you did. I needed a radiused bridge, and it had to have a specific thickness- or lack thereoff. Bart recommended 46 mm string spacing because this would make double thumbing easier to do. Thumbs up to Dave Jack for his top notch craftsmanship on this bridge. This banjo bridge is a standard 5/8s size and is also made from the curly maple Tim harvested from an old turn of the cenrtury Milton piano. I added a bit of height and went to the 44 (JD CROWE) spacing to help the comfort. Amazing. And a final word about the craftsmanship of the bridge. It provides good not separation with just the right amount (for my taste) of sustain. So I decided to try the "Archie" bridge. One 11/16, and one .656. The note separation and clarity is phenomenal, not to mention the cool PW two-legged heart shape. Thanks Danny! One is made from Arkansas Maple and the other is made from Ambrosia Red Maple. I have had 6 bridges total from David and all have been excellent. I bought the Snuffy III to replace the original factory bridge on my Goodtime. After a few years of buying (waiting) and trying, I decided that the Emerson Sweet Power II was the bridge for me. Jim. SOSEBEE BEECH RULES!!!Pickalot. I keep the head tight using the 10" ruler/coin method of measurement. I've found that with these bridges it actually takes less hand/finger effort to play. HIghly recommend you give him a try. 1 hr, 'Ron Coleman Outlaw five string banjo neck in curly maple' 3 hrs, 'What's w/ all of the aviation near misses lately ? ' I tried a couple capped bridges, but decided to give Mr. New's Big Foot a shot, mainly 'cause it looks unique. The biggest difference was the treble: much stronger, clearer, and bell-like. Put a Davis compensated bridge on a Deering Golden Wreath, it made it much more full with a solid bottom end. I bought the three pack to swap between my two 'josand the Pineywood has found a permanent home on my. I've had it on for a year and have no itches to try another. And my banjo even seems easier to tune. I've used the Stockwell Moon Bridge for decades with great success both on my archtop and on my flat-top to cure intonation problems. I observed the following: Mister Babadook (simply known as the Babadook) is the titular main antagonist of the 2014 Australian horror/thriller film of the same name. There are a lot of really good bridge makers and bridges out there today. (Snuffy Smith new gen) Which was made by Mike. A fantastic product backed up by great communication/ advice and timely shipping/ delivery. Where Purchased: Directly from Silvio Ferretti. What a difference - the instrument had a lot more power and the intonation was spot on across the neck. I replaced a snuffy smith with one and I could tell a large difference in volume. Bites. It's the only bridge I've ever bought that was polished! If you are struggling with the "flabby" G string on your Irish Banjo you'll find a Bart custom bridge will be "exactly" what you need to get that problem licked. And that was a really depressing feeling, because of all the time and money put into this, not to mention the coolness of playing a 5-string when singing. intonation has improved tremendously. This bridge improved the tone of this RB-250 by increasing its warmth and response by a lot. Going in, I didn't know what exactly I wanted, but Daniel not only recommended which wood to use, but sent me another for free for contrast (walnut for warmth, which i wanted, and maple for brightness as a contrast). I was immediately struck by the workmanship. Not by just a little but by a large margin, it was like flipping on a switch. I don't often take the time to write reviews, however after purchasing my second Bart Veerman 4-String Banjo bridge I felt compelled to share my experiences. It completely opened up the tone of my banjo. I'm going to leave this on the RK-75 for a while. The raised 5th string feels very natural to my LARGE hands. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND Mike Smiths Katzeye Pegged Top banjo bridge. An expert in CAD/CAM/CNC, he was a toolmaker for a firm that made tooling for a Boeing supplier. He made no promises or sales pitches, just a simple "try it out and see what you think". I may go another round at some point as I think I could have gone a bit further on the 4th string compensation, but that's on me and my measurements, not the bridge! Though best known recently for the covers he's done withFoxes and Fossils, Tim has a rich store of music he's written, which may be come available to Patreon supporters of F&F. I had replaced a Sullivan roasted maple that sounded great, but the a/k brought it up a notch! In thelast 24 hours, before Davids bridges arrive, I had at least a half dozen custom made bridges that have accumulated in my inventory on and off that A scale banjo. He graciously agreed. First off,I love the Huber bridge and the stock sound. It did require a little angling to get the intonation just right, but way less angling than I had been using with an uncompensated bridge. The notes pop, my banjo has a nice plunky dark tone with good sustain and has a nice deep woody sound. (if you get one ditch the guitar tuners and get some cheap planetary tuners) Anyway its a pretty cool little banjo but once I supercharged the Ibanez, I wasn't stopping!! This is a hand carved bridge, with a very flowing organic look to it. I have given them to my friends and it always make their banjos sound amazing. He was extremely helpful in helping me figure out what would work best given my banjos and playing style. The bridge is well designed/built and looks great. Bridges I have gotten are built of woods more specifically built for open back banjos using spruce and locust capped with Gabon ebony. We now have members living in five different states but by virtue of some good luck (the girls were all home one weekend late last summer) and the miracle of the Internet, we can still be a band and make new music together. He asked for full information on my banjo including string gauges, bridge height, string spacing, and customized the bridge accordingly. I am going to have to try another one of Bart's bridges on one of my other banjos now. He's tried EVERYTHING and completely understands all the magical STUFF that goes into banjo knowledge. They are the best compensated bridge on the market. My banjo went from very good to unbelievable. I bought an 11/16 standard spacing Roasted Red Maple bridge. Since I very rarely change bridges (I went through a short time being obsessed with Jerry, bridges but that was my only venture into bridge territory), I didn't really expect a radical change. Get started with Bill's Beginning Banjo course, or hone your bluegrass chops in Bluegrass Banjo. Due to the neck angle, a height of 7/8" is preferable. This is an entry level, China-made model that is to some extent, modeled after the Granada design. I put a Kateyz Prowler on my Gibson Scruggs and got better sound than the original equipment - just a generic Gibson lightweight that actually had a slant toward the frets. I did have to file the slot a bit for several of the strings, but that was easy. Tim's bridges are excellent and he will work hard to get you the banjo sound you are looking for.From custom sound to custom design Tim will fix you right up at a good price and with a great turnaround time on orders.Thanks Tim! If you order a bridge of a specific height, weight, and string spacing, you will receive *exactly* that. The old piano wood delivers a wonderful balance of clarity, separation and decay. I am very impressed with the product and with Dave. The teak bridge sounds great, but the Dark Star is in a class of its own. A good friend of mine from Springfield, IL had met this fellow and turned me on to his work-in a word awesome! I tried a Moon Light i had laying around but it sounded very thin and overall worse than the Grover. Thanks to Steve for his continued perseverence in developing and making great bridges. One morning in January of 2010 Sammie and I were eating breakfast at the Chic-Fil-A when I saw the now sixteen-year-old Maggie hanging out with her friends. After installing Randall's bridge I tuned it up a bit and the sound became a bit more crisper and added some more vibrations to the neck. I asked that the bridge be left unslotted, so that I could 'tweak' the height by sanding the top a little and then file my own slots. Great Work Tim!!!!!! (Maybe maple is not the best choice for all banjos.hummmmm). I like little details such as that. Thanks Steve! Whats even more interesting is George Keywood is an expert on making millions from the internet. I couldn't believe my ears. Just send him your money. The 3rd and 4th string really sing with this bridge on. The bridge delivers plenty of tone and volume throughout the entire range of the instrument. I would have been very pleased with either, and my comments are merely based on a comparison between these two outstanding bridges. What else do you need. I was having problems with the tuning of my fourth string. If you do, its likely because he has been a part of one of the most Dylan McKnight, the singer of the popular band Twenty One Pilots, has always been a little bit of an enigma. I was honoured to have been awarded Knight 1st Class of the Order of the White Rose of Finland in October 2008, at a ceremony at Parliament House. Tried this Spillway bridge on my Earl Scruggs Gibson which had a Snuffy Smith bridge on it. I recently purchased a custom compensated bridge from Bart and am very happy with it. I had found some bridges emphasized the high notes more. I wanted to changeout the 5/8 bridge for an 9/16 bridge. http://www.banjohangout.org/classified/18229In the ad, and the enclosed note that accompanied the bridge, Mr. New said that he hoped the bridge would improve the sound of the buyers banjo, and give the buyer more pleasure in playing. 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