A guitar is made up of multiple components. The bridge is one of the main building blocks of a guitar. A bridge is used to hold the strings above the body of a guitar under tension. Every type of bridge is designed to suit various playing styles.
The bridge of a guitar can affect many aspects of a guitar’s feel and sound. It affects the sustain, stability, and pitch. There are primarily two types of guitar bridges, fixed and tremolo. So let’s dig deeper into why a bridge is an important guitar part that you should educate yourself on!
Know The Types Of Guitar Bridges In 45 Seconds!
The bridge holds guitar strings to the body of the guitar. It affects how the guitar plays and sounds.
Fixed Bridges as the name suggests if fixed in place and cannot move. Different variants of fixed bridges are:
- Hardtail: Simple design, common on Telecasters.
- Wraparound: Beginner-friendly but limited in adjustments.
- Tune-o-Matic (TOM): Increased sustain, compatible with certain guitars.
- Hardtail: Offers tuning stability, and versatile setup options.
Floating or Tremolo bridges can move up and down. This way you can change the pitch by moving it with a whammy bar. Different types variants of floating bridges are:
- Synchronized Tremolo: Balanced, flexible action adjustment.
- Locking Tremolo: Allows divebombs and pitch raises, demands precision in setup.
- Roller Tremolo: Adjusts pitch and tone, inconsistent tuning stability.
The most popular bridge is the Tremolo bridge for its versatility in pitch changes and vibrato effects.
What Is A Guitar Bridge?
Guitar strings are anchored to the guitar body by the bridge of the instrument. It sits low on the instrument. It directs the strings over the soundhole or pickups, down the neck, and toward the headstock.
The bridge is a vital part of your guitar. It has a big impact on how playable it is. The bridge affects important aspects of your guitar’s setup, like action and intonation. It also affects string spacing with the help of bridge saddles.
Understanding Different Types Of Guitar Bridges (Explained)
As we mentioned before, there are primarily two types of guitar bridges. There are fixed and tremolo bridges. Each type of bridge caters to different genres of music. They can also categorized by your playstyle. No bridge is perfect, which is why musicians have more than one guitar.
Fixed Bridges
A fixed bridge, also called a hardtail, is screwed into the body of a guitar. You can find these bridges on Telecasters. It has a simple design and makes restringing your electric guitar pretty straightforward. The different iterations of fixed bridges are as follows.
1. Wraparound Bridges
A wraparound bridge derives its name from the way the strings are wrapped. It’s beginner-friendly and is a consistent performer. It is easy to replace if you are looking to change things up. However, this type is not that flexible. You can get limited access to intonation adjustments. Action changes can only be made by adjusting the two bridge posts.
2. Tune-o-Matic (TOM)
The Tune-o-Matic bridge improved upon the original wraparound design by adding a stop bar. This upgrade came out with the classing Gibson Les Paul Custom back in 1952. This bridge increased the string length and brought in a break angle. As a result of this, the guitar sound got an increase in sustain. Only guitars with 12-inch flat radius fretboards can use this type of bridge.
3. Hardtail
The hardtail bridges are bolted onto the body of the guitar and come with locking tuners. Most Stratocasters have this type of bridge. They have excellent tuning stability does not need to be retuning frequently. They have individual saddles that offer versatility in setting up string height and length. However, they are compatible with arch-top guitars. Usually, these types of bridges can be converted into swinging ones in a converter kit.
Floating Bridges (Tremolo)
Tremolo bridges are designed to float above the guitar body or within a cavity. They add vibrato effects using an arm or whammy bar. They allow guitarists to add dynamic flair to their playing.
1. Synchronized Tremolo
Synchronized tremolo is balanced on a two-point fulcrum. This allows strings to pass over bridge saddles into a tremolo block within the guitar body. Springs connect the tremolo block to the guitar body for stability. The number of springs required depends on the string gauge. Its saddle layout is similar to hardtail bridges which give you flexible action adjustment capabilities.
2. Locking Tremolo
A locking tremolo relies on three things. They are string tension, bridge, and rear springs of the guitar body. It introduces an additional part called a locking nut. A locking nut allows you to loosen the strings with an immediate return to pitch upon release.
Floyd Rose was the first brand that brought this into mainstream guitars. This type of bridge is loved by many guitarists. With a locking tremolo bridge, we can do effortless divebombs, warbles, and pitch raises.
Setting up a locking tremolo requires precision and patience. This system demands perfect balancing. If you attempt to change the string gauge or tuning you have the risk of stretching out the string and a full retune. Another drawback of this bridge is how it responds to snapping strings. If a string snaps the whole guitar goes out of balance. In comparison to other bridges we mentioned till now, you have to redo everything before the guitar can be played again.
3. Roller Tremolo
The roller tremolo centers around a roller bridge. A guitar with this type of bridge has strings connected to a stop bar. This can then be adjusted through a spring-loaded tremolo arm to adjust pitch and tone while playing. With this type of bridge, you can make vibrato effects. However, the tuning stability of roller tremolos can be inconsistent. To address this, guitarists often add locking tuners and a roller bridge.
What Is The Most Popular Guitar Bridge?
The most popular guitar bridge among musicians is undoubtedly the tremolo bridge. This bridge design is versatile as you can change the pitch with ease. One of the key features of the tremolo bridge is its floating design. It can move both up and down enabling guitarists to create subtle vibrato effects.
Moreover, the tremolo bridge facilitates easy adjustments. This makes it easier for players to maintain pitch stability during a performance. Its user-friendly design and widespread availability make it the most popular type of bridge.
The tremolo bridge holds a significant place in the history of electric guitars. It is closely associated with the iconic sound of rock and blues. Famous guitarists like Jimi Hendrix, Slash Joe Satriani, and many more have made masterpieces with guitars equipped with a tremolo bridge.
Which Guitar Bridge Are You Into? Let Us Know.
This concludes our list of all types of guitar bridges you can come across. Each of them has characteristics unique to them. They also have drawbacks which makes picking any one type difficult. While all bridges serve the same basic purpose, it is difficult to find the perfect one as that does not exist.
If you still want a specific guitar with a different type of bridge, many replacement kits can be found. This way you can turn a regular bridge into a tremolo and vice versa. Before buying a guitar it is ideal to test out all the types of bridges available.