Does bridge type affect guitar tone???

[Boy_Narf]

hey... just wondering if the type of bridge your guitar has affects the tone. cause on the SD webpage they recommend a SH-4 or SH-5 for a standard bridge and a SH-6 for a trem bridge??? any particular reason for this?

[chuckbat]

Good question. I have only tune o matic style bridges on my guitars. No trems. It might have to do with the amount of metal and the proximity of the metal to the wood of the guitar. It seems that a "standard" bridge would be a little warmer than a Floyd or one like it. Just my opinion.

[RockStarNick]

The bridge has a huge effect on tone, for sure.

The amount of metal, the type of metal, how solid it is anchored to the body. all have effects on tone.

The reccomendation there is probably based on the thick tone of the DDist will warm and fatten up a thin metallic sounding trem bridge.

[Boy_Narf]

kool, well is anyone using a Trem bridge with a JB???

[Ayrton]

Just to clarify, there will be no sound difference between a regular spaced pup and a trem spaced pup in the same guitar. However there will be a sound difference between say a fixed bridge and a floating tremolo.

[Boy_Narf]

ok well i have a strat style trem, what would you guys recommend to sound the best???

(so your saying that a trem bridge makes the guitar sound brigher, so i should avoid a bright PU like the JB?)

[millsart]

ok well i have a strat style trem, what would you guys recommend to sound the best???

(so your saying that a trem bridge makes the guitar sound brigher, so i should avoid a bright PU like the JB?)

whats your defination of "best" ??? If we don't know what you consider a good tone we'd be just throwing out idea's based upon what we think sounds good, and since its YOUR guitar that wouldn't help you too much.


Also keep in mind that even when your talking about a strat bridge its going to make a difference in how you have it set up, such as if its floating or flash with the body, and also if you have it blocked off or not.

[Boy_Narf]

well, my guitar is set up as flat as possible... screws tightened down and all the springs in... i never use the trem and find it kinda dumb, however i bought the guitar like 4 years ago be4 i knew any better so... it is a mahogany 1 piece with a rosewood fingerboard... and im just really confused im still leaning toward a JB and a 59... Right now i have Duncan designed humbuckers and they suck really bad... i want something that sounds more "full" and has decent cleans that is why i was leaning toward the JB... opinions anyone?

[mrturtle_91]

I'm not sure a JB would get a "full" sound. I've heard the SH-5 Custom sounds pretty full and meaty.

[sosomething]

What kind of guitar is it?

What kind of music do you play?

What kind of amp are you using?

All these things factor in heavily and will affect any recommendations we can give you.

[millsart]

well a JB probably isn't going to sound too hot in a mahogany body and I've never found it to have that great of cleans as most hot pickups won't.

I'd probably go for a custom 5 as its a very big and open pickup that cleans up fairly well. A 59 might not be bad either though it depends how hot of pickup your after.

Basically though its always a compromise, you can have a big raw awesome rock sound but then its not going to clean up that well, or you can have an awesome clean tone but then its not going to really rock out that well. Or I guess third option is you can have a pickup thats decent at both but not great.

[Boy_Narf]

Guitar = Washburn WI66V Mahogany 1PC with rosewood fingerboard
AMP = Traynor YCV40WR with 112 ext cab
I play music like (underoath, the bled, misery signals, means) stuff like that... not sure what to call it... um??? emo??? alt rock???

[Boy_Narf]

basically i went to Axe music and tried out a mahagony 1pc with JB, and 59... and compared it to an mahagony 1pc with 81/60, i heard that the 81 is alot like the DD so i did my comparison. (couldn't find anything in the city with anything other than JB, and custom) i did like the JB alot better than the 81, sounded much better, however neither of those guitars had trem bridge... and the only trem guitars that i can find stock with SD have the DD in them.

[blueman335]

basically i went to Axe music and tried out a mahagony 1pc with JB, and 59... and compared it to an mahagony 1pc with 81/60, i heard that the 81 is alot like the DD so i did my comparison. (couldn't find anything in the city with anything other than JB, and custom) i did like the JB alot better than the 81, sounded much better, however neither of those guitars had trem bridge... and the only trem guitars that i can find stock with SD have the DD in them.

EMG's are pretty thin & sterile, so the much-hated JB would sound better than them. However, the JB itself is pretty shrill ("dentist drill" tone), so you might want something with more body.

Whatever you get may not be what you expected (PU's can sound different in different guitars) & you can change the tone with different magnets, pots, and caps.

[Rowan]

If you're looking for a meatier sound than definately go with a custom. The JB can be either thick or thin sounding, depending on the guitar. But the custom should be a sure deal.

[millsart]

basically i went to Axe music and tried out a mahagony 1pc with JB, and 59... and compared it to an mahagony 1pc with 81/60, i heard that the 81 is alot like the DD so i did my comparison. (couldn't find anything in the city with anything other than JB, and custom) i did like the JB alot better than the 81, sounded much better, however neither of those guitars had trem bridge... and the only trem guitars that i can find stock with SD have the DD in them.

An EMG81 is a rather high output active pickup typically prefered by 90's metal guitar hero's. James Hetfield of Metallica, Zakk Wylde from BLS/Ozzy , Kerry King of Slayer etc. Not to say its the only use for such a pickup but thats the style most popular with a majority of users.

Its horrible for cleans though, lifeless and steril. I would not use it as a basis for comparison with any other pickups SD makes as they are worlds apart

[Boy_Narf]

so for a guitar with a trem bridge you guys recommend a "meatier" pickup such as the SH-5 Custom?

[Rowan]

so for a guitar with a trem bridge you guys recommend a "meatier" pickup such as the SH-5 Custom?

Thats what I'd do. I had a JB in a trem basswood LTD and it was good, but a bit thin and could have used a bit more balls for what I was using the guitar for. I'd say get either a SH-5 or SH-6. Both will give a full sound. If you want to do nothing but metal/punk/hardcore then get a SH-6. If you want a pickup that can do those styles plus several others, and better cleans, then get a custom. It will be both thicker and ballsier than a JB.

[Boy_Narf]

ok so... it seems like the sh-5 has a very scooped voicing... now is this what i should be looking for in a mahagony body? with a trem?

[jmh151]

Bridges have a huge impact on tone- everything from bridge material, type of bridge.