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Hi All:

I am working on a small bodied nylon strung guitar and want to use a different bridge shape. In looking at Courtnall the average bridge area for 650mm scale guitars is 5,104 mm. The scale on my small guitar will be 628mm to 630mm. Has anyone come up with a rule of thumb for adjusting the bridge area for less tension? I want to make something other than a basic rectangle for the bridge and am wondering how much I might be able to reduce the bridge gluing area or do I need to keep it in the same range. Any thoughts? Thanks.

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GEO
perpetual beginner

Take this for what it's worth from a beginner, but I would stay in perspective with your bridge. The bridge is, probably, one of the most critical braces on the top of the guitar in a critical place. Changing the footprint and/or area will change the way it acts as a brace. Going to 630 from 650 is only a 3% change in the scale of the guitar, and to get the right tensions at the shorter scale, you are probably going to have to use high tension strings. That will probably equalize the pull on the bridge. The bridge wings play such an important role in distributing the vibrations in the top, I don't think I'd change them much, or as I said, would keep it in perspective to the change in the scale. Just my thoughts.

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Waddy

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