in computer science from Stanford University in 2001, and his Ph.D. in computer science from Stanford University in 2004. The Beech bridge was at 1.9 g , very thin, but stable and might I add looks pretty nice too. Who knew that such a little item could end up sounding so "important," right? The bridge has now had a full day of hard playing and it has settled in to be a killer bridge.Im not one to go on and on so much about something like a bridge, but this one deserves it.If you own a flat head banjo and want to give it that older sounding pop and clarity, but keep the depth too, this could very well be that bridge. Just a few of the woods offered are Zebra Wood, Maple, Padauk, Cherry, Rosewood, and Katalox. it hit me as a totally different banjo. I don't write reviews. This is the second Mystery Wood Bridge I bought, the first was a solid mystery wood bridge and it is fine for my newer brighter banjo but I needed a bridge for an older Celebrated Benary Open back that I have. The third is my travel banjo, a little Gold Tone CC Mini open back. Tim Purcell is currently a member of the architecture group at NVIDIA. The result with regards too response, sustain and clarity and volume is as expected"phenomenal!" I was intrigued by this bridge and David's tasteful design, that while original, definitely had a traditional look that would not be out of place on a vintage instrument. This is the second of two greatbridges I've ordered from Bart: I chose the Dark Star on Mr. Veerman's advice for my 2011 Huber Berkshire. Not only that, but it makes playing the 5th string easier for clawhammer style because the 5th string is raised 1/8 inch. I wanted a bridge to do a specific thing for my banjo and I contacted Scott to tell him what I wanted. I read many good things about Author Hatfield bridges, so I got one for a new banjo I was having custom made. The price was about the same as you'd pay for any custom bridge, but considering that this bridge is hand carved as opposed to made with machine tools (drills, saws), it's actually inexpensive for the craftsmanship and work that went into it. The final choice was a combination of his "enigma" and "mystery" woods. view. The girl has real pipes. Amelia tries to hide from the Babadook in her basement. But the Sullivan Old Growth is an improvement over the Snuffy. the best bridge I have ever tried, and I have bought bridges from very famous and very talented banjo builders ! It was a pleasure to deal with him. Thanks Tim! Excellent bridges. (It is barely thinner than the medium-weight, which was purchased at least a year earlier.) Again intonation all over the neck is much improved. ), My banjo specs: Short scale, walnut neck, 12-inch thin maple rim (Keller drum shell), Dobson tone ring, thin goatskin head, Chris Sands heavy strings. The other two gave my banjo a more blue grass sound, one more than the other. Great bridge !!! I tried the Snuffy Smith III and that was definitely an improvement over the Goodtime stock bridge. I hope to be able to make some good sound comparisons using this bridge on all my banjos. Not just a little bit, but far inferior to both the Stew-Mac and the Grover Compensated bridges I own, both of which were far less expensive. I just want to add my $.02 to praise Steve's bridges, and then a whole lot more to praise Steve himself as a craftsman and a banjo guy (whatever that may be, I mean it in the best possible way. I ordered a custom bridge from Bart, for my Century-+ old Stewart banjo strung with nylguts. Classic combination because I wanted a traditional sound with good balance up and down the neck. Without any problem, he said send it back and it was replaced with what he described as what many Bluegrass players use to just mellow the tone a little, so about a 1.5 on a scale of ten. After choosing my desired specs and sending payment via the Paypal link on the site, Bart emailed saying the bridge was en-route and it arrived from Canada to central IL in less than a week. 11/20/2022 9:03 PM. I assume these are the Wadsworth design the Steve purchased a while back. Highly recommend Bart's bridges. I have copied the like to this page and I can't wait to hear more about the F & Fs and some others you have interviewed. After some other tweaks, I actually decided that I liked the first one better, and Bart was extremely patient and flexible through the entire process. I've been sanding my bridges down for years to get good crisp tone and then giving up some bass for the trouble. Next week I am recording with the banjo and I'm going to do a few takes with all the Spillways and a couple with the Smith back on just to see how it plays back. I own better bridges, but I have also paid far more for lesser bridges than these. Bart is a craftsman. 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. One 11/16, and one .656. Now, it has that same great sound, but with added sustain. As a singer in my past years I love and envy his amazing voice. In combo with my banjo this sugar maple bridge is perfect for some hard driving bluegrass playing . I 'found' Tim and his Foxes and Fossils group through the consideration of F&F Fan Jim Kimbrel. It's hard to describe but it is easier to play hammer, slide,etc now. BTW, Mike also makes Katzeye bridges and the new Snuffy Smith bridges so I'd say he knows what he's doing. Well done Ericgreat product! OMG I hope I didn't violate a patent! I found that the Fielding bridge out performed all of them. I put a BK 5/8 bridge on and it came alive! It got to the point where I started contemplating selling the whole thing, giving up on the project of using a banjo as accompaniment for my singing. Go to his website and you'll see an array of bridges constructed from a myriad of woods with a description of each like the notes on a bottle of wine, many with sound samples. Some banjos can really benefit from this kind of experimentation. Would recommend this bridge anytime! I put the Archie on my Gold Tone MC150RP and couldn't stop smiling! Bart was incredibly helpful, he sent me all the information on how to measure and determine the appropriate radius. I liked the design feature of Greg's solid foot cherry bridge. It's all too easy to say this is a great bridge for the money when it's just a great bridge, period. The rim is all Central American rosewood, and it has no metal tone ring. The Old Piano Hard Maple Bridge confident by exceptional strong volume and clear reproduction even the neck up. In other words, it had been sitting in its case for nearly 7 years. I measured for the compensation and specified the height and string spacing and asked for Mr. Veerman's advice on wood and weight. It is louder now and it sounds more clearly. Quality: The Bridge is attractive and sturdy. To our delight, they were happy to have Chase try out for F and F. What a joke. Leon Ballard from UK built handsome custom banjo with a beautiful tone . I brought a banjo (Recording King RK80) to Steve over a year ago for a setup. My friend well-known luthier John Bowlin had recommended that I get in touch with David Cunningham at DC BANJOWORKS in St. Peters, Missouri. Well, after some changing out and comparison tests. there is NO contest. Bart was great to work with and he pointed me to the bridge type used by other celtic-style players. I'm a big fan of these Prowler bridges made by Mike Smith. The initial thing I noted about the bridge was the quality of fit and finish: the work was clean and suberb. Gary Sosebee's manufacturing quality is excellent . I have two of Tim's bridges. Thin, with large feet. Really very nicely crafted and he's a fine fellow to do business with. the banjo came equipped with a Grover compensated that sounded just okay. I use them on my 1929 Gibson Granada and on my Recording King - both love this bridge. Not only did it balance the tone,enhancing the bottom end note's,it also cured some fret buzz problems i was having,and I have the best intonation up and down the board ever! I am not suggesting the Red Maple bridge is the answer for every banjo. The Knighthood was awarded for my work and follow through of bilateral talks held between the Australian and Finnish Governments and for Business and Academia in the area of Innovation. The amount of power this bridge can produce on such a cheap instrument is mind blowing. Got to be the best bridge I've ever owned. The bridges produce a fuller, more robust tone that is rich in both treble and bass. Bridge for years. I didn't really need a bridge for sound, I needed one for height. Where Purchased: From Bart, banjobridge.com. Tim's is an excellent communicator and negotiator able to "step in other people's shoes" and see things from their prospective. It does definitely have more note distinction and fewer overtones. I've rarely taken it off my banjo for more that a few minutes because I like the tone and volume so much. Hard to put into words. (more overtones?) Intonation in D is also fantastic.The volume is about the same. Don does great work on all his models and is very helpful in making sure you get exactly the bridge you need. That helped give me the resistance I needed to get the volume up some, but I lost some of the sweet tone and the highs weren't as apparent. I ordered an "Untopped Mystery Wood Bridge" from Bart Veerman. The only words I can use to express the tone is dry,full,deep, but with exceptional power up the neck and amazing clarity of notes. This bridge gives better tone than all others I have tried (Snuffy Smith compensated; Sosebee; Sampson walnut old wood). Over the years I have used a lot of high quality bridges.To date this is the best bridge I have tried on my Hatfield Celebrity.Good volume & tone. Cool looking design and just different than most. I PLAY this bridge better. I recieved it this last week and finally had a chance to try it and thought I'd let ya know what I think. I can "pull" out tones that are strong - or delicate - at will, without effort. These are very finely crafted bridges. 9. He suggested two possibilities, and I tried both. This exceptional bridge is clearly a great addition to any banjo. Again, more open and slightly different sound then the Organ bridge. We started to sing. If you continue, we will assume that you agree to, http://www.banjohangout.org/reviews/search.asp?m=s&v=7955&redir=true, 'Gold Schaller Set - 2 D-Tuners, 2 Regular Tuners, matching 5th - all with prewar ivoroid buttons', '1920 Fairbanks-Vega Little Wonder Tenor, Large Pot', 'Tab Omer Forster "Flowery Girls" 2-finger style. Thanks Don! For players looking for THE bluegrass sound, this is it. With the Bullfrog in place, customizing its placement was much easier than with the Grover. David contacted me before he began to work to make sure he knew what I was after. Thank you. I would highly recommend Tim's bridges. A big thanks to Tim for the fine bridge. I had a gourd banjo coming from Jason and I had him put in a 11/16" bridge just so I could try it out. I corresponded with Bart ahead of time, gave him the full specs of the banjo and went with his recommendation. In addition, bass bridges are also offered. It was kind of fun, my banjo still sounded great but I thought can it sound better? I have had the z/k on for about 6 weeks, originally going to let it settle in for a few days, but I've been so pleased with the tone, I see no reason to swap it out yet. Rarely have I found one small change to make such an improvement. This Beech wood is a great formula for a banjo bridge. Very prompt delivery. As lead singer and keyboardist in the successful regional rock bands, Lou's Blues Revue, and Perfect World, he developed a reputation as a dynamic performer. The Sampson has returned balance to my banjo. I found a venue and we began preparing for our first gig. Don't be affraid to pick it hard for the first few days, either. Facebook gives people the power to. After that, I let him recommend what to put on it to improve it. I have tried these against many bridges and these are absolutely the best. I recorded a few measures with my Snowball mic and Audacity so I could play them a number of times for an objective comparison. I ended up leaving in an old Iida 225, in which it gave a noticeable improvement in tone, especially up the neck. Thinking ahead (for one of the few times in my life) I asked a friend of mine, Terry Heinlein, who has an avid interest in both music and video, to record our first show. He is a very pleasant and nice person to deal with, has great customer service, and just seems like an all-around good person who I would not hesitate to do business with again in the future. I have been using Moon bridges and have been happy with them, but wondered about other bridges. I am going to have to try another one of Bart's bridges on one of my other banjos now. Despite these two handicaps - the impact of Dave's bridges are huge. My banjo is a Deering Eagle II with Fults34Parallel Lite tailpiece and medium gagenickel wound strings. I listened closely to the tone my banjo now has and this too was a pleasant Surprise! Very warm with great depth. Although my 1987 Gibson ESS sounded good as it was, I decided to try a Snuffy Smith Bridge since most of the guys I know who play Gibson Banjo's all use them, and are very happy of how they inhanced the sound, volumn and tone. Precise manufactured bridge, which produce a fantastic sound! Bridge was put on a Deering Eagle. First he swapped out the popular, well known bridge on my banjo with the Organ bridge. And once again it made a good sounding instrument outstanding! The banjo was all-original but had a flat sound and thin volume. A great bridge. It has the most interesting shape I have seen in a bridge. It makes a complete connection between all the strings and the head of the banjo. Thanks Tim. As its prey becomes more frightened, the Babadook becomes more monstrous. Then, as the summer of 2011 rolled around we had a different issue to work through. But I suspect with all of the different tone rings and rim combinations, the different right hands, your ears, the type of head and all the other factors at work when a banjo is played, somewhere there is a bridge being made that will be the perfect match. The clarity, tone, and power achieved through using this mystery wood blew my socks off.especially when this bridge gave my Vega a BOOMING 4th, which I had been unable to find previously. See records, Lawsuits, Liens, Bankruptcies & sex offender status for Samantha Purcell. Needing a bridge for myGold Tone Cello banjo CEB-5 I contacted Bart via his online request form. This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions. Very nice bridges! | Extremely high quality. It noticeably increased the volume and clarified the tone of a parts banjo. I installed this bridge on a 70s vintage StewMac "Eagle" kit with an integral cast aluminum pot and archtop tone ring. The banjo came alive. Bridges and the tone they can bring from our Banjo's is a very subjective matter. 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. Bart recommended 2 bridges and nailed it. Where Purchased: : direct from Bart Veerman, What I ordered: Basic two-footed bridge, 5/8-inch tall, mystery wood, no top, 46-millimeter clawhammer string spacing. This bridge was worth every penny and I have difficulty putting the banjo down now when I ought to be getting on with the chores cos I like the sound so much. After replacing the Moon bride with the Romero bridge, I noticed a considerable difference in tone. Biography. Oh and I appreciate the warning that came in the package. The Purcell sounds punchy, loud, crisp, quick.strong. Strings buzzed until we could get the ebony grooves ready. I used one of my Scorpion bridges on my Sullivan Festival Deluxe and it was a little too keen-sounding and lacked some essential overtones. I emailed Tim and explained that I know little about my banjo but knew it was time for a bridge. Davis is a great craftsman and can make a bridge out of a wide selection of woods and at any height or spacing you want. After the Army, my career continued to build in the telecommunications industry both in Europe and Australia/NZ, and was growing in the ever evolving ICT arena where I have been lucky enough to have worked with some of the largest ICT companies in the industry. Tim has 3 jobs listed on their profile. I immediately ordered a zebra/katalox bridge from David, after having such phenomenal improvement to my Juggernaut, with a maple/katalox bridge. Note that this is a thin bridge so be careful when installing it. Photo Gallery. It's tough to review a new bridge when I have so many good bridges already and I would hate to jeopardize some good relationships by comparing one to another. Files were needed to remove burrs on the ebony saddle. I didn't have to put as much effort into slides, pull offs,and hammer on. Just trying to spread the word here.these bridges and Bart are special. I've tried an Emerson bridge and a Deering bridge they don't compare with my Snuffy III. But then I realised I had the bridge back-to-front. I will probably order 3 more just like it pretty soon..a spare for the archtop and 2 for my new flathead.Tone rings, wood rims and good set-ups are all very important.but "the bridge" is the key to the best sound any banjo has to give.My overall rating for this bridge is 1000! Despite having played and owned banjos since the mid 1970s, I have had very limited experience swapping out bridges. I believe he calls these bridges 'organic' because of the appearance. It used to be the offending string all the time, but now that all 5 strings are on the same "level" of vibration, the tone and tuning has improved somewhat. The bridge I just purchased however is a two-footed minstrel bridge. She leaves the bowl as food for the Babadook, which pushes the bowl into the shadows and devours the worms. It is purrrrrrfect And just mellowed the tone/brightness a little. HIGHLY recommend. Bart's bridge made a big change to my banjo. I got two standard spaced 11/16" bridges one. As usual, Tim was very easy to work with - highly recommended!! Bottom line is, this bridge is one of the best values for money I have found. Classy!Yesterday (04/28/09) I put a new head on the original Tom Hanway SwallowTail Deluxe, and so I moved the custom Scorpion over to that banjo, set up the instrument, intonated and tuned it, and then let her rip. Thanks, Bart. Im sure some of that comes from not playing much up the neck. Even though the bridge was a prize, he custom made it to my required specs and made sure it arrived. I put it on a 70s GTR flathead (thick multi ply rim and likely a poor fitting pot metal tone ring). I bought two bridges from Bart, one ebony over teak and the Dark Star. Also my Presto tailpiece is not cranked down and I use 10-21 gauge strings. I also own a standard old maple Kat Eyz and it's great one too, but the McCormick spice factory wood has a special flavor that I've started to prefer. Sound is less plunky. I gave it a 9 only due to the finish. | When I received it the cap wood was not quite wide enough for Crowe spacing, which I prefer. My second banjo is an 1895 SS Stewart Orchestra 28 inch scale, that I picked up on Ebay recently. I have given them to my friends and it always make their banjos sound amazing. I believe Eric at Sullivan has another solid product to add to the Sullivan name! Samantha Purcell is 28 years old today because Samantha's birthday is on 12/02/1994. I had seen many good reports on Gary Sosebee's bridges but I have enough hard maple bridges already. My banjo is even staying in tune better! Bart accepted a return and worked with me to get the perfect fit. I also have an afromosia/katalox bridge from David on an RK-35. Samson makes an awesome bridge. I thought the bridges had a little more attention to detail paid to them and would be more ready to just set on the banjo and go. He offered much helpful input as to material and design considerations guiding me in the right direction based on my particular banjo and my playing style. It gives a good clean sound. So some how I found out he was making some walnut bridges with a Katalox top. Where Purchased: Janet Davis Music Center. The banjo's sound was great with various wooden based bridges, but the sound was improved, in my opinion, with the all metal gold bridge. The bridge arrived in a padded envelope with a business card and invoice. I play clawhammer so it wasn't the right bridge for me but it might be really good for bluegrass. Placed on a properly set-up banjo, the bridge will deliver strong bass and very clear highs--the clearest so far that I've found on a production bridge for the price. I use my banjo in church and need to be quiet, but clear. He produces a consistant quality product. Definately helped my Gold Star open up and more clarity for sure. I read some rave reviews on BHO of David Cunningham's bridges in late 2013 and ordered two bridges for my new Bales in January 2014. I purchased this bridge for an Ome Juniper 12" with wooden "tone rim." I put together a maple neck and resonator Mastertone style with a Yates rim and Yates no-hole tone ring. I observed the following: Grief researchers say holding that missing funeral service, even a year or more later, can still help us heal. Bart is based in Canada, so mailing time to the United States takes some time due to customs, etc. I had Donald make it with 44mmspacing. It took a good banjo and made it a great banjo!!! Dylan McKnight is a tall man. At $10 you cannot beat this bridge. These are the best sounding bridges of all I've tried, including about 25 bridges of various woods and designs that I made myself. WRONG!!! Tim made it light for me at 2.15 grams and it is a cracker, or a snorter as we say here in England. The sound was so dramatically improved that even my wife noticed (and she doesn't even like banjo music!). I also found that when his bridge is set right, the worst string would be about two cents off on intonation. I am now a believer!! 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. I ordered two bridges from Bart-for two different banjos. Web: http://www.dcbanjoworks.com/. Engage via Email. Jim. I've used a lot of bridges over the years and Bart's products are a huge step forward. I got back in touch with David and ended up receiving an Osage Orange capped Maple bridge along with an Ebony capped Maple one. The 11/16 went on my 03 golden era and instantly opened it up, and improved the tone all over the neck. They sound fantastic and look so cool at the same time. I'm using the Archie bridge on a mid 1970's Gibson RB800 (rim upgraded to a Cooperman 3 ply, and turned for a Cox archtop ring). Tim Purcell R&D Director | Fusion for Sage 200, Sage Intacct, Sage 1000, Sage X3 Warrington. Bart, either directly or via his website forms gets all the information necessary to build you a truly exceptional custom bridge. Curtis does not tell a great deal about the bridges on his site because he does not have tothey speak for themselves. View Tim Purcell's business profile as Director, Bpr & Modernization Program at New York Workers' Compensation Board. I played with all sorts or set-up stuff to get it to open up. Fet's16-22 on the 1st string produce fuller sound and less "plinky". I then tried it on my Gibson RB250 that has a swee mellow tone and can crack, but without much volume. It took about a week to make it to Georgia. I wanted to regain the sweet rich sound of the midrange and reduce those piercing highs, but I didn't want to reduce the head tension and lose volume or vibrancy. Join Facebook to connect with Tim Purcell and others you may know. Fantastic product, unbelievable customer service, OUTSTANDING overall!!!! In the years after I got the Sullivan I have done lots of things to get the best tone such as different strings, heads, straps, picks, Zero-fret, tone enhancers, pickups, D-tuners. It looks great and sounds great. Pointed on one side and curved on the other. In August, 2012, I decided I wanted to try something else, so I ordered and received one of Tim Purcell's "Old Piano Wood" bridges.After receiving the bridge from Tim and after switching back and forth between Tim's bridge and the Frank Neat a few times, I liked Tim's bridge better. I HAVE TRIED DOZENS OF BRIDGES ON MY PRE WAR AND THIS BRIDGE DOES IT ALL FOR ME.. BALANCED,, SEPARATION OF NOTES, CLARITY AND BOTTOM END.. Now that banjo ended up sitting in a corner after a few years and after a 20 year hiatus I picked it back up 3 years ago. This one went on my '81 Gold Star GF 100, which really didn't sound too bad, but with the new bridge it just has so much more clarity and improved quality of tone, it is hard to believe. Let me say that I've used/use many great quality bridges on this banjo over the years. I find it amazing sometimes that I have collected the group that I have, and that I continue to add to it. The smaller 5/8" bridges have always sounded better to me, since the smaller mass brings out the kind of tones I like to hear in a banjo. As well, Bart is fully confident in his workmanship, andgoes to great lengthsto ensure customer satisfaction.

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