A short spell later, a well packed mailer showed up with my bridges. Again, more open and slightly different sound then the Organ bridge. This banjo has nylgut strings a skin head and is real "Thunky" in tone. Where Purchased: Directly from Steve Davis. I'm a satisifed customer. A big thanks to Tim for the fine bridge. I have had quite a few bridges on the banjo and I have to say this is by far the best one I have used. Sometimes the really obvious escapes me. That was the bridge that came on the banjo in 1990 when I bought it, so I guess it didn't owe me anything at this point so I decided to buy a new one. The Katalox cap is strong, stands up to refilling the string slots Im using a thicker gauge nylon string and Davids bridges were apparently slotted for steel strings. Unlike other bridges I have tried, these do not contain chaff or burrs in them from poor slotting. Excellent bridges. I hope this helps. There was some settling after a few days and I shimmed with a piece of paper under a leg to get the tone back. 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. Punch and intensity galore! 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. And how often do you change a bridge. His thoughts, (check out the wood description on his website) about the wood matched with what I look for in tone, good balance and volume, not as sustaining and a darker tone. He made no claim or guarantee that the bridge would open up the sound, make the strings magically more playable, improve the intonation, and so on. It's a beautiful banjo, but sounded a tad tinny and thin to me, although the banjo had a ton of sustain. The biggest difference was the treble: much stronger, clearer, and bell-like. I do not think I have ever played better..even my fellow band members noticed increased dynamics, volume and clarity.I ordered another Red Maple Purcell bridge as a spare and have the Submerged Birch Bridge as a back-up, Also. Every note on the fingerboard is full and dynamic.no dead or weak spots. Then there were two phone calls to clarify. More resonance. 2023 Tim Purcell All Rights Reserved Website Design by NewsomCreative.com Foxes and Fossils is a registered trademark owned by Timothy P. Purcell. Business Started Locally: Mostly I play below the 7th fret and that has let me set up the banjo to be fairly plunky but pretty decent from the 7th fret down and I thought I was pretty happy with the whole deal.When I opened the package last night my first impression was geez this is a work of art not a bridge and I sort of just stared at it for a half hour trying to figure out how anyone could possibly make something with that many curves and tapers and still get perfect symmetry. Everything sounded soooo clean and crisp. Itis a supernatural creature who haunted Amelia and her son Samuel. This was well worth the money and I would highly recommend Tim's bridges for anyone. I put the Zebra bridge on and in 10 minutes I had an awesomely different banjo..and was very, verypleased. An the price is beyond reasonable. Mine is cherry, with a wenge top. It is a beautiful bridge and it solved the intonation problems and really brings out the sound of this open back. Was $50 worth a missed shift and seven hours of driving for Maggie? Since then, I have preferred heavier bridges on my banjos. None of the half dozen other bridges I've tried on this banjo, even came close to the dramatic improvement. Would recommend this bridge anytime! It's is downright scary - its seems to get sounds out of the banjo that *should*, but usually *don't*, exist. When I got it it was very well made and looked great. Period. The old piano wood delivers a wonderful balance of clarity, separation and decay. Steve's new beech bridge is an absolute winner. I recently tried Scorpion Bridges on my flathead 3 and flathead 12. I emailed Mike and asked if there was much of a difference in tone between the Snuffy and the Kat Eyz peg head. Fet's16-22 on the 1st string produce fuller sound and less "plinky". Thanks, Silvio!! James Timothy Purcell, age 60 passed away on Wednesday, July 20, 2022.James Timothy Purcell, age 60 passed away on Wednesday, July 20, 2022.Tim Purcell was born March 21, 1962 to Rita Rose Purcell and James "Terrence" Purcell in San Antonio, Texas. Much better sustain, more volume, and an overall brighter sound. What if we added a few more pieces; a better guitarist, maybe a bass? This bridge and particularly the height, (9/16") made my GF-85 explode with both great tone and fantastic action. I absolutely love it and have it in now, but the thing that most surprised me was the maple! It noticeably increased the volume and clarified the tone of a parts banjo. Its a joy to play,sounds great, it looks beautiful, and I received it quickly. 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. Since I had just interviewed John Bullard and he talked about the Purcell bridges that he likes, so I thought I would give that one a try. Its soo much clearer sounding, great tone, and the added volume is very nice. Going to get another for my open back. But the banjo became too bright (and"cutty") and harsh to the ear. Strings are D' Addario Nickel Wound Medium Gauge. 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. I originally bought one of BHO member Tyri's 5-string bridges from Ebay. Where Purchased: Bart Veerman (banjobridge.com). They are also not V-tapered, but a gentle curve perfect for cupping the string. In summary, I like this bridge. I rarely give a 10 in a review of anything but Tim's bridges, and especially Tim himself, more than deserves a 10. Despite these two handicaps - the impact of Dave's bridges are huge. I bought the three pack. We had 6 band members and a soundman to pay. The camo frog however gives me an actual ringing note on all the strings right up the neck. It reminded me of espresso, bold dark, resonant, yet with clarity and the right "ghosts" (my term) up the neck. It was a real improvement for the sound quality of the instrument, and a cheap way to make it really shine. They really are just cool looking bridges that are very pleasing to the eye. Recently I was looking to optimize the sound of one of my banjos, a 24" scale open-back with a Dobson tone-ring in 12" diameter. Good clean lows and highs, no muddiness. I have been looking for a bridge to give me a little more control over my tone on my Morgan Monroe Cameron open back with W/L tone ring. Although, as we already know, there is no one magical bridge that works on every banjo, but if you are looking for a bridge and still trying to dial in your tone, you should definitely give a Kat Eyz a try. I have tried the Veerman mystery, Enigma, and archies and they are all some of the best bridges ive played with, for tone, clarity, projection, and note separation. Thats way too technical engineering like for me, but it seemed like a good idea, and Im a sucker for new, innovative bridges. I was looking to solve a setup problem on a 78 Goldstar that was eluding me for a while. I'd recommend this bridge as a viable member in the lineup of bridges that every picker should have. I highly recommend Dave Wadsworth's product, especially for Mastertone-style banjos. Try them for yourself and hear the difference. I am writing to you folks, who are like me and have a cheapo banjo and want to see if an upgrade will help. Pretty cheap way to make a big difference with a banjo . Bart's bridge made a big change to my banjo. If you are considering a bridge upgrade you will not be disappointed. He shipped it out quickly as well! I got the Maple with Rosewood cap 5/8" with Crowe spacing . Still, this is the only thing that keeps the bridge from getting a 10 rating. '. As others reviewers have said, Tim's a great craftsman and stands behinds his product. Despite having played and owned banjos since the mid 1970s, I have had very limited experience swapping out bridges. It's the "Leonardo" of bridge designs, for sure. I don't have a huge amount of experience, but I've bought a grover bridge, owned a goodtime bridge, made my own, and had two beefy factory bridges, one that came with my Fender FB 58. few weeks ago when I was taking apart one of my, to photograph for my Banjo Construction Photo Archive, I noticed that the bridge was pretty wallowed out. This evening I have spent about 4 hours giving it a decent workout. Clean, clear and strong. As an element of the overall set-up, David's bridge provided a strength of tone, and most notably a clarity that was impressive to say the least. Both have been great. first started with a two footer on my Gold Tone CC-100, and it did wonders. I have tried two other bridges on this banjo; the stock ebony topped maple, and a Gary Sosebee ebony topped select maple, both in 44mm spacing. The Sampson has returned balance to my banjo. With my Goodtime Crowit was like night and day when compared to the Deering stock bridge that came with my banjo. At first I didn't like how the sound was very tinny, but a couple hours later when it had settled the sound was great. Curtis does not tell a great deal about the bridges on his site because he does not have tothey speak for themselves. Awesome bridge. 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. He then slid the Birch in place, and again a huge difference over the bridge I had in it. I've used a lot of bridges over the years and Bart's products are a huge step forward. Strings buzzed until we could get the ebony grooves ready. I picked for 3 hours as soon as it came in and did not want to quit. Just received a new Scorpion 11/16" bridge fromSilvio. As an experienced and innovative ICT Management Professional, happily living in Australias National Capital, Canberra, Ive found that work takes place in many arenas in cafes, in offices and during the many networking functions (that Canberra does so very well). And overall tone is just fantastic. Eventually, the Babadook takes over Amelia's mind and forces her to kill their dog, fulfilling its prophecy. I just put one of his Ambrosia Red Maple bridges, 11/16 height with a compensated third strong top, on a maple custom Nechville I have had for a few years and I must say it is an outstanding bridge. Where Purchased: Ordered Directly from Bart Veerman. I will now be even more hard pressed to let the Epiphone go. Very happy with Bart's service and work over the years, I wont use anything else. Take your playing to the next level with the help of a local or online banjo teacher. 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. I'm glad I did! 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. * The other websites referenced on this site are owned and operated by their respective companies, and the associated trademarks and logos are the property of those companies. All Rights Reserved. Highly recommend Bart's work. I'm currently playing the head just above a G#. Bear in mind that every banjo has a different voice and we all have differentpreferences in sound. The intonation of the instrument has improved, too. This is a GREAT banjo bridge, I bought one from Doc ( few weeks ago)formy new Reiter Bacophone based on what I told him. I felt like it brought out some nice bass tones on the Deering and took out some of the tinny sound and smoothed out the Goldtone. I do feel as though my banjo has gotten a little louder, though, because of the sheer lack of negative tones from the bridge. Then i switched back to the Scorpion just for fun. It was 11/16, with Crowe spacing and 2.1 grams weight. The tone and volume with Dave's bridge is really loud and crisp. View Tim Purcell's business profile as Director, Bpr & Modernization Program at New York Workers' Compensation Board. Bart invited me to come visit him and try out a bunch of bridges for my 2013 Deering Calico. Good note separation too. And once again it made a good sounding instrument outstanding! When the bridge arrived I was pleasantly surprised by its looks: it is almost black with a light topping, the careful finishing shows fine craftsmanship. This wood is recovered from old pianos and is the first one of Tim's bridges I've used in the shop, or on my personal banjos. If youre in charge of handling the affairs for a recently deceased loved one, this guide offers a helpful checklist. He graciously agreed. So this is not about which bridge is better, but how different the sound is. I would say there were fewer overtones and the notes were slightly "punchier.". You can't go wrong with this bridge! It worked out great. The best bridges, magnificent extraordinary craftsmanship! I would recommend this bridge to anyone who likes the Roasted sound as mentioned on BHO threads. I've had it on for a year and have no itches to try another. I'm happy! The bridge is well designed/built and looks great. I have three of them and have been impressed with the tone and consistency I am getting with them. I then tried it on my28 Granada 40-hole AT. They've given any banjo I've put them on a full, balanced and harmonics rich tone. I received my bridge and placed it as I started to tune I could not stop smiling as I new right away that there would be a noticeable improvement. I asked him to thin it out a little bit and he did just that. 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