Welcome to our forum. A Message To Our New and Prospective Members . Check out our Forum Rules. Lets keep this forum an enjoyable place to visit.
Check out our 2023 Group Christmas Project HERE
Log In
Register
Home
Topic RSS
(2 votes) 
Honorary tenured advisor
Regulars
Offline
I was looking at a video and the guy said that the label on the bridge should face the scroll. Is that the convention and if so, does it matter which way the label faces?
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. ~Herm Albright
Honorary advisor
Regulars
Offline
Howdy ,
Welp , that's a good question ...there seems to be a lot of contention on this subject and even the best experts seem to dissagree on the label issue ...a quick check online will verify ...
I'm not convinced from what I've seen first hand that even the manufacturers pay enough attention to which side the label is on to be able to go by the label for placement
To add to the confusion , the experts seem to not even be in agreement on which side the longest rays should face much less the label ...
Here is a pic of a bridge with the most and longest rays on the label side and most specks or dots on the other side ...I have other bridges with equal amounts and lengths of rays on both sides ...
I think final fitting and shaping is the most important followed by hardness ..but that's just my own opinion which may be different from others ...
I also prefer a bridge to be flat on the players side with a belly on the finger board side but some like a belly on both sides ...
Best you might do is look at many videos and online opinions by pros with credentials and take it from there ....
Again , final fit and shaping should be yer biggest concern and try to get a bridge that is nether too soft or too hard ....good luck with yer quest ...
Regulars
Offline
I might be wrong, but doesn't it also depend on the arch? Every one I've seen has a lopsided arch, with the lower end toward the E string. If you turned the bridge around, the lower side of the arch would be toward the G string. No matter which side the label is on, doesn't the bridge have to be placed according to how the arch is supposed to go? Or am I way off base here? It wouldn't be the first time. LOL!
Let the bow flow.
Regulars
Offline
@fiddle chick I think they are talking about the blank bridges, before the curve is put in. Once the curve is cut in that definitely dictates which way it'll face. 
I know on my violin i've gotten from Fiddlershop the name on the bridge faces the tail. though i don't have a clue as to if it makes any difference. guess its more personal preference but then again i could be wrong as well.
Lead me, Follow me, or get out of my way!
~General George S. Patton
Regulars
Offline
Unless a company pays you to advertise for them, I would take off the name. Problem solved.
Offline
Often because of the cut back angle from thinning the bridge to lean back towards the tailpiece the stamp is on the tailpiece side. You can achieve this thinning on either side though. I believe that it doesn't make a difference.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
Regulars
Offline
The only time it makes a difference is when there is an ebony insert and then the label faces the tail piece.
Honorary tenured advisor
Regulars
Offline
MrYikes said
Unless a company pays you to advertise for them, I would take off the name. Problem solved.
LOL.
My practice is to put the label toward the tailpiece side, but I don't look at it much.
I usually like to keep the label on, so I'll know what make and grade of bridge it is.
I fitted one backwards one time, and it bothered me, so I sanded off the label.
Advanced member
Offline
My bridge doesn't have a label. LOL 
Playing a piece is easy... Playing it right is not...
Regulars
Offline
Mfg usually put the label on the players side of the bridge, so they can continuously be reminded of who's bridge they have and suggest it to others that ask.
The straight side is always toward the tailpiece and the curved side toward the scroll.
The radius is 42mm for most bridges of contemporary make and model and the low side is always the E string side. This is usually determined by the making of the bridge and matching of the feet curve to the body curve.
"If you practice with your hands you must practice all day. Practice with your mind and you can accomplish the same amount in minutes." Nathan Milstein
1 Guest(s)
Mouse
tonyluo
ELCBK
