Ron, bass bridge undercutting... Ron & Del

[Brian Trout]

Hi Ron, Hi Del,

Yea, I think I'm getting the idea.  I sure appreciate your input.

I was wondering, If you need to undercut a bridge, is it acceptable to
undercut in more than one direction?

Here's what I'm thinking...

Lets say we have a bass bridge that has a footprint of 12"L x 1.5"W (x 2"H).
If I needed to undercut that bridge, would I be making the footprint
something like 12" x 7/8" ?  Is that the direction you would undercut?  And
the other part was, is it ever a good idea to undercut away from the lower
end of the bridge so that the footprint would be more like 10.5" x 7/8"
(still flush to the end on the tenor side)?

I'm trying to get a feel of how far you take this.  Is it of any advantage
to make the bass bridge in such a fashion as to put it on several "stilts"
leaving sections underneath open?  That would really let the soundboard
move?, but then I'd be worried about a good sound energy transfer... I guess
that's another can of worms, huh?

Am I on the right track?

Thanks for your input.

Hope you have a great day!

Brian Trout