August 9, 2019

The bridge truly is the heart of an acoustic guitar. Typically made from a piece of wood such as ebony or rosewood, it is glued to the guitar’s top, where it serves several critical functions. When strung to pitch in standard tuning, a set of light gauge acoustic guitar strings exerts about 160lbs worth of tension upon the instrument. Since the strings are attached to the bridge, this pulling force is partially transferred to it. Though guitars are designed to be able to resist that force, if there is any weakness in the glue joint connecting the bridge to the top, it can fail.