Honduran rosewood or African Blackwood bridge??

[Eonratslea500]

I recently removed a cracked bridge from my diy, 00 Martin 12 fret clone. Big ups to the LMII warming blanket and temp controller. It made the process nice and easy to get it off (I used fish glue).

So now for the replacement bridge....

I don’t have any ebony or Indian rosewood laying around. But... I do have some pieces of African blackwood and Honduran Rosewood big enough to make a belly bridge.
Which wood should I choose? Why?

[nikpearson]

Hi Honduran rosewood is considerable more dense than Indian and African Blackwood even more; check out figures on Wood Database.

An Indian rosewood blank is easy to source and inexpensive and is less likely to dramatically alter the sound of your guitar.

[John Arnold]

It would help if we knew what the original bridge was made of. Weight is my primary concern when designing bridges. Heavier bridges accentuate bass and sustain. Lighter bridges accentuate treble and snappy response.

[nikpearson]

For some reason I assumed the bridge you’d taken off was made of Indian rosewood.

If you want the instrument to sound the same (or at least very similar) you should ideally replace the bridge with one made out of the same wood and of the same weight. Different species have different densities amongst other properties. Denser woods are not always stiffer, and stiffness I’m thinking could potentially make a significant difference. If you think of the bridge as a substantial brace you’ll see why it’s weight, shape and height are likely to impact on the final sound.