I've had a Tourtellotte maple bridge on my Michael Kelly Custom Legacy 2
for two days now and want to report in:

It lives up to the hype :-)

Even though I've read every account by Red & others about the effects of
solid maple bridges, I was still surprised at the increase in volume and
clarity. And this on strings that have been on for almost six months.

--Eric Crump
 

Hi Steve,

The bridge came in over the weekend and I just got a chance to fit it to my mandolin.  My Breedlove K-5 Cascade had a fine tone and fairly good volume but was a little lacking for lead playing.  While the chop was very good the single strings were lacking in volume.  Not any more.  It sounds like a new instrument.  More volume, sustain, tone and separation of notes.  All this and it's only been on my mandolin for thirty minutes.  I'm really looking forward to seeing what it does when it settles in for a while.

Your instructions were very good and easy to follow.  Great product. 

Thanks,

Leon Evans

My new Tourtellotte maple bridge appeared in my mail box yesterday.
I put it on my Kentucky 150S. Took a while to sand it down to the right
action. Scritch, scritch, fit, fit, fit, scritch.
The difference was startling. Instead of its usual dead thump, the
mandolin was loud with some real tone to it. The difference was most
noticeable on the treble, which used to be non-existent, especially on the E.
After hearing the difference this bridge made on my Kentucky, I truly
would like to hear one on a high-end mandolin.

Side benefit...
We have a park-type bench in our front yard, so I was sitting on it and
chopping around on the Kentucky after I put on the bridge. Out of the blue,
a guy walks up and starts talking to me about the mandolin. Turns out he is
a singer and guitar player who lives three blocks over. We know some of the
same people and have been to the same events, but somehow never connected.
So, a new bridge and a new picking partner. Can't beat it.

Brian Blansett,
Oklahoma City

Hi   A few months ago I bought one of your one piece maple bridges' for my Morgan Monroe "Phantom of the Opry" F style mandolin.  I had it taken care of professionally by a luthier at The Music Emporium in Lexington Mass.

To say I was blown away by the difference in sound would be an understatement.  The notes almost "explode" off the mandolin.  The luthier and the owner were also more than a little impressed.  Everyone in the store that day couldn't believe the sound coming out of a $500 Korean mandolin.

Thanks

Ray Silva

I had a GREAT trip to visit Steve Tourtellotte in
Birmingham.  Steve fitted my 1926 Gibson blackface A with one of the
one-piece maple Henry style bridges he is making.  I love the bridge and the
tone.  I need two and may go back for another.  My string height changes
with the seasons and it would be nice to have one for spring / summer and
one for fall / winter.  I can understand why being adjustable is an asset,
but man the one piece is not only pleasing to the eye, but to the ear as
well.  More later. I'm writing an article for our local Trad Music
association Newsletter and will share that when it is complete.

Thanks Red and Steve!  Great ideas and great work.

Cheers, Shelley