Scorpion Banjo Bridge (11/16 Standard Spacing)

Scorpion Banjo Bridges by Silvio Ferretti
For standard string spacing, handmade in Italy from aged European maple with ebony top, producing a crisp, clean, warm tone.

Notes from Silvio Ferretti on his Scorpion Banjo Bridges
If you are a discriminating player, no matter if you’ve got a 30 plus years experience on the banjo (like me) or not, you will surely agree about the importance of the bridge in determining the sound, in all of its components: response, volume, tone and so on.

My Scorpion Banjo Bridge is a synthesis of some designs I have studied (great bridges from the hands of Snuffy Smith, Dave Wadsworth, Joel Aderhold and others), filtered by the rules that traditional luthiery has developed and followed for centuries in building bridges for bowed instruments. During my luthier apprenticeship at the shop I work at (Airenti & Lowenberger in Genova, Italy), Ive had the opportunity to analyze old and modern bridges for violin, viola, cello, string bass, and baroque string instruments, and I’ve put that knowledge to use in the Scorpion Bridge.

For my “regular” bridges I choose only high quality Balkan maple, centuries old, seasoned, evenly and mostly tightly grained, and I air-dry it myself. The ebony I use for tops is some of the most dense and hard you will ever find. I always quarter-saw my bridge blanks, which may results in some waste of wood, but ensures that the grain be correct in each bridge I build. All these factors are essential for the sound.

11/16″ Standard Spacing