It took me six months to develop a better single cone biscuit bridge. Now I am offering them for sale as a separate item.

   When I began my quest for a better way to transmit sound through a cone I was looking for a material that would be lighter and stiffer than the traditional maple biscuit bridge. When I finally arrived at carbon fiber I was astounded to find that I could build a bridge that is approximately 3 grams lighter and a good deal stiffer than any other on the market.

    The material characteristics of the carbon fiber bridge make it a better vibration transmitter. The low weight and high stiffness produce extremely low damping. More string energy is transmitted directly to the cone.

   The stiffness of carbon fiber allowed me to use a wafer-thin biscuit. It's only 1/16" (1.57mm) thick! This solved a problem I hadn't even forseen. National™ cones are a bit taller since they improved their manufacturing processes. This makes it a bit tight between the cover plate and the cone when it comes time to replace the cone on an old National™ or  move up to a National™ cone on a less expensive brand of reso. The maple biscuit supplied by National™ is over 3 times as thick.

   Carbon fiber is tough stuff. It will stand up to string wear a good deal longer than maple. It's also very slippery, and that keeps the strings moving longer and more easily. I use a 1/8" (3.18mm) thick piece of carbon fiber plate for the saddle. That leaves plenty of room for intonation compensation.

   Last (and maybe least) is the sheer beauty of the carbon plate I use for the biscuit. It's the same stuff found on expensive custom sports car and hot rod dash boards. If there is any interest, I plan on offering biscuit bridges in colors other than the basic Henry Ford (or maybe Coco Channel) black. Please send me some feedback if you want something more showy.

   Carbon fiber is a lot more expensive and a lot harder to machine than maple. It tends to eat steel tools for lunch. I have to use diamond saws and router blades to cut it. Given the cost of material and tooling, I think my price ($25.00 USD) is pretty reasonable. It will cost you more than a maple biscuit bridge, but (in my not-so-humble opinion) you get a lot more bang (or reverberation) for your buck (or Euro for that matter).