Acoustic Bass Guitars

4 strings, fretted model

 Acoustic bass guitars are an excellent challenge because of their tuning being the same as a double-bass but their volume being just slightly bigger than an acoustic guitar, thus making difficult to have a strong fundamental harmonic and loudness.

Developed at Nouvelle Lutherie Lab between 1998 and 2003 the Anahata series of ABGs  have a strong fundamental and are loud because of the special zero-pressure bridges. With this type of bridges the top doesn’t get the tension of the strings through downward pressure as on Jazz guitars or the violin family, or through pull and torque as on classical and folk guitars. This allows me to have a very thin top (about half the common thickness) with a better mechanical impedance match for the low-pitched strings. The reduced weight of the top also gives more power.

And last, the individual bridges enable the strings to drive the top individually bringing greater clarity to chords, a plus on a low-pitched instrument. The individual bridges can also twist in the axis of the strings which allows the transmission of the torsional vibration of the string. The torsional vibration of the string is one of the four modes and the weakest mode of vibration of a string and its particularity is that its frequency is about an octave lower than the actual note. This brings some extra body to the total output … (to make a long story short)

4 strings, fretless model

Close-up on the zero-pressure individual bridges system on a 6 strings model. Bridges are made of Violet Rosewood with Ebony saddles.

The bracing design adapts itself to the bridge system on a 6 strings model