Danelectro: Sitar versus Baby Sitar

  • Thread starter Jon S.
  • Start date
  • This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links like Ebay, Amazon, and others.

Peegoo

Telefied
Ad Free Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2019
Posts
31,576
Location
Beast of Bourbon
There are 2 screws that look like hex intonation screws : I don'tunderstand how it would work , but it looks like intonation screws ....

Those two little screws in the back simply hold the steel back plate (the 'saddle', actually) onto the polymer plate.

How it works: the single center screw near the back of the bridge is what sets the string action over the neck and supports the entire bridge under the string's tension. The bridge rests on top of this screw's head.

The two screws at the front of the bridge run down through the bridge and do two things; (1) they adjust the angle of the bridge laterally across the body (bass strings higher and treble strings lower) and (2) they are what sets the 'ramp' angle that allows the strings to buzz against the six little channels in the front ofthe bridge. The front of the bridge is under these screws' heads.

Simply put, the bridge is basically a lever that pivots on that single rear fulcrum screw, with the strings imparting a downforce on the back end of the bridge and the two front screws keeping the front of the bridge from lifting up.

It's all quite fiddly at first, but once you understand what the screws do it's easy to set up.

ZiaN5pNe_o.jpg


I'm in the process of building an electric sitar, so I've given a wjhole lot of thought to how it all works.
 

Peegoo

Telefied
Ad Free Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2019
Posts
31,576
Location
Beast of Bourbon
you can probably find the exact measurements of the Gotoh bridge online .

Several months ago I looked online and could find no engineering drawings associated to the Gotoh bridge, so I visited a few music shops that stocked these and took some measurements. Here are the details.

Click on the pic to embiggen it.


NRbPNiTu_o.jpg
 

Guerilla Electro

Tele-Holic
Joined
Sep 27, 2023
Posts
714
Age
46
Location
France
I suspected it was plastic .
The traditionnal Danelectro rosewood bridge also works like that , the rear screw acts as fulcrum .
 

Peegoo

Telefied
Ad Free Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2019
Posts
31,576
Location
Beast of Bourbon
I suspected it was plastic .
The traditionnal Danelectro rosewood bridge also works like that , the rear screw acts as fulcrum .

It's actually the reverse because the string balls are anchored to the rear of the bridge plate.

The bridge plate pivots on the two front screws, and the single rear screw keeps the rear of the bridge from lifting.

These original bridges were prone to collapse over time; they 'cave in' in the middle because the cast alloy plate doesn't hold up to string pressure. There was a company that used to offer replacement plates laser cut from stainless steel, and these are bulletproof. I think they're no longer in business, unfortunately.

danelectro-bridge.jpg
 

Hallo Spencer

Tele-Meister
Joined
Apr 13, 2011
Posts
194
Location
berlin
You can put an actual sitar bridge on most guitars. The higher the original bridge, the easier it is. There are lots of unplayable and broken sitars out there for sale for a few bucks. All you have to do is this (obviously it's the same for six strings, too, if you like that better):

Screenshot_20250522-065742~2.png
Screenshot_20250522-065752~2.png
Screenshot_20250522-065803~2.png
Screenshot_20250522-065824~2.png
Screenshot_20250522-065814~2.png


It takes a bit auf finetuning with the correct angle of the bridge but it works perfectly fine once you got there. I like to pair it with my Ravish Sitar pedal that is set to emulate only the sympathetic strings. The buzz on the lead voice really does not sound good on the pedal!
 
Last edited:

Tim E

Tele-Meister
Joined
Jun 29, 2018
Posts
107
Age
58
Location
L.A.
I found a Rogue electric sitar for $60 recently, a non-drone string model. I don't know when these were made, late 90s, early 2000s? Has a more holdable, sort of teardrop shaped body than the Baby Sitar, with a small "horn" to stabilize itself on your knee. Single lipstick tube type bridge pickup, and a genuine Gotoh bridge. Construction/feel is very Dano-like, semi-hollow body, plywood instead of fiberboard/Masonite. The Gotoh bridge appears to be milled from fairly rigid, kind of Delrin-feeling dark brown plastic. Despite being dusty and neglected for quite a few years, the instrument adjusted easily into playability. Worth picking up of you find one for the right price.
 
Top