3rd Bridge Guitar
A 3rd bridge guitar is a type of guitar which exploits the 3rd bridge extended technique. 3rd bridge guitars are characterized by aKotoor Gamelan like tonal quality. Glenn Branca[1]and experimental luthiers such as Hans Reichel[4]and Yuri Landman[5]have produced these guitars in small number but in recent years some companies[0]have manufactured these instruments commercially in larger numbers and at a much higher level of quality. Some Stoptail bridge guitars and some well known commercial models such as the Fender Jazzmaster and the Fender Jaguar[2]could technically be considered a 3rd bridge guitar. However, the main distinction between these models and a proper 3rd bridge guitar is that they do not contain a pickup which is present after the bridge assembly and they may not have variable saddles to adjust the string length. Also, a 3rd bridge guitar will usually contain a distinct output jack for the 3rd bridge pickup and some facility to blend the outputs of the conventional and 3rd bridge pickups respectively. Some performers and luthiers may also employ an additional pickup behind the nut to expand the instruments capabilities even further.[6]