The new bridge on a Reynolds guitar is a recent development and is engineered to be much stronger and lighter in weight. In addition, the sculptural effect makes an artistic statement and is a pleasure to carve especially in the traditional Brazilian Rosewood.

Because the saddle slot and tie block flow out to the wings in a gradual taper, I can make the bridge in a smaller footprint and save mass at this important intersection of strings and soundboard. The blind or captured saddle slot is far stronger than the traditional open slot and helps to transfer vibration energy with more efficiency, not to mention the long term stability gained.

I normally use extinct Mammoth Ivory for the Nut and Saddle. In spite of the extra cost, I feel that Ivory lends a bit smoother sound than bone with no loss in volume. I suspect this is because it is more flexible than bone. Keep in mind that this is not the banned Elephant Ivory, my supply has been collected from finds left over from Scrimshaw and jewelry artists. I do work in bone as well and I can use that if you prefer. The saddle and nut are hand lapped to fit their respective slots with a precise slip tolerance. The guitar is intonated with the method developed by Gregory Byers.

For the tieblock, I usually pick up the wood type used in the headstock veneer and border it in bone to withstand the string pressure. When my custom David Rodgers tuners are used on the instrument, I use Black Mother of Pearl to match the tuner buttons.