How much does string spacing at the bridge vary?

Kayak Jim

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There is often talk of nut width and preferences for wider or narrower nuts. 1 3/8" and 1 1/2" seem to be at least two of the options and obviously this makes a difference in how much room there is on the fretboard.

How much does spacing vary at the bridge end? I recently picked up a Kala TEM in the Marketplace to see how well I like the tenor size. I hadn't perceived much difference in string spacing in my previous ukes, soprano and concert sizes, but I really find the strings at the sound hole to be noticeably further apart on the tenor. The difference impacts my basic efforts at picking. I get that geometry dictates they are spaced more widely than on smaller sizes.

I measured the distance between G and A strings in the Kala and its just over 1 3/4". A spec on a Martin 2T (from a link in another thread) lists bridge string spacing of 1 5/8".

Is this within the normal range of variation and does it make any difference in practical terms?

Thanks
Jim B
 
There are people who pick the daylights out of a mandolin. The strings are c l o s e!
There are some people who have wide fingers and their fingers slop over onto the string beside it. It's similar to wearing shoes which are too small for your feet. They can't play a mandolin or a soprano. In the Lehua line, the concert and the tenor are 29.75mm at the nut and 40.25mm at the bridge, from outside of the #1 string to the outside of the #4 string. I just renutted and bridge saddled a concert.The strings are 4.15mm from the outside two strings to the edge of the nut. That same 4.15 was used from the edge of the fretboard clear to the bridge saddle on each side. The spacing from side to side at the bridge is 52mm. It is a joy to fingerpick. It is 35.75 at the top edge of the fretboard, and 51.75 mm at the end of the fretboard at the end of the fret board, 10mm after the 15th fret. When you look a ukulele, look at the distance from the outside of the nut to the edge of the strings. I could have moved over to 3mm (1/8" and still had ample distance from the edge to not worry about it breaking off. That would have allowed me to follow 1/8th of an inch from the edge and have an even wider nut string space. So what about the old slots for the end of the strings? I disregard them and drill a # 69 hole for each of the string placements and string through the body. I am overjoyed at what it is, and how others also like it. It was given to me because it had no nut and no bridge It is a mahogany concert with a small tag on the back of the headstock which says it was made in Japan. :)
 
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