From Sound on Sound Magazine:

" Wouldn’t it be great if somebody invented a guitar bridge that would
enable your guitar to stay perfectly in tune...Impossible? Not at
all, but it requires some very clever mechanics"

"The system actually works astonishingly well as tests with a Peterson
strobe tuner confirm"

"in all the system really works and holds the tuning rock solid"

"the Perfect Tune bridge is one of the most ingenious pieces of guitar
design I’ve seen in many years"

"it could well be the most significant mechanical development since
locking vibratos and tuners"

"If you suffer from tuning problems on an instrument with a Tuno-matic
style bridge, the Perfect Tune bridge will amaze you."

- Paul White
(Editor In Chief, Sound On Sound)

There are hardtail guitars, tremolo guitars, and now there is a third option...Constant Tension guitars. This new technology keeps
strings in tune better than anything before.

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Imagine if the part that held the string to the body of the guitar could move back and forth while still pulling on the string with a constant tension. This would mean that the string would play the same note when the tuning knob at the head of the guitar gets bumped or turned accidentally. It would also mean that the string would play the same note when the temperature changed; as the string gets cold and contracts, the stringholder would move forward while still pulling with the same tension on the string; as the string gets warm and slackens, the stringholder would move back while still pulling with the same tension on the string. This would mean that the string would play the same note when the string stretches and slackens. This would mean that the string would play the same note when the string loosens on the tuning keys, or the tuning keys slip. This would mean that the string will essentially always play the same note.

This is what the PerfectTune Bridge has created: a constant tension string suspension system. This first iteration slips onto the same mounting hardware used by tune-o-matic bridges, so any guitar currently using a tune-o-matic bridge and stop bar tailpiece can use the perfect tune bridge without any modification to the guitar. The strings slip through the string holders on the bridge. As long as these string holders can rock back and roll forward, i.e. Rock and Roll, the bridge is supplying constant tension. The tension that the string holder pulls with is adjusted using the tuning knobs on the bridge, so the bridge is actually tuned by the player, and therefore can hit any tuning. Each stringholder on the bridge can pull with a tension in the range of 10-20 lbs, 4.5-9.0 KGS, which works for most 008-010 electric guitar string sets. The string holders are left exposed and therefore can be used as palm tremolos by the player if so desired.

The stringholders' movement is confined between two stops: a front stop and a back stop. Bending and vibrato are accomplished by setting the stringholder very close to the front stop. Then when bending or vibratoing the stringholder hits the front stop and can no longer move to compensate so the tension rises as normal. The strings can be hand intonated while at full tension which is really convenient. Also, due to the constant tension, the strings intonate in a straight line. The action is adjustable.

The feel of strings using the PerfectTune Bridge is springy and responsive. Because the bridge supplies constant tension while the user frets, thicker strings feel lighter and softer and bends happen very easily.

This first iteration of the PerfectTune Bridge is being produced in a limited run of approximately 1000. It retails at $374.

Installation | Use | Buy ($374, USD)