I am thinking of putting a new bridge on my 5 string violin. Would a Viola bridge be safe to use? I would also think that it would accentuate the lower frequencies..Thanks for any advice.

The current bridge is 45mm in width at the feet and the distance between upper f-hole eyes is the same.I understand what you mean.I believe that the bridge that came with the instrument, is a violin bridge. Maybe a viola bridge would not make a good choice, since the bass side foot of the bridge would not line up correctly with the bass bar... I other words, the feet should not be wider than the upper f-hole eyes...thanks for the help on this question. I also experimented with soundpost locations. I discovered that if it is located a little further back from the bridge,it produced better slightly better lows, but bow sound was too evident snd was more nasal.I did'nt favour it. So, through trial and error,and painstaking patience (I hate to set sound posts!), I finally came to find the "sweet spot" which turned out to be about 3mm behind the brige. I believe this is about the same as on a four stringed instrument.. In any case, my cheap (but experimental friendly) fiddle is really sounding like it is worth much more now! Very rich and powerful sound as well as improved response. I am going to now put a new winter bridge on and try some better strings. I also found my recordings sound greatly improved, which, as one knows: the microphone never lies! Thanks for your help and keep making those great violins of yours! God Bless You.
Jerald Franklin Archer (Tartini)

The bridge is about 4mm thick, with the usual taper and slightly lower curvature, which is good for fiddle playing styles. I thinned out the bridge when I got it, as it is true, it was slightly thicker,but well fitted (which is not always the case with some imports). I am sure it is not of very good quality, and I am going to fit a top quality bridge (most likely one of the ones you mentioned)and put some better quality strings on it and a new soundpost as well. I am currently using lower grade steel strings, but they are tolerable and better than what came with the instrument. The instrument has a potential for sounding good, if I would only invest a little money in it.I can do most work myself (bridges,soundposts,fingerboard and cosmetic work, but that is as far I my skill goes). I should also consider having my Baroque bow re-haired, which is an art I am not very good at... I am not a professional luthier, but I am hesistant to take it and have it overhauled professionally, as it is not an expensive instrument and I am on a very limited income.The instrument is very well made (is is a Berkeley)and I'm almost certain is is of Chinese make, although I could'nt find much information online, except that some sites are selling the same instrument for about $500.00. I find this perplexing, as I aquired mine for about $40.00 on E-Bay. It sounds great when I play traditional fiddle music styles,which is my predominate speciality, but lacks certain qualities in "tone" for heavy classical music which requires a even rich tone and response, but has a great "authentic" Baroque sound, which is slightly thinner and quieter.Somtimes, believe it or not, I will utilize a wooden spring type clothes-pin (with leather strips glued to the insides of the clips) to vary the tone quality, especially during recordings. This acts as a tone control of sorts, and one can achieve a variety of tones depending on the location of the clothes-pin on either side of the bridge, although it is tricky to find the right spot at times. One just has to experiment.In the end, some recordings (I use Adobe Audition 1.0), after tailoring the sound a little, come out very well. I'm a perfectionist, sometimes to a fault.If your interested, you can hear some test recordings of my instrument at archive.com and type in Jerald Franklin Archer in the search box. Thanks for the advice and the tip about bridge replacement.

4 m/m is fairly thin for a 5 string IMHO. I have found that my 5 strings respond better when I leave the bridge about 4.75 mm thick. Also I have realized that for MY violins not opening up the eyes as much is better.

This may not be the best for your violin, so I think if I were going to cut a new bridge I would fit the feet and start with the bridge a bit thicker and don't cut to much from the eyes. If that is not right for your violin take a bit more. If you work at it that way you do not run the risk of cut too much off and going past the cut that works best for your instrument. You can always cut off more but you can't put it back!

Again this is just how I would approach the violin if it were in my shop.