eric@phantasypsalteries.com

Sometimes referred to as "trim," the binding is made up of the small strips of wood that form a border around the rim of the top and bottom of the instrument, as well as the front tip. The binding serves several purposes: first, it helps seal the end-grain of the top and bottom pieces, adding stability. Secondly, it protects the soft wood of the top from bumps and dents. (This is where the density and hardness of different woods can come into play.) And finally, the binding serves as an eye-pleasing frame around the soundboard and back, giving the instrument a more finished look. Depending on your tastes, you can choose a binding that either contrasts against, or blends in with the color of the rest of the psaltery.

(I typically use the same wood for the bridge as I do for the binding so that everything matches. If you would like me to use separate woods for the binding and bridge, please note this on the custom order form.)

	Curly Maple - A hardwood of moderate density, Curly Maple is used more for more decorative purposes than protective. (Though this type of Maple is still much harder than most of the available soundboard choices available.) Even in the small binding strips the tiger-stripe curls of maple are still quite noticeable. See description under Backs and Sides for more info. To the left, the maple tiger stripes contrast the dark honduran rosewood back well.
	Cocobolo - Very dent and scratch resistant, as well as being a good contrast against lighter woods. Cocobolo has beautiful streaks of reddish orange lines still visible in even the small size of the binding. See description under Backs and Sides for more info.
	Ebony - Almost completely black, and one of the most durable of all woods. Ebony is an excellent protective material. It also contrasts against just about every wood except itself. A classic.
	Padauk - A very flashy and eye-catching dark orange binding. Padauk can be used to either contrast lighter woods, or also bring out warmer colors in some of the reddish brown woods. (Such as a Western Red Cedar top.) Padauk is also somewhat hard and dent resistant. See description under Backs and Sides for more info.
	Bloodwood - A bright and bold binding that will contrast just about any wood. It can also be used to bring out the reds in some woods like Western Red Cedar and Redwood. Bloodwood is quite dense, and therefore offers very rigid protection for the edges of the instrument. See description under Backs and Sides for more info.
	Purpleheart - If you love purpleheart, but think that making an entirely purple psaltery is just too much for you, consider using it for the binding and bridge. It can be used to contrast lighter woods, or it can bring out the purple hues in some of the other woods. Because of its high density, purpleheart also has excellent protective properties. See description under Backs and Sides for more info.
	Black Walnut - This is a great choice for lighter-colored woods that may have a hint of brown in them already. Walnut's medium-dark brown color sets off spruce and maple well. It is of moderate hardness, and offers decent protection. See description under Backs and Sides for more info.
	Lacewood - This wood has a medium reddish brown color with small contrasting spots, similar to the appearance of lace. It is sometimes also called Leopardwood because of its pattern. Lacewood is of a medium-high density, and seems to stand up quite stubbornly to denting.
	Yellowheart - Just as the name implies, this wood is a bold yellow color. Try to use your imagination to picture how this would compliment other woods. I find it goes well with other vibrant woods such as Padauk and Bloodwood. Yellowheart is of a high density, and will give good dent  and ding resistance.
	Hard Maple - A classic light cream colored binding. It is an excellent choice for contrasting the dark and bold hardwoods of the back and sides. Hard Maple is a traditional, even-colored choice - and it has a higher density and offers more dent-protection than Curly Maple binding.
	Holly - Sometimes this wood is referred to as "Snow White Holly." I intentionally buy the purest and whitest holly available, though when finished it is a slightly off-white color. It is the whitest wood that I offer, and there is virtually no visible grain, so it is a very uniform white. Holly is of a moderate density.
	Verawood - This wood is a close relative to the more-famous Lignum Vitae tree. These trees produce some of the heaviest and hardest wood around - even heavier than Ebony. Verawood seasons to a yellowish green hue, close to the color of an olive. But the real beauty of this wood can only be seen up close, as it exhibits a feathery and wavy grain pattern that is rather unique.

Saddle: The saddle is the piece of metal, plastic, (or other material), that lines the top of the bridge and keeps the strings from sitting directly on the wood. Generally, the harder the material, the more sustain the psaltery will have, at the expense of responsiveness.

When using standard wound strings, I recommend using only a hardwood bridge with no saddle at all. This is because wound strings already have a great deal of sustain, and no saddle is usually needed to increase sustain. Also, their larger overall diameter helps prevent them from slicing through the wood (a cheese-cutter type of effect) that is more common with monofilament steel strings.

	Hardwood Bridge (No Saddle) - This is my standard for psalteries strung with wound strings. In this option, the strings rest directly on the bridge and no saddle is used at all. This provides the least amount of sustain, (which is still quite a bit with wound strings), and the most responsiveness. Shown at left is an all-Purpleheart bridge with nickel-plated wound strings on a Sitka Spruce top.
	Carbon Fiber - Made up of thousands of tiny filaments of carbon, this space-age material has an excellent strength-to-weight ratio. The saddle is a hollow carbon fiber tube with a charcoal black appearance. Since it is so light, a carbon fiber saddle will still have good responsiveness. However, it does tend to increase the overall sustain of the strings when compared to an all-wood bridge. At left is a carbon fiber saddle on a Purpleheart bridge.
	Aluminum -  The strongest and densest saddle option. It is a light silver color that matches the color of the tuning pins, and is of a moderate hardness for a metal. This saddle material will give maximum sustain, good wear resistance, but at the slight cost of response. The saddle and strings will act more like a tuning fork and maintain their vibrations on the string (sustain) rather than pass them on to the instrument's body. Shown at left is an aluminum saddle on an Ebony bridge.

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