12 Best Truss Bridge Design (2022 Updated)

What’s good about this product is it made the heart of a 9 year old boy sing. What’s bad about this product is his Grandma got to put it together, and it wasn’t a lot of fun. Diagram of how it goes together, no written help here.

Just put on your trifocals and face the music. It looks flimsy, but it does seem to hold it’s own once you get it all snapped together. Hint, lay the side down flat and fit into the rail piece then swing the side up and into place.

After several thousand tries and a few mumbled oaths, it will snap together. I promise.

Don’t be frustrated if your unit doesn’t light cause either did mine and I bought 2 bridges. BUTT ! bottom section make sure the copper tabs are bent away from track rail,the copper strip coming down bend outward towards the rail carefully assemble the side piece,lining up the bridge tabs and snap into place.

Do same to other side. Now the top piece make sure the copper tabs are bent slightly upwards and make sure there are no gaps between the copper strips and the light unit contact panels. now snap together and should work! Mine at this point works as advertised.

Do I detect a few smiles?.

Have this product 8 sections in my layout, in the past 7 months I’ve replaced the bridge 3 times. 2 just shorted out. 1 didn’t work at all.

This truss is very easy to setup. It comes with 2 tripod stands and two bars and all you need to do is screw it together in the middle! It’s can hold 2 Chauvet swarm 5 lights and 3 smaller lights comfortably.

I would definitely recommend this product for any mobile DJ looking to purchase a portable truss at an affordable price.

Unmacthed storage with easy transportation. I’ve owned a couple bigger stands that just don’t fit in a vehicle with taking up all the room and compromising how to pack the rest of my gear. This stand fits almost anywhere, has holes to mount lights without useing a clamp, looks cleaner and holds the same amount of gear!!!.

At first glance I was skeptical, as the floor bed of the bridge, and the provided track, are in 2 pieces. However, they all come together very tightly and nicely. I used plastic model glue to bring it all together, although it “snaps” together without it.

Key is using the (very tiny) screws provided, to secure the track to the under girders.

Easy to assemble, and although it says no glue necessary, glue IS needed when assembling the top of the truss. This bridge is exactly what I was looking for, and thankfully, someone had one in stock when everyone else had it backordered.

Atlas makes a great trestle bridge that worked perfectly for my setup. The whole bridge was assembled in approximately 10 minutes and I used spot CA at the joints to firm everything up.

I like this bridge kit because it is well designed to snap together and it appears to be designed as a modular kit so I’m hoping to see other types offered in the future. Much better than the first release.

I received what I expected.

Product will functionally serve its purpose but is lightly made. If you want a truss bridge that is more sturdy or has more fidelity I would keep looking.

Awesome works with my scheme and looks authentic.

Missing parts and parts I don’t know where they go. Instructions are not detailed enough.

I now have 10 of these strung together to make one big long bridge. The picture below is from before I replaced the plate girder approach spans. Originally 6 bridge kits long it is now 10 kits long. Supports were made with stone paper wrapped around a piece of 1×2 pine strapping.

This is an easy beginner kitbash project.

Flimsy, keeps falling apart, we out it back in its box where now it collects dust. Bad buy boo

good finish looks real in ho scale

Just as expected. Typical LGB quality. Made from good plastic that is proved to last outside.

Affordable and well built from LGB

I like the fact that this is quality LGB stuff and I felt that the price was right

With the exception of the plate that holds the train track, the bridge is made of plastic. If you aren’t very careful you can break some of the tabs that hold the bridge sections together. I guess I was expecting something a little more substantial from Lionel.

Having said this, because of the size restrictions on my layout, I was not able to use the pier sections so the bridge is not elevated at all. I was happy to see that my Fast Track fit without any modifications.

It just looks good and the beacon light blinks off and on. Got compliments already from my friends and best of all the grandkids love it

dimensions were misleading not long enough with out piers Base made from study metal but plastic frame work very flimsy

There’s a reason Atlas has been selling this bridge for as long as I can remember. Looks nice and a perfect size for a small space.

Nice bridge. Adds to my layout.

very good, would purchase againif the price is right

Here’s the good: This bridge is highly detailed, very realistic, and will surely be a centerpiece for any layout. Here’s the bad: The kit is not designed very well. The girders, which make up the bulk of the bridge, are not manufactured to size.

You need to assemble each half, let them dry overnight and then cut each one to a template, and it’s very difficult to get it all square. Many pieces, including the main girders should have been manufactured to the exact size, with ends that are made to interlock rather than the blunt ends that result from cutting that don’t fit well into the adjoining piece.

Because many pieces are cut, only small steps can be done at one time, then everything has to sit for hours or overnight until you can go back and work on it again. Some pieces, especially the small angled girders are so tiny you need small fingers or you need to be very steady with tweezers, and I wouldn’t even attempt it without a head mounted magnifier so you can see how the pieces interlock.

Many pieces are attached to the plastic molds with way too many tabs that have to be painstakingly filed down- this was probably the most work of the entire assembly. 2 steps are missing in the instructions and one section relating to girder assembly is so confusing I just skipped it and assembled them on the template without following the steps in the instructions.

The instructions are written with several grammatical errors and several pieces are stamped “in memory of Jack” which is just weird. So if you want a really nice bridge and don’t mind spending over $100 and investing a couple of weeks worth of evenings into it you’ll probably be satisfied in the end.

But when I say this is the most complicated and difficult model I’ve ever assembled in my entire life, it’s an understatement.

Thus is a craftsman kit. It is not for a beginner as there’s a lot to be done during construction. Would buy more if I needed them build up very nicely just take your time be patient and you can have a great looking bridge also.

Central Valley has been a name of quality since the late 1950 or early 1960’s and put out superior car trucks, cars, which of course are still quality today. Now Central Valley puts out superior Bridge kits made of plastic injection that is not only strong but accurately portrays the steel used in the bridges.

Central Valley is easy to work with and I extended my bridge 3 center sections to make it a total of 36 inches long.

I have 2 Fender P-Basses, one of those I installed a Leo Quan BA II on and the second had the cheap bent metal bridge supplied by Fender. I service and repair quiet a few guitars and basses. The Leo Quan BA II made such a BIG difference in sound quality (sustain, tone) in my first P-Bass that I decided to replace the stock bridge on my second p-bass.

I surfed the net and found the BA II but MusiciansFriend had the Hip-Shot with a 20% discount. Not having used a Hip-Shot bass bridge before, I decided to give it a try and save a few coins. Bad Idea.

First Problem (bad design), Hip-Shot comes with only 3 mounting holes instead of stock 5 AND you have to remove the 2 inner saddles prior to installation so you can get the center mounting screw in flush.

You don’t have to do that with the BA II since it is has room to install without removing saddles first. Second Problem (bad design for intonation adjustment), Hip-Shot saddles do not have the straight thru the saddle screw hole adjustment which will allow you to adjust the saddle all the way back to the end of the bridge if needed when setting intonation.

The Hip-Shot saddles only allows you to adjust to mid-way thru the saddle then stops. They are not threaded all the way thru so they include an additional couple of shorter saddle screws to adjust the saddle back closer to the end of the bridge.

If you adjust it all the way back, even after installing the shortest screws in the saddles (again having to remove the saddles and put shorter screws in), you are limited on how far you can adjust them due to the saddle slot taper.

I could not get the E string intonation adjustment “dead-on” due to the limitation. Do yourself a favor and spend a few extra coins and get a BA II. This is my first and last Hip-Shot. Very disappointed.

Go with what you know. BA II bridges are head and shoulders above the badly designed Hip-shot bridge. The tone and sustain is exceptional with the a Leo Quan BA II unlike the Hip-Shot.

This bridge is nice, does exactly what it should do and sounds great. I am happy with it. I will say its overpriced for what it is. This product should really be no more than $50 UDS First thing, I did not install this on a Fender so I dont understand the 5 Hole thing when this bridge only has 3 holes.

My old bridge only had 3 holes but in a different spacing. I had to plug and re-drill. Second, the strings buzz a bit after the saddle to the sting end. I havent found a solution to that yet. Third, This bridge is big! and the saddles only have of back and forth movement.

You really need to measure a lot and understand your intonation before installing. It took me two time to get it right. Finally, Aluminum vs. Brass debate. My old bridge was aluminum as well but I noticeably gained sustain with this bridge.

And I got more mid-range bite that I really enjoy. Installed on an older 2000-isg Jay Turser Corvette copy bass.

I just finished putting this bridge on my Squire Vintage Modified P-Bass. I’ve ordered I can’t tell you how many bridges for this bass when trying to convert to all black hardware and this one is as close to a direct fit as it gets.

There was one hole that was a bit off on one end but the screw went in and laid flush so I was fine with that. The down side. This bridge sits back a bit further than the bridge that was on this bass so if you want to use the bridge cover that came with this bass you will have to fill the old holes and drill new ones to accommodate the repositioning of the bridge cover.

It does just make it and the old holes will still be covered by the bridge cover after repositioning. Either that or leave the bridge cover off and put the screws back in the holes. In my case I did get some black screws in keeping with my scheme but decided to black out the bridge cover and remount.

This is a good bridge. The nuts all stay where you put them and it is quite a bit more accurate when setting the intonation. I picked up over a cent and a half across the board and there is more sustain.

Not a too much more but enough to know you changed the bridge. The total functionality of this bridge is just a whole lot better than the stock bridge and changing strings is a lot easier and direct.

I found putting this bridge in worth the effort!.

The price point does sting a little but its definitely worth not having to saw into an expensive guitar. I mounted it on a Gibson ES-339 and have converted this guitar to be an absolute metal monster and the Floyd was the pice de rsistance.

Setting up a floyd isnt for the novice guitarist, but anyone who knows enough to have set their own action and intonation can figure it out. Instructions were pretty clear and theres supplemental videos online.

Setting the intonation is the most tedious and time consuming part of the whole ordeal. The guitar de-tunes it self in its case, which isnt a big deal considering the case wasnt designed to have a floyd in it, but the tuning is rock solid when I leave the guitar sitting on a stand for a few days.

The action on the floyd is a bit spongy compared to an internally sprung system, but makes sense considering the top mount only designe really only allowed for a single spring. The reset to zero is pretty accurate the majority of the time, and when it doesnt, a quick tap of the trem bar seems to get it back.

All in all, with the vast majority of my guitar collection being Gibsons, when my band proposed a song that needed a solid trem, spending $700-$900 on a mid-tier guitar that was factory speced with a Floyd didnt make sense when the majority of them were in longer scale lengths and with neck and radius measurements that I tend to find less comfortable.

Converting my backup guitar which has the feel and weight distribution that I like and am comfortable with just plain made more sense. FRX system is incredibly light, I definitely expected it to have a bit more heft, but am glad it doesnt.

Four to six hours standing with an instrument strapped to your shoulder teaches you the value of avoiding the 13lb Les Paul.

Depending on your model, be prepared to do some work. There were several obstacles, to going full floating, such as removing the little plate on the side that is for string bends, as it did not clear the body of the trem, which caused binding, thus tuning issues.

However upon removal of the plate issues went away, I also removed stop screw as it limited bend back expression. You may also find spring contacts guitar body, check to see how much the height of the FR sets parallel to body surface before removing material on a carved top especially.

Once i pushed through set up, Im finding great enjoyment in playing a guitar I previously felt has limited expression playing on, as I’m kind of a Stratocaster guy.

I had to widen a hole like 2mm but there is a video on YouTube that shows how to do it. It was pretty simple. You could just use the drill bit to widen the hole by sticking it in the hole and then pushing it laterally towards the edge.

Then glue a thin piece of cardboard or wood in the hole wall on the inner edge and there you go. Just replace the bushing and then it will fit perfectly. I also had to put a little shim under the locking nut to get it to sit a little higher to match the existing nut.

After that and lots of adjustments to intonation, it sounds great and works really good.