laminating bridge plate

[msloescher]

I'm building a GA with an excellent quality adirondack top over madagascar rosewood back and sides. The x-brace is about 1.25 from the soundhole and the angle is about 97. I'm not looking for the ultimate loud bluegrass picking guitar, though i know the wood choice points to that. Rather, rather the object is an interesting, but balanced tone with good clarity and lots of sustain. Does anyone have a vew about bridge plate wood for this? I have read much to no great conclusion. I have a nice piece of Brazilian rosewood I was going to use, but lots of posts on the web are insistent on maple for strength, but maple seems likely to add loud to an already loud set. So, i was thinking about laminating the Brazilian with something. I'd be grateful for thoughts on how to and what to laminate with

[Kevin Sjostrand]

I've only built 10 steel string guitars, and I've used both maple and rosewood for the plate. I also used Macauaba left over from a build for the plate. I can't say that either is better, or attributes much to the sound. My thinking is any strong, light weight, tight grained hardwood is going to work well, and I wouldn't worry too much about how it is going to affect the sound. I know you will read otherwise. Just my 2 cents.

[tippie53]

Try it and see what happens

[msloescher]

i have to laugh at John's reply— certainly you're right. And for all the stuff on the web, i always remember that nothing makes a guitar sound better than a great player. Nonetheless, I'm an old guy, only build one or two a year, and i buy expensive wood-- so experimentation per se isn't my object, though learning always is. I'd rather not have to have a broken bridge plate later, given the relatively small difs in sound. My thought was to laminate-- but after some hours of surfing, there's not much on it. I've seen pix where rosewood is straddled on either side to make a larger overall foot print and one pic where someone put a 3/32 maple chunk on top of the rosewood-- neither strikes me as useful. Overall, my surfing shows a consensus of .080 for thickness, so any lamination's gotta be small.

[tippie53]

It is hard to beat maple . Osage Orange is pretty good.

I would avoid ebony . If you have expensive wood look to maple or and of the standards. There is a reason we see them.

[msloescher]

thanks so much

[MaineGeezer]

I'm not sure how much the bridge plate has to do with it, but the two guitars I've built both have excellent clarity and sustain.

I used maple for the bridge plates, didn't skimp on the size, and curved the front and back edges. Here's a photo of the bridge plate on the 2nd guitar: download/file.php?id=8147&t=1
I used an unconventional bracing pattern as well.

Here's the first guitar bridge plate with conventional X bracing:
download/file.php?id=6875&t=1

[MaineGeezer]

Another thing that might contribute to the sustain of my 2nd guitar is that I used reverse kerfing. I Have no idea if this is correct or not, but it seems as though the reverse kerfing, by greatly stiffening the edges of the top, might reduce the damping effect of the top vibrations getting propagated into the sides so the top would vibrate longer.

Maybe somebody with more experience than I have can say if that idea has any merit, of if I'm totally delusional.

[msloescher]

For Mainegeezer... That plate looks great. May i ask where you source your maple? most of the places i find seem to have only relatively narrow strips (2.5 or so). It seems to me to be self-evident that putting a narrow thick bridge plate is the wrong idea. I've been gravitating to larger plates that are thicker near where the ball ends go and then "feather away" above and below and i do lock them under the x-braces. I'm a finger picker and i like a guitar that has a lot of sustain and balance, but also has to be "driven" like a pre-digital fighter. I want an f-4, not an f-22. That is, when i press on the gas, I want a measured reaction. I don't want the thing to be so loud and responsive that there is no difference between a light attack and an a pick. I think a maple bridge on an Adi top in a GA Madagascar Rosewood box is gonna want to drive itself. So, what i'm going to do is build two plates and see what they sound like dropped on a hard table top. I'll buy some of that maple, make the bridge plates the same size and shape you have. On the first, I'll over-thin the maple, and laminate it with Brazilian over the area of the actual the footprint of the bridge with the maple extending further and feather it out. On the second, I'll reverse the sandwich-- mostly Brazilian strengthened in the center with maple. Mostly, however, as i read this, i'm a retired Navy engineer with not enough to do.

[MaineGeezer]

I like the idea of tapering the edges down so there is a smoother transition.

I got the maple from the luthier who has been teaching me to build guitars. I don't know where he got it, but a likely source might be this guy:
http://northwindtonewood.com/
Send Tom an e-mail telling him what you want.