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Wow, I saw this video link on another site and am just speechless! The funniest part is that he waits until the 6 minute point in the video before he realizes that maybe he should put some tape down and protect the top.

Bridge reduction

Oh yeah, one more thing--watch the video close right around the 1:42 point. I think I'd want to put that chisel through his throat if that was my guitar. Notice the cracks in the top around where he's working... What a sad demise to a 1966 Ramirez!

my wife just said, "stop that, thats hurting my feelings!"

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sweat the small stuff.

That was more painful than watching bypass surgery. Why for Pete's sake, apply "protective" masking tape 3/4's of the way through the operation?

Unfortunately I can't understand japanese, but for the sake of my sanity, I'm going to assume that their dialogue is going something like this:

"Are you sure this is the esteban?"
"Yes yes"
"It's definately NOT my Ramirez, right?"
"No, of course not, the headstock is only covered so we don't have to have the shame of looking at an Esteban wihle you work"
"You know this looks an awful lot like my treasured 1966 Ramirez, guys"
"No, of course not, would we dare you to butcher your ramirez? Nope, definately an esteban, we err, promise" <<friends snicker off-camera>>

and so on and so forth.

If I wasn't such a cynic, and didn't know that there are people in this world with considerably more money than sense, I could almost believe myself....

It's a bit difficult to figure out what's going on in the video; perhaps a translation from the Japanese would help.
Actually, if you had to remove a bridge which was going to be discarded, this would probably be a reasonable technique.
Also, didn't Ramirez produce a line of 'factory' guitars of middling quality? Perhaps this isn't the travesty we're imagining.
Cheers
John

Perhaps so John.  It just hurt to watch though.........

How many beers do you have to drink before you decide to butcher your favorite classical guitar?

as far as a translation, I had envisioned the conversation starting like this:

"Hey yall, watch this..."

then you hear the wife kick in saying " I dont care what you do, but if you make a mess in my livingroom floor, you are going to clean it up. At least put down some newspaper to catch all of the chips"

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Reguards,

Ken H

Savages. I hope he cuts his fingers off with that chisel.

Hey guys, if you watch some of his other videos, you will see he scrapes away everything but the saddle area, and then drills string holes through the top and somehow ties them under the top. I can't imagine the guitar sounding better by removing so much of the bridge. If you didn't know better you would think he's trying to remove the bridge but he's actually doing some type of sick voicing.   

I agree it's a hack job, but there is some logic to it...by lightening the bridge, he's going to get faster response, and that should brighten up the guitar.

But he's also reducing the cross grain stiffness, so the long dipole mode is going to get stronger. Just a guess, but he's probably going to get brighter trebles and less midrange.   

Al, are you out there? Does my logic work here?

I see you've all discovered my new "bidness" venture...the offshore headquarters of my new Presnall Guitars Budget-series...cheap Asian labor...that's the ticket....

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http://www.presnallguitars.com

http://youtube.com/watch?v=sLTen6w5zlI&feature=user

Watch this video and you will understand his thinking.

No words needed.

Reflects something I learned from Frank Ford on a Mando Bridge.

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

That's a fair amount of snap from a Ramirez.   Interesting... I don't think I'd try it with my '86 1a, but it's worth thinking about for a new build...

   At 1:42 I saw that the guy was a complete idiot with little skill using his
hand tools but I watched it through only to see what I'd
expected....nothing of any value accomplished. Actually, I started thinking
he had little to offer in the first few seconds when he chipped off the tie
block and he and and his friends chuckled as the pieces landed on the
top with a clunk but the slip of the chisel at 1:42 locked in my opinion.

   I have a Ramirez Centenario that sounds great. I ordered it in 1979
when it was first announced that they would celebrate their 100th year
with it and received it in 1982 which was the 100th year in business. I
sold it once and bought it back a few years later for a little more than I'd
sold it for just because it had sentimental value that I didn;t realize until
it was gone.

It has great tone and has suffered several of the typical top cracks that
have been repaired as they showed up. I've loaned it to friends over the
years and it is currently in Japan.

    Oh, and don't forget to throw out all of your favorite work benches and
just spread the guitar and all of your tools out on the floor, curl up next
to it and go to town.

   I rarely have anything bad to say about anyone or their work, but I don't
have time or room to lost the things i'd like to say about this guy.
Unfortunately, there will be people who flock to him to have their valuable
guitars destroyed by him in an effort to get more tha they paid for.

"Nuff said....

Regards,
Kevin Gallagher/Omega Guitars

A new definition for STUPID.HA HA HA
                    James

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James W Bolan
Nashville Tennessee

Wow Kevin, I sure hope that wasn't YOUR Ramirez they were modifying there.

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

his theory is correct to loose mass. This is a fight we all have when building. I hate to see such a fine guitar getting this treatment but in all fairness to him , the less mass on the top and bridge area the more efficient the energy transfer will be.
   I would have preferred to see a new bridge placed and save the old one. Bridge removal is not that difficult and on such a fine vintage guitar that should have been the choice.
   There are people that do these kind of things and people will flock to them thinking that this is the best thing to do for sound.
Sometimes though it is just best to say why bother.
john hall
blues creek guitars

How did he tie on the strings? It's revealed in the second video I posted above. You have to watch fast and even rewind to catch it.

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

[QUOTE=Bruce Dickey] How did he tie on the strings? It's revealed in the second video I posted above. You have to watch fast and even rewind to catch it.

[/QUOTE]
He drilled holes through the bridge and passed the strings throught the soundhole. remember him using the dremel like tool. There is a second video where he strings up another guitar he butchered.http://youtube.com/watch?v=sLTen6w5zlI&feature=user

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