Official Luthiers Forum!

Until today, I couldn’t afford to keep one. Today, I can’t afford to let one go.

This one, sadly. I’d much rather it were going to the person who payed for it rather than having to rebuild. It plays great, sounds great, and can never leave the house.

Based off the OLF MJ platform, which does have a few kinks in it. The angle and placement of the x’s makes it difficult to fit in my preferred pickup, so I made some needed mods. By making the UTB with a curve, you can push the whole x assembly forward…if you remember to when glueing the top to the rims, which I didn’t.

Alas.

So, if you’re getting frustrated with the mistakes you make, don’t worry! You’ll still keep making them, but they become more expensive!

Ouch! Too bad you didn't realize it before clearing finish for the bridge. Could have made a longer neck and had a baritone.

On the bright side, once you get the replacement built you can compare the two to see how the size of the bermuda triangle affects tone. I'd love to hear some recordings.

I already know that in relation to the overall mass and stiffness of the top, bracing patterns, forward shifting etc make almost no difference. As long as the other variables are controlled. I’ve dubbed this one Thunderous Blunder, lol.

Great looking guitar. What pickup is it that won’t fit?

Pinless bridge maybe? (or belly bridge?)

Schatten HFN passive is my standard. One of the few systems that actually translates the sound of the guitar. Rather than sounding like a pickup.

Had I seen the problem before I drilled through the bridge plate, or before making and installing the bridge, maybe, but what’s done is done. Technically i could remove and replace the bridge plate to adapt to the bridge’s actual location, but to me, that seems about just as much work as building as new guitar…

Hi Ed,
Some people add on to the front of the misplaced bridge plate rather than trying to remove it, and Martin has been known to use larger than necessary bridge plates. Even without doing that the guitar will probably be O.K. as is. Belly bridge pin holes might hit the front of the bridge plate and will at least move them farther off the X brace. A Gibson style reverse belly bridge would move the wings back some also. Many pinless bridge designs have a wider footprint and don't rely on a bridge plate.
I know that what is an acceptable fix for a "keeper" might be a liability for a professional custom builder, and it would be a shame to rebuild a fine sounding guitar for what amounts to a basically hidden cosmetic flaw, so it might be one to keep and enjoy.
There have been a number of guitars by well known makers what have had hit the streets with far worse mistakes.

The difficulty in this case of adding meat to the front of the bridge plate is that it’s tapered to remove a sharp stress rise both front and back.

Fortunately, I’ve a friend whose primary focus is repair who says she can can pull the bridge plate at a price point attractive enough to make it worthwhile. I know this guitar would survive as is with no problems functionally, but it’s important to me not to let sub grade work hit the streets. I’m acutely aware that’s some makers are more fluid. It’s an interesting trade…