This $25 Tool Can Help Anyone Make Their Guitar Sound Better!

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[reinvent]

I just finished the alteration of the bridge on my backup instrument that honestly I wouldn't have been upset if stolen. But now you couldn't take it from me. The volume is noticeably louder. The sustain is shocking, really, and the tone is so much more complex. This was on a $300 The Loar flattop that went from an ok sounding great playing instrument to a beautiful sounding great playing instrument. Like Tanglewife, I ask, " why isn't this simple adjustment standard on every instrument. I can't image what my Martin is going to sound like when I make this change. Thank you so much.

[Sammywhat]

Please please please do this on your next guitar breakdown before you cut the thing in half. I for one would love to actually hear the difference before and after. 🙏 Awesome vid as always!!

[VikingMan]

The number 1 tool to making your guitar sound better is absolutely free. Diligent practice executed over long periods of time. Guaranteed to make your guitar sound better.

[dobrodave]

And for another simple tone enhancing tip from one of the great modern luthiers (TJ Thompson I believe) that we all can do: "Double ball end" your strings ! How ? Cut the ball away of the old string and slide over the new string when changing. Imagine at the 9:00 mark having a flat circle making full contact with the bridge plate instead of only a portion of the ball digging in behind the pin. Also helps preserve the plate as well. You're welcome.

[WahrheitMachtFrei.]

Could you do an A/B sound test (with a cheap guitar) to prove the concept?

[redrock]

It's great that you've shown the "mechanical" aspect of this procedure but the proof of the pudding would have been to do this on a functioning guitar - even a cheaper unit - to demonstrate a before and after tone not !!!

[tanglewife]

I just did this to what I thought was a beautiful sounding guitar. Did before and after recordings, and can't believe how flat the before sounds now! The added sparkle and depth is unreal. Why is this not a stock feature on all acoustics?!
EDIT: So after playing about for half an hour I can safely say my guitar is now noticeably louder, feels more responsive, and the sustain is incredible! It sounds like a different instrument. All I can say is thank you for this amazing tip!

[iancsc]

Just made this modification on a Fender Stratacoustic. I had already sanded down the saddle, tightened the truss and shimmed the neck to successfully get the characteristic high action down. But since it's a small acoustic, it had crap sustain and this made a huge, huge difference! I was kind of blown away. It's an actually great sounding acoustic guitar now.

[midi]

I've always liked a slotted bridge over slotted pins. Doing this would also allow you to lower a saddle for a guitar with really high action and keep a decent break angle.

[neilfradenburgh]

I like to do this whenever possible. Nice video and explanation! The $25 tool can be fabricated from a Bosch style blade, the one for fine wood that cuts on the downstroke + a dowel handle.

[DM-rdrz]

I for one appreciate the innards of those guitars and the resultant education now possible. This mod really makes sense when you can see both sides of the bridge. Keep up the good work Guys!!

[gib_life]

Did this to my guitar and it immediately did everything he said! I bought a set of 5 exacto knife hobby saws for $5 and used 1, 2, or 3 pinched together (1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3) for the different strings. I used the trick someone else posted on here about threading the string through the old string's ball ends to get a better contact surface with the back of the bridge, and then cut and sanded the bridge pins down (to offset the added weight of 6 extra ball ends) so they just barely stick out in order to be able to remove them later since they are essentially just for show now.

[brucecolegrove]

Before I saw your video, I had had this exact modification done to my 1995 Martin D-16T, but I had a Martin-certified luthier do it (Steve Sauve, North Adams, MA. He's builds guitars, too.). I did not have the stones to do it myself. The D-16T is my farmers' market guitar. The guitar was dying because the bridge plate was extremely worn from sloppy bridge pin fit. But I had the repair done in two stages. First the bridge plate was repaired, and the guitar was greatly improved. Then the magic happened when Steve made the exact modification you describe here. The guitar is louder, has more sustain, and, as you said, is better in every good way imaginable. The guitar sounds like a much more expensive version of itself. I agree that the larger companies, like Martin and Taylor, are more interested in profits than tone. Sometimes the old methods are just better. Based on my experience with D-16T, I will (eventually) do this to all my guitars. Thanks for a great explanation. All you doubters, just get over it.

[uncledan]

Thank you for making this video and sharing this info! Slotted my bridge last night as exactly shown and while it took me almost 2 hours to do everything as I took my time, it turned out perfectly. My guitar sounds more resonant and louder. This is awesome! Much appreciated

[brocluno]

Good episode. Yup, that works. Another thing I like to do, is once you have 90% of the setup established, I take a fine needle file and make a slight "U" where the string crosses the saddle. Make the U the same cross section as the string so that the string keys into the saddle. That way the saddle captures the lateral energy and well as the vertical energy. Helps with clarity and definition 😊

[DeweyLarlham]

Hi, I’m not a luthier, to me a true luthier can carve a violin from a pile of lumber. I’ve been an electric guitar mechanic since the 60s, but acoustics are hard. I’m 80, so I already knew the mechanics and geometry of guitars long ago, but your videos are excellent. Yes, I already know these things that you explain, but your video is the best refresher course on line

[robertnewell]

Alan Carruth did an experiment on this and concluded that the amount of break angle needed (at both nut and saddle) is only what is needed to accurately define the point where the string crosses the nut/saddle and exert enough tension to keep the string from moving about and wasting energy. That's not really very much. See Carruth (he found that on blind testing people could not tell the difference between a break angle of 25 degrees and 6 degrees - that's a lot - provided the strings remained the same distance from the top) but also Ted Woodford's channel for more on this. At the saddle, the issue only arises if the saddle has been lowered to such an extent that Carruth's two criteria are broken (usually in an attempt to lower the action in a guitar which is getting near needing a neck reset). In this situation, ramping is a great thing to do, but otherwise there's no real evidence that it makes any improvement.

[edhaney]

I build guitars and use unslotted bridge pins by putting the slot in the bridge. However it is worthwhile to use a more narrow file or saw for the thinner strings. Actually, each slot cut in bridge and bridge place should be the custom width for the size string going into that slot. He mentions that there is a more narrow saw for this that he does not bother to use. By using the bigger saw and cutting away more material in the bridge plate, he actually has less of the ball resting on less bridge plate material. Having the ball end pull against more bridge plate material would maximize the goal of this hack. In addition, eventually the ball end of the strings will ware away the bridge place and the ball ends will begin to go into the bridge plate itself. This is why the bridge plates on older guitars need to be replaced. So as more bridge plate material is preserved it will lead to a longer life for the bridge plate. What he does not mention is that after the slots are cut it is much easier to change the strings because you are not trying to get the bridge pin slots to accept the strings.

[haydenblack]

Dude… I had a thin hacksaw in my garage that I used on this old 93 Fender. It plays really good as it is for such a cheap guitar but THANK YOU FOR THIS. This just made an enormous difference in the volume this guitar can put out. I’ve never been able to drown out my wife so effortlessly! 😂

[FrankOlsonTwins]

Another huge benefit of this mod is by changing the force of the break angle from a forward force to a more downward force on the saddle, the front of the bridge is less likely to crack at the saddle groove. I've done this mod to my old acoustics and stand by it!