Bowed soundboard and worn out bridge holes. repair possible?

[redir]

In all fairness to the JDL truss system aka 'bridge doctor' Breedlove has been building guitars with them since the 90's. I've played a few and they sound fantastic. They don't have the boom chucka like a Martin has but they sound responsive and rich. Now granted, this is by design from the get go and not a fix for a guitar that was designed like a Martin but still.

For me the jury is still out on the BD because I've never tried one. I think it's an interesting concept though and it's got enough mixed reviews to make me think that there is at least something going on there.

Originally Posted by redir

In all fairness to the JDL truss system aka 'bridge doctor' Breedlove has been building guitars with them since the 90's. I've played a few and they sound fantastic. They don't have the boom chucka like a Martin has but they sound responsive and rich. Now granted, this is by design from the get go and not a fix for a guitar that was designed like a Martin but still.

That is the the standard explanation - that they are part of the design. I have a hard time seeing that myself. The bracing looks very similar to otherwise normal X-bracing.

[John Arnold]

You indicate that the action is fine and it sounds good. I would not normally recommend any action to reduce belly in that case.
When the top has belly, I always check for loose X-braces in the bridge area. This may be very hard to see, because loosening the strings may close the gap, and the gap opens first on the lower side of the X-brace, away from the soundhole.
I can normally hear weakness in the bass when the X-braces are loose.
The pin holes can be repaired very simply....without cutting out and replacing material with a Stew Mac tool.
Masking tape is applied on the bridgeplate, covering the holes.
Thin super glue and wood dust are alternately dropped in the holes, filling them about halfway to the top of the bridge.
After the glue sets, the tape is removed and the holes are drilled and reamed to fit the pins. Ideally, you will be using unslotted pins, which will not distort or bend. They do require slotting the bridge, but that is also a simple job.
It's about a 15 minute job on my bench.

I have removed many Bridge Doctors. Adding mass to the bridge is the classical way to mute a stringed instrument. More sustain and less volume is not what I am after, usually.

[B. Howard]

Yes Breedlove uses the bridge doctor thingy in guitars, but not in any of their top of the line stuff, HMMM........That says it doesn't?