Ladder braced guitars - Can I install a smaller bridge plate safely?

[bbrunskill]

Hi all.

I've been repairing an old Gibson LG0. It has the 60's plastic bridge and the bridge plate was completely chipped and worn out.

The old spruce plate is huge - nearly ten inches long. It goes almost the whole way across the guitar. But it's very light and so soft you can scratch it with a fingernail. My theory is that if I install a much stiffer, stronger bridge plate, it will reinforce the top and spread the load of the strings just fine without having to be as large.

Surely a 10x2 inch piece of timber glued to the top must suck up a lot of energy that could be projected out as sound?

Bridge plates old and new:


I've taken a gamble and installed the smaller one. It's only 17 grams, as opposed to the 32 grams of the full size. The maple is nice and stiff, and it covers the entire underside of the bridge.

My question is - do you think this is going to work, or do these ladder braced guitars need the huge bridge plate?