L50 Bridge ..
 

My newly acquired L50 has a slotted bridge, but I don't know if it was made that way or if the slots are the result of 70 years of erosion-by-strings.

I'm curious because the G string is a bit buzzy, and that slot -coincidentally or not - seems the deepest.

Quick solution: StewMac sells archtop replacement bridges for around $20 a pop - pick one up, have it slotted to your specs (FYI you can play with string spacing a little bit, without the E strings going off the edge of the fingerboard), and keep the original in the case pocket for future resale purposes...

An archtop bridge would have slots...some may have deepened (or been deepened) over time...it very likely could be the reason that string is buzzing a bit.

Steve's comment is spot on.

Out of curiousity, buzzing open or fretted notes or both.

Thank you for the suggestion. I'll give that a try.

Jeff, the buzz is when fretted or open. I did put a slightly fatter G string on there and it's slightly improved. Still, I'd like to see how it sounds with the new bridge.

Edit: however, the unslotted rosewood bridge available at StewMac is not continuous at the base (as the original is). I'll look elsewhere.

Just change the bridge topper, copy what is there, match the post spacing. Or just adjust the topper you have, reduce it's height so that notches are less, or even flush, and start over.

Thanks.

I thought of that too, and it's kind of hard to measure with bridge in place, but mine comes up about 2 mm short of dead center of Stew's specs.
Option B might be right.


BTW, I have no way of knowing whether or not mine is original. Exhibits A and B below, for anyone who might wish to weigh in:

https://i.imgur.com/3htNnkA.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/yW5UTQR.jpg

Absolutely original equipment.

I'd find a scrap rosewood bridge. The top or the bottom section will do as it doesn't matter. Then take the 3rd string out of the slot, and file a decent size V notch.

Then take a scrap of rosewood from the donor bridge section, and glue it in with Crazy glue. After that it's a matter of sanding the scrap down until it's flush, and then re-slot the section.

Grain direction, of course, should be maintained so as to avoid string groove wear & tear.

It appears from the pictures that if you were to 'rock' a short straightedge on the strings just in front of the bridge that it would NOT touch the G string because it's out of the 'radius plane'.

This is not rocket science, and requires a modicum of skill and tools.

Regards,
Howard Emerson

Thanks Howard. My local guy recommends same.