Went to my guitar "fixer" with a complaint of very little sustain in my sound. A Little history..
picked up a 1965 Gibson J-45 in original condition in 2010. Decided to keep it all original. Then became dissatisfied with the ceramic saddle and the overall sound. My repair guy made a beautiful rosewood insert with a saddle groove and installed it as well as a a Anthem SL at my request.
I played with it 9 years, like the amplified sound, but not happy with the acoustic sound. After a conversation with my guy, we decided to remove the Anthem and the Bridge with it. This picture is what we found under the original bridge. For some reason the top was grooved out where the saddle was and the whole area was taken down , with the result that the original bridge was only in contact with the top around its perimeter. No wonder there was little sustain! He is attempting to fix this issue with the new bridge and a little sanding of the area.
I know many will say this guitar would have been better left original and that is the way I felt at first. But I am old, this is my favorite guitar, and I just want to use it for playing and songwriting.
Just cannot believe the mess Gibson made!!