PlateMate

[Edge]

Hi, Does anyone have any experience of the Mitchell PlateMate? I'm in the UK and they are very expensive to obtain from the US, so I'm considering making my own - there are videos on Youtube and it seems easy enough. I'm wondering if it has to made of brass - will aluminium or even copper be ok? And does it make any difference how thick it is? The Mitchells look quite thin.
And, of course, do they affect the sound?
I'd appreciate your thoughts. My guitars are a Tanglewood and Gibson Hummingbird (2016).
Many thanks in advance.

[Hoyt]

I put one on an older Martin I had. It really didn't need it, but I did it to prevent problems. I don't think it altered the sound at all.

Don't see any reason you couldn't make one. There was nothing special about it. I'd probably use brass just because that seems to work.

[redir]

I'm not sure why they are made out of brass which is heavy. I would use Aluminum if I was going to make one.

[JayBee1404]

Before I learned about pin-hole-slotting, I put a Plate-Mate in my Martin J-40. The tonal change was very slight, and I liked it - tighter, punchier bass, clearer trebles. Later on, I learned about slotting the pinholes and using solid unslotted pins, and I’ve done that operation on my Martins over the past ten or so years.

I recently purchased a Brook OM and was advised by the builders against slotting, so I installed a PlateMate - the resulting change in tone was not at all pleasant, and I removed it after a week or so. I’m currently plucking up the courage to put my slotting saw and needle files to work again.

A PlateMate is OK if you don’t fancy slotting the bridge and you can live with any tonal change that arises. Personally, I’d go the professional route and get the bridge slotted - either by a tech/luthier, or DIY if you’re OK with tools.

The usual disclaimers apply......IMHO, YMMV etc.

[John Arnold]

Brass is over three times as heavy as aluminum. The only reason to opt for brass is appearance. A mute works by adding mass to the bridge. With that in mind, any such device should be as light as possible. A thin strip of hard wood or Formica will do the job just fine.

[charles Tauber]

Originally Posted by JayBee1404

I recently purchased a Brook OM and was advised by the builders against slotting

Do you know what they advised against it? Just curious.

[JayBee1404]

Originally Posted by charles Tauber

Do you know what they advised against it? Just curious.

When I visited their workshop in February, I asked whether they would recommend slotting and they said no, because they’d had experience with ball-ends getting jammed in the hole/slot.

In fairness, they ream the holes with the correct taper and fit the slotted pins very accurately - a very nice job IMHO - but, having had slotted bridges and solid pins for the past 10+ years, I’m leery of slotted pins and creeping ball-ends.

Bridge-slotting does very much seem to be something that UK builders/techs aren’t comfortable with.

[charles Tauber]

Originally Posted by JayBee1404

they’d had experience with ball-ends getting jammed in the hole/slot.

Thanks for the reply.

I've not had that problem. Perhaps their slots are undersized.

[JayBee1404]

Originally Posted by charles Tauber

Thanks for the reply.

I've not had that problem. Perhaps their slots are undersized.

It’s not something I’ve experienced either in the Martins that I reamed and slotted the bridges in, although I took extreme care to ensure I’d made the slots wide enough for the string and, when re-stringing, I always use an inspection mirror to ensure that everything is hunky-dory on the bridge-plate before tuning ‘er up.

As I say, I’ve mentioned bridge slotting to several UK techs/builders, and mostly got what we call ‘an old-fashioned look’ from them (i.e. non-approval)!

[Zigeuner]

I bought one for my 1964 D-28. The bridge plate was still in excellent condition but I wanted it to stay nice. Since them, I've made my own for several of my other guitars. I wait until I change strings to install them.

I have a milling machine with a digital readout (DRO). I bought some brass strip in a hobby shop. I used 1/2" X .032 thickness. With the DRO, I can place the holes in perfect alignment and the correct distance apart.

Once the holes are drilled, some work with a Dremel tool and a dental burr for the slots and you can then install the unit. I used a#15 drill. (.0180) just under 3/16' to allow for some reaming if needed to clear the string ball.

The original one that I bought from Stew-Mac cost me $35 with shipping, which is a little pricey, but then Stew Mac is not cheap.

I guess it's OK to make your own as long as you aren't selling them on eBay or Amazon.

Oh yeah, I could discern no change in tone or volume whatsoever. The D-28 sounds the same as it has for more than 50 years.

[Zigeuner]

Originally Posted by redir

I'm not sure why they are made out of brass which is heavy. I would use Aluminum if I was going to make one.

They weigh less than 8 grams......

[redir]

Originally Posted by Zigeuner

They weigh less than 8 grams......

Luthiers struggle to get their bridges to be in a specific weight to strength ratio. 8gs is quite a bit when you are trying to push a bridge weight down to 30-35 grams for example.

I'm with John Arnold above, I would never use brass or aluminum I would use hardwood but I was jsut saying if one is hell bend on making a platemate then AL would probably be better becasue it's lighter and plenty strong enough.

[Zigeuner]

Originally Posted by redir

Luthiers struggle to get their bridges to be in a specific weight to strength ratio. 8gs is quite a bit when you are trying to push a bridge weight down to 30-35 grams for example.

I'm with John Arnold above, I would never use brass or aluminum I would use hardwood but I was jsut saying if one is hell bend on making a platemate then AL would probably be better becasue it's lighter and plenty strong enough.

I just want back and weighed one that I had made on my AWS 600 gram scale. The actual weight was 6.3 grams in brass. You'll have to take my world for this since I've not yet mastered posting photos here.

In any case, your points are duly noted. If I were you, I would not use a Platemate.

[Talldad]

6.3 grams doesn’t sound like a lot I know, however, the extra weight will make the soundboard less mobile and will change the resonant frequency of the guitar, by fractions.

Depending on what the existing frequencies are this could have a detrimental or incremental effect. For example if the resonant frequency falls within range of a whole note then the change may divert the frequency away from a whole note which may have the effect of making all the notes more balanced.

The converse is true, if the plate moves the resonant frequency to a whole note then the instrument may appear to be less balanced.

[Edge]

A big thank you to everyone for your replies. I hadn't thought about the weight/mass issue, so I like the idea of using aluminium or even something like formica.
Had to smile at the comments about UK techies not being keen on slotting the bridge; possibly true, but I'm not sure why. I would like to install a strap stud on the Hummingbird (instead of having to tie it to the headstock) but I balk at the idea of drilling a hole into a £3,000 guitar - maybe it's the same for slotting the bridge - it feels like causing damage!!
Anyway, thanks again guys. Stay safe.