Opinions requested--bridge plate damage?

[ricko]

I recently acquired a guitar in a trade deal. It has slotted bridge holes and I noticed when I changed the strings that the bridge pins were also slotted. I turned the pins around and purchased some unslotted pins from StewMac.

When I restrung it to replace the pins I stuck my Iphone inside and was quite surprised to see this:



I'm certainly no expert, but it appears to have had a previous repair to accommodate earlier damage to the plate.

I would really appreciate some opinions as to the severity of the damage and guidance on how to deal with it--assuming that I should. I contacted the other party in the trade who stated he was unaware of any damage or repairs.

Thank you in advance for any guidance you can provide.

[Rudy4]

It's an example of a very poor slotting job, but it still looks functional.

Use solid pins and forget what you saw. If you hadn't have stuck your phone in there you would have never known the difference.

This is a good time to remind folks to take an inspection mirror and flashlight when checking out a guitar prior to purchase.

The patch would probably make it difficult to install a pickup like a K&K Pure Mini, especially since the pins and saddle are located so far to the front of the bridge plate.

[ricko]

Thank you for your response, Rudy. That's a relief to hear. The trade was done online, so I didn't have the opportunity to inspect it closely. Of course, even if I had, I probably wouldn't have thought to check it with a mirror. Much appreciated.