jld bridge doctor experience?

DouginKy · #1 02-13-2013, 04:02 PM

Hi guys. I did a search, but couldn't find much here on tone improvements/changes regarding this device. I'd bought one a while back for a different guitar and never installed it.
Although I don't have any bellying, etc. , they "say" it improves volume and eq changes, depending on which string you mount it on.
I love the mids, highs, balance and clarity of my 00 12 fret Recording king(RP2-626C) but it's lacking in bottom end, especially E
I love the bottom end of Taylor GC 12fret (now that I've changed the strings, it's great)
So am I trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear?....lol

Anybody have any input...yea or nea?
Thanks

gitnoob · #2 02-13-2013, 04:38 PM

Sell the guitar (to me, for cheap).

That JLD thing will change the tone, but probably not in a way you'll love. It adds a chuck of mass to the bridge, and adds a variable amount of stiffness to the top depending on how tightly you tweak the dowel that hits the tail block.

Increased mass might help your bass a bit, but at the expense of volume. A stiffer top is definitely not something you want.

downtime · #3 02-13-2013, 04:49 PM

I installed one on a Johnson Carolina Series dread that had a bellying problem.
It did a great job of stabilizing the top and reducing the belly. The guitar sounded great before and after the install and to be honest I did not notice a significant change in tone.
Personally I would install one on the hopes that it would improve some aspect of the guitars tone. It is a fairly invasive procedure to drill a hole through the bridge and soundboard and not easily reversible for the average DIY'er.

PVJeff · #4 02-13-2013, 04:54 PM

Every Breedlove guitar minus the Revival series and I think one other has been using the JLD bridge doctor as standard equipment for the last 15-20 years.

DouginKy · #5 02-13-2013, 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by downtime

I installed one on a Johnson Carolina Series dread that had a bellying problem.
It did a great job of stabilizing the top and reducing the belly. The guitar sounded great before and after the install and to be honest I did not notice a significant change in tone.
Personally I would install one on the hopes that it would improve some aspect of the guitars tone. It is a fairly invasive procedure to drill a hole through the bridge and soundboard and not easily reversible for the average DIY'er.

Well, the one I have utilizes brass string pegs for it's install, so no drilling or any permanent changes necessary. One of the 6 screw into the device. It will diminish break angle at saddle

I'd read where Breedlove uses them and that Taylor also uses them for returns/bellying problems.

DouginKy · #6 02-13-2013, 05:17 PM

[QUOTE=gitnoob;3356129]Sell the guitar (to me, for cheap).

Which one ?
define cheap....

L20A · #7 02-13-2013, 06:44 PM

I know a couple of people that have used the BD. They were happy with the results.
One of them put one in his Martin Acoustic Bass. He said that the guitar is now louder and the bass is stronger.
My wife owns a Taylor 410 with the pinless bridge. It has some bellying that I can't lower with humidity.
I called Taylor and a Tech told me that Taylor does use the BD to remove bellying in some of their guitars. They said that the 410 would be a good candidate for one, if the bellying gets worse.

#8 02-13-2013, 07:25 PM

IMO this device is a poor solution to problems that often don't exist, so I guess my advice would be no.

Wade Hampton · #9 02-13-2013, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PVJeff

Every Breedlove guitar minus the Revival series and I think one other has been using the JLD bridge doctor as standard equipment for the last 15-20 years.

Well, yeah - Breedlove guitars were designed with the JLD Bridge System in mind. In the case of Breedlove, the JLD/Bridge Doctor is not a retro-fit onto an existing traditionally braced guitar; Breedloves were designed from the ground up around the JLD cantilevered support.

Doug in Kentucky, yes, I have put one JLD/Bridge Doctor into an existing guitar, but truly disliked the tonal effect on the instrument. I pulled it out after a couple of weeks and have never used one since, though I have heard a few other guitars since then that somebody else "Bridge Doctored."

It's worth experimenting with, but it is not something I've cared for any of the times I've encountered it, either on that one occasion on one of my own guitars and several times with guitar belonging to others. It seems to rob the guitars of a great deal of their warmth and midrange.

But your mileage may vary, so don't take my word for it. Try it for yourself and make your own decision.

Hope this helps.

Wade Hampton Miller

JLS · #10 02-13-2013, 08:13 PM

Usually, folks are unhappy because they A) installed one to correct a belly, cranked the crap out of it, torqued the top back in the other direction, and wonder why it doesn't sound good, or (and), B) installed one of the threaded bridgepin models, now have little or no string break angle, and wonder why it doesn't sound good.

The only guitar that didn't sound significantly better with a JLD install, was my Rainsong OM1000, on which the top is so stiff, it didn't do anything, so I uninstalled it. All other guitars that I've installed them in, have been positive, regardless of the bracing.

00Buck · #11 02-13-2013, 08:27 PM

I put one in an old Yamaha (FG331, I think) with a belly almost as big as mine. It took care of the belly problem and to my ear increased the bass and loudness of the guitar. I put one on an old Cort dread that I bought to experiment with. I didn't notice much difference at all. I can understand why you'd want more bass in the RK. It doesn't have much, especially if your point of comparison is a Taylor 12 Fret. However, unless you've already developed belly problems in the RK you'd be making a mistake to install one, not to mention wasting your money. If you want everything there is to get from a 00, take a look at the Martin 00-18v. Good Luck!

larryplatz · #12 02-14-2013, 04:04 AM

My only experience with one was on an old Mossman that someone had obviously used heavy gauge strings on for way too long. I used the one that requires drilling a hole through the bridge due to the obvious (to me anyway) string angle problem with the other model. It pulled the top down nicely and improved the sound a ton, in my opinion. Later on I had a neck reset done and removed the bridge doctor. Even though it played really nice after the reset, I always felt it sounded better (louder, much more responsive) with the bridge doctor.

steveyam · #13 02-14-2013, 04:33 AM

I can wholly recommend the JLD bridge doctor. I have fitted several, and in all cases the performance, tone and volume have been noticeably improved.

They're actually not great at reducing a high action problem due to bellying and string pull, but more so to stop the bridge tilting forwards and stretching the area of the top below the bridge. But saying that, they do - to some extent - bring down the belly.

The trick when adjusting one is not to tighten it too much; just enough to level the bridge and reduce the belly somewhat. Don't keep tightening it up in the hope of the belly going downwards big time; it won't.

On old guitars where after years of tension, you can actually see two diagonal stress 'lines' curving down and outwards moustache-like from the bottom of each of the bridge, this is cured; the top in this area is liberated from this stretching effect and is much 'looser' and free to vibrate and reproduce bass notes.

In short, after using the JLD BD I have found in all cases:

The bridge no longer tilts forward
Bellying is reduced
Action is reduced a tad
Overall tone is better
Bass response is MUCH better
Volume is greatly enhanced

If you're not getting that, I suggest the JLD has been poorly fitted and/or poorly adjusted.

I wholly recommend the JLD BD.

DouginKy · #14 02-14-2013, 05:40 AM

Thanks everyone for the responses. Many more than I'd hoped for.

The RK, with it's narrow, pyramid bridge will have to use the brass pins, there's not enough space without it interfering with existing pins...

The ones of you with "yeas", did you use the drill and screw types or the one with the brass string pins?

gitnoob · #15 02-14-2013, 06:02 AM

I decided to do an experiment.

I had a JLD installed in a 1960's Martin 0-16NY -- one of the lightest-built guitars Martin has made. Because it's so lightly built, the bridge has rotated, so I put a JLD in there to see if it would correct the rotation.

I'll ignore the bridge rotation for this discussion, and here's what I can tell you.

It appears to lower the resonance frequency of the top significantly (could improve bass response), it appears to reduce volume, and it appears to reduce some of the higher-frequency content.

The device with one brass pin weighs 40g.

The tap tone without the JLD: 231Hz.

The tap tone with the JLD: 192Hz.

That's a significant mass and a significant drop in tap tone frequency -- you should be able to get the same results by using brass bridge pins alone.

Here are some sound files for you.

With JLD:
https://www.box.com/s/aiqzwckp2bsnjbmmf4ce

Without JLD:
https://www.box.com/s/vr5bg0k4yn7cbvhjxo8y

Mic placement, guitar location, and playing style (bare fingers) should be pretty much the same in both. I used a Zoom H4n.