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Post by Marshall on Oct 2, 2023 21:19:59 GMT -5
I just bought a late 70s Yamaha FG335. Sounds nice. Plays real nice. $220. So I go to change strings and to mount a pickup in the thing. But when I look inside there's a wooden gizmo post that is glued to the bridge plate and hangs down but doesn't contact the back. And there's a long wooden dowel from this post that runs to the endpin spot.
Any idea what this thing is? It kinda messes up my desire to mount a SBT and Mag in the guitar. Is this original? Or did somebody do some goofy repair to help the top and bridge? I'm concerned if I remove it, the guitar won't be stable. The X-braces are there, but look shallower than my other guitars.
It's a dilemma. I bought this thing to put the pickup in and use it as my beater. I suppose I can mount the SBT somewhere else (behind the pins? In front of the bridge plate?) I've done that before on my Kalamazoo and it worked quite fine. Plus I'd have to drill a different end-pin hole, as the existing endpin is filled with this long dowel.
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Tamarack
Administrator
Ancient Citizen
Posts: 9,387
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Post by Tamarack on Oct 2, 2023 22:48:58 GMT -5
We should await Marty's input, or anyone else more knowledgeable, but I think this is an add-on. I think such a structure was devised by Breedlove to counteract torque on the bridge. Zillions of guitars are in existence without such a device, it could probably be removed, assuming the bracing hasn't been messed with.
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Dub
Administrator
I'm gettin' so the past is the only thing I can remember.
Posts: 19,889 
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Post by Dub on Oct 2, 2023 23:08:44 GMT -5
Those things are called the JLD Bridge Doctor. Breedlove didn’t invent them but, as Tamarack said, they use them in a lot of their guitars. It’s there to keep the bridge from rotating and warping the top. It can be used as a fix for guitars with that problem. Breedlove uses them because it allows them to use lighter bracing and they believe the lighter bracing improves the tone of their guitars. If they used the lighter bracing without the JLD Bridge Doctor, the tops would quickly warp. The Bridge Doctor may have been added to your Yamaha to fix a problem or it may have been added to allow the braces to be safely shaved down. In either case, you are better off leaving it there. Thousands of guitars, including Breedloves, have these without any issues. www.stewmac.com/luthier-tools-and-supplies/tools-by-job/tools-for-bridges/jld-bridge-doctor/ |
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Post by Russell Letson on Oct 2, 2023 23:12:29 GMT -5
Sounds like a JDL Bridge Doctor or something like it. Does it look like this?  |
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Post by Marshall on Oct 2, 2023 23:38:17 GMT -5
Yeah, it's a Bridge Doctor.
And the X-bracing looks very shallow.
No, I'm not going to remove it. Too much trouble. Well above my pay grade. But the present plan is to drill another endpin hole away from the dowel. I've identified a location under the top very close to the bridge plate that i can try the SBT. It won't be directly under the saddle, but I've had success before with moving it before, though not as far off as I will have to do this time.
The underside of the top is pretty rough. I took some sandpaper to the place I'll try the SBT and smoothed that out nicely. I sawed off the old non-electric endpin so it's flush (slightly indented) in the side. I removed it before trimming it, and then I glued it back in the hole. It lines up with the rod of the Doctor. I want that all solid before I drill a new 1/2" diameter hole for the electric endpin jack. That'll be tomorrow.
The pickup is the Fishman Power Tap Earth. I haven't tried that before. This was going to be my experiment and comparison to the Skysonic I have been using. But the non-optimal SBT location may not give me a good comparison to the Sky. Though my other preferred option is to install a Skysonic I have in the drawer.
Oh well.
The action was a touch high, so I tweaked the truss rod and sanded a touch off the saddle blank. There was plenty of extension above the bridge. I'm hoping that will be beneficial.
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Post by Marty on Oct 2, 2023 23:45:50 GMT -5
We should await Marty's input, or anyone else more knowledgeable, but I think this is an add-on. I think such a structure was devised by Breedlove to counteract torque on the bridge. Zillions of guitars are in existence without such a device, it could probably be removed, assuming the bracing hasn't been messed with. Give that man a cigar. There is probably a pearl dot just behind the bridge pins. Under it is a screw to loosen and remover the Bridge Doctor. Do not pry around the dot to get it out. Drill out the dot center 1/16" bit, insert a small screw and tighten it until it either lifts the dot or breaks it. If it seems to be glued in just drill the whole thing out. a new dot or wooden plug can be used for touch up. I think StewMac still sells them. Taking it out is the best thing to do, it's only held in by one screw. |
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Post by Marshall on Oct 2, 2023 23:51:04 GMT -5
Yes there's a pearl dot in the bridge.
I'm afraid the braces were shaved down when the stinkin thing was installed in the guitar. So, I am seriously concerned that the top would have SERIOUS problems if I remove the stinkin thing. The guitar sounds (acoustically) quite nice now with the thing installed. And If I can get the pickup thing worked out, it could be beneficial to have the Doctor in there, as I expect this guitar to not-be-treated very nicely in the future. Not that I purposely abuse anything. This is going to be my alternative to carbon fiber guitars which are not made to any specifications I can live with.
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Post by Marshall on Oct 3, 2023 0:03:02 GMT -5
Had I known there was a Bridge Doctor in there I wouldn't have bought it. The guy at the show had another earlier Yammy big body. But it wasn't strung up and I didn't want to mess with a guitar that might need a neck reset. This one looked good and stable. Sounded good too. So, I popped for it.
Oh well. Could still turn out to be a good thing. (Hard to beat the price at $220)
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Post by Marty on Oct 3, 2023 9:01:17 GMT -5
I have a couple FG180 & 160 Yamahas hanging around here somewhere. Those old 70s Yamahas are really quite good guitars for plywood.
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Post by Marshall on Oct 3, 2023 10:24:35 GMT -5
All's well that ends well.
It was somewhat of an adventure. Drilling into the back to miss the rod, yet be close to the middle of the back. Then fitting the endpin in. The new placement for the SBT was easy. It's on the North side of the bass X-brace, running parallel with the brace. Installing the sound hole Mag, I noticed it was going to be sitting high compared to the fingerboard, so I shaved some of the cork off of the pickup ears to lower it when mounted. That worked fine. I strung it up with new Elixir Nanoweb Lights PB. And it plays pretty nicely. Still the action is a little high. To be perfect it probably would need a neck reset. But I'll try to tweak the truss rod later. And there's still room on the saddle. I have no interest in a neck reset.
When I plugged it in, it sounded great. The PowerTap Earth has a mixing wheel. All the way counter clockwise is just the Mag. Roll it all the way clockwise and you get (supposedly) 50% mag and 50% SBT. I rolled it to the SBT and am quite happy with the amped sound. The SBT is not pronounced, but it tames the electric sound of the Mag. Gives punctuation to the sound rather than altering it massively. That's what I'm looking for. So, I'm very happy with the pickup. Even though the SBT is not optimally placed, it still does what it needs to do to tame the Mag. At least to my taste.
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Post by Marshall on Oct 3, 2023 15:59:07 GMT -5
I have a couple FG180 & 160 Yamahas hanging around here somewhere. Those old 70s Yamahas are really quite good guitars for plywood. I'm pretty sure the FG335 is a solid top and laminated B&S. I tweaked the truss rod again and trimmed the saddle a little, and it plays very nicely. The frets were leveled at some point in the guitar's history, so they are pretty shallow; more so than I would prefer, but really no problems playing the thing. Should be great fun. I think I'll take it to a comfy Open Mic on Thursday and give it a run live. I drilled a strap button on the heel and stuck on one of my guitar-strap-collection items on it. |
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Post by Marshall on Oct 5, 2023 8:16:54 GMT -5
I made some recorings of the new pickup. And the SBT picks up very well, except it's bass heavy and kinda tubby sounding with where I decided to place it. I may move it around a but (later) to see if I can get a better balance.
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Post by Marty on Oct 5, 2023 9:08:05 GMT -5
I made some recorings of the new pickup. And the SBT picks up very well, except it's bass heavy and kinda tubby sounding with where I decided to place it. I may move it around a but (later) to see if I can get a better balance. If there is room you can pull it towards the bridge to brighten the bass. Shim the treble end to make those strings louder. Use ferrous metal strings to get more output from the wound strings. Or any combo. I have an old customer that uses a UST and a mag wired stereo. The mag has the polepieces under the e-b-g-d strings removed and you only hear the E and A which he runs through a octave down pedal. |
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Post by Marshall on Oct 5, 2023 10:50:15 GMT -5
You know people crazier than me !
I ordered a roll of 3M double sided tape. I'm tired of scrounging thru my box for leftover pieces from previous pickup installations and removals. When that comes I may try moving this SBT to another location. Though, plugging it thru my amp at home, I really like the meaty sound I'm getting. I'll take it to an open mic tonight as is, and see how it performs.
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