Comments

• Buco NOVA, DCDeity Ivanovski maple/spruce

  September 2016 Posts: 5,032

  pdg wrote: »

  I have come up with an adjustable height bridge for GJ guitars. I'm fine tuning it for tone, but the volume is there completely -- even louder than with regular bridges. I use aircraft grade aluminum posts and thumbwheels, which weigh next to nothing, so the bridge doesn't end up weghing more than a traditional GJ bridge. I'll mever look back . . . .

  
  Hey you must be Paul. Jeremy told me about what you two were thinking about doing. It's really great to hear that you have the prototype.

  Every note wants to go somewhere-Kurt Rosenwinkel
• rgrice Pisgah Forest, NC✭✭✭✭ 1994 Dupont MD 30, 1965 Gretsch Double Anniversary, Eastman AR610, Martin D16GT, Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor II Pro

  September 2016 Posts: 477

  @pdg sounds great! I know folks around here would love to see and hear!
• Jsndlng New

  April 2021 Posts: 2

  Thanks for the add. I looked up this question, and found this site, because what appears to be a badly enhance picture of Django appears on an album cover and I thought I could see shims beneath his bridge.

  
  

  it’s a colourised photo of him looking dapper, with an ancient pickup in his hole and I felt the shim would not have lasted the cleanup unless it was important.

  
  

  so, if Django shimmed ... I’m gonna shim if the need arises.

  
  

  oh. I bought a maple back and sides Altamira last week - I named my son Django 14 years ago but have been pursuing flamenco all these years and am just taking my first steps into the style.

  
• Buco NOVA, DCDeity Ivanovski maple/spruce

  April 2021 Posts: 5,032

  Hey welcome! And try to get your son into playing guitar too.

  

  Every note wants to go somewhere-Kurt Rosenwinkel
• Jsndlng New

  April 2021 Posts: 2

  Thanks! He plays trumpet at the moment (7 years in) but I reckon he’ll head for my guitars when the girls start chasing him 😂 ...:

  
• Bones Moderator

  April 2021 Posts: 3,323

  Tuba is the real chick magnet

  
• Buco NOVA, DCDeity Ivanovski maple/spruce

  April 2021 Posts: 5,032

  Or he becomes like Aussie Chris Botti and his old man joins his band.

  

  Every note wants to go somewhere-Kurt Rosenwinkel
• Gouch FennarioNew ALD Originale D, Zentech Proto, ‘50 D28

  May 2021 Posts: 123

  My (excellenté) 2017 ALD Original didn't seem to need shims until this year. I keep the guitar in the case with good humidification-control in the room, but alas, in Wisconsin, we have annual temperature swings of 120f, so guitar action is a constant adjustment exercise.

  My bridge is ebony, and as discussed earlier upthread, it is tapered underneath toward the moustache, so the contact points are smaller than the visible feet. I found in my stash a piece of old black ebony that I tapered to almost zero, and then rounded the bottom of this shim slightly so the contact is pretty close to the bridge-foot contact area (e.g., if it isn't under the bridge-foot contact surface, the shim isn't contacting the top). And the shim is about 2cm long so it isn't adding a lot of weight. I made 2, so far I'm only using one shim, on the treble foot.

  So far so good- with the treble shim in, the action is way better (just a little higher) and the tone is noticeably louder and fuller. Totally worth the effort. I fully expect this will be an ongoing, easy adjustment, depending on climate.

  
• tr3topflyer New

  July 2022 Posts: 5

  What are anyone's thoughts on using black fiber sheets (like used for purfling and lamination) for shimming bridges? I've heard that rosewood as a shim material can break down over time and leave marks on the top.
• pdg ✭✭

  July 2022 Posts: 488

  I use ebony veneer from Luthiers Mercantile. You can cut it with scissors, and it's flexible. I don't think it leaves marks.