By Bob
May 6, 1997
OVERVIEW
The JLD Bridge System (AKA "Bridge Doctor") is a patented (US PATENT
5-260-505) removable wooden device that is installed inside an acoustic guitar,
underneath the bridge. JLD Guitar Research and Development, Inc. claims that
the device will flatten the top on your "bellied" guitar, prevent
your other guitar's flat top from ever bellying, improve your guitar's balance,
make it louder, and improve its sustain. This review is the result of my buying
and testing the JLD Bridge System in my own guitar.
CONSIDER THE SOURCE
First of all, here's some background on me so you can "consider the source"
of this review. I am 41 year old microcomputer consultant. I am not in any way
employed by or related to JLD Guitar Research and Development, Inc., marketers
of the JLD Bridge System, or James Oliver, the inventor and patent holder of
the JLD Bridge System (he's the "J" in "JLD"). I will get
nothing from JLD for having written this review. I will get nothing from JLD
if someone decides to buy the JLD Bridge Device. I personally paid full price
for the JLD Bridge System that I installed and tested on my own 1978 Guild F-512
guitar for this review. I also personally paid full price for the JLD Bridge
System that I will be installing and testing in my brand new, incredibly-sounding
$4400 custom-built Taylor 955-CE that just arrived last week. I have been playing
the guitar for almost 29 years (boy are my fingers tired); however, since I
am self-taught and play by ear, I'm sure that many of you who have been playing
for ten years are better guitar players than I am.
THE JLD BRIDGE SYSTEM - MAKE ONE BY HAND
Stretch your arm out full length with your palm facing up. Now, curl your fingers
and thumb into a "U" shape that points up from your palm. You should
now have four fingers side-by-side, making one side of the "U" while
your thumb makes the other side. Next, use that hand to reach into your guitar
through its end pin. Put the tips of your four fingers right under the bridge
saddle and the tip of your thumb right under the bridge pins. Install five threaded
brass bridge pins into the bridge, using small metal nuts on the inside of the
guitar to keep them in place and to keep your guitar's bridge from ever pulling
off. Insert a sixth threaded brass bridge pin through the D-string hole of your
guitar's bridge and screw it into the tip of your thumb. Now, keep your arm
really stiff, and lower your elbow. Notice how you're using your entire arm
as a lever to push up the saddle side of the bridge and pull down the bridge
pin side of the bridge, flattening your guitar's bellied top. Finally, cut off
your arm at just the right length to allow your arm bone to push against your
guitar's end block. If you've done everything correctly, your severed arm will
keep the bridge from ever bellying again. Congratulations -- you've just made
a human version of the JLD Bridge System. It may not be pretty or high-tech,
but it's the perfect solution for anyone who's ever said, "I'd give my
right arm to be able to fix my old vintage Sears Silvertone guitar..."
THE TEST GUITAR
The guitar I used for this review was a 1978 Guild F-512 jumbo 12-string that
I've owned since early 1979. At the time I bought it, it was a top of the
line Guild 12-string guitar. Guild still builds a version of it, that lists
for over $2000 and is available for around $1500. Mine has Brazilian Rosewood
sides and back, and a nicely-aged honey-colored Sitka Spruce top. After trying
several types of strings over the years, I settled on John Pearse 80/20 lights
(.09-.47 gauge) a couple of years ago, and I keep them tuned up to pitch. The
set of strings on the Guild were about 7 months old and sounded pretty dead.
I hadn't changed them because I had been expecting my new Taylor guitar any
minute (it ended up being delayed for a few months due to abalone supply problems
at Taylor) and I didn't feel much motivation to put new strings on the old guitar.
The Guild's top had about 3/32" belly behind the bridge.
THE AGREEMENT
In the past week, I've spent about 8 hours on long distance, talking to James
Oliver, the 52-year-old inventor of the JLD Bridge System, to learn more about
his invention. He told me that Taylor Guitars has been using a version of his
Bridge System to repair bellied Taylors for years, and Breedlove Guitar Company
builds a version of the JLD Bridge System into every single one of their handmade
guitars (you can confirm this by going to Breedlove's home page at http://www.breedloveguitars.com/.
Mr. Oliver says he has personally installed about his Bridge System in about
6,000 guitars over the years - even some of them in the guitars of famous guitar
players who don't want anyone to know that they're using his invention. On Monday,
May 12, 1997, I called Mr. Oliver again to order two of his JLD Bridge Systems.
He then asked me to measure the distance between the centers of my two guitars'
back bridge pins and the centers of their saddles so that he could make two
Bridge Systems specifically for my guitars. As soon as I finished talking to
him, I mailed him a check for $100 to cover the cost of two Bridge Systems,
and Mr. Oliver shipped the systems to me with his assurance that, if I didn't
like them, he'd take them back and refund my money. I told him that I was planning
to test his Bridge System in at least one of my guitars and then, whether or
not I thought it worked, I would write a review about it.
THE TEST
Yesterday, Thursday, May 16, 1997, the two systems arrived at my home by priority
mail. Last night, it took me about 40 minutes to install one of Bridge Systems
in my Guild F-512. About half of that time was spent removing and reinstalling
the same curled-up dead strings that had been on the guitar. As I finger-tightened
the "arm bone" part of the device against my guitar's end block with
the strings removed, I was shocked to see the 3/32" belly gradually disappear
from my guitar's top. When it looked nice and flat, I reinstalled the strings
and tuned it up to pitch. Tuning was a whole new experience. As I brought each
string up to pitch using my digital tuner, I could clearly hear the other tuned
strings "singing along" with the newly-tuned string right when it
reached its perfect pitch. Several times, I'd tune one of the strings up to
pitch and then mute it, only to hear its note still resonating from one or more
of the other tuned strings that had started vibrating sympathetically. At the
same time, I heard a lot of overtones and undertones that I had never heard
coming from that guitar before. Once I got all twelve strings perfectly up to
pitch, the first thing I strummed was a full E major chord. A Guild 12-string
is a pretty loud guitar by nature, but mine was noticeably louder than it had
ever been. I immediately noticed that it sounded a lot more balanced, with more
definition between the different string sounds; a lot like my new Taylor 12-string.
Some might argue that it sounded more balanced because it had lost some bass
and treble, but it was clear to me that it had simply gained a lot of mid-range,
giving it a much more balanced sound than the exaggerated bass and treble mix
that I had gotten used to hearing from it. Sustain was improved as well. With
a new set of strings on that guitar, I was always able to strum a loud E Major
chord, put my ear near the sound hole, and hear it ringing for 20-22 seconds.
Last night, I could hear the E Major chord ring for 26 seconds - with 7 month-old
strings that had sounded dead right before I installed the Bridge System. I
then played some harmonics and was pleased to hear that they also sustained
loud and clear for ten seconds or more. The only down side I could see was that
I had a slight string buzz on the first fret from a couple of strings when I
played it hard. This was due to the fact that when the Bridge System pulled
my guitar's top back down flat, it lowered the bridge (and the action) by the
3/16" that the top had been bellied before. A new saddle will solve that
problem.
CONCLUSIONS
The JLD Bridge System does exactly what JLD Guitar Research and Development,
Inc. claims it will do. It flattened the top on my "bellied" guitar,
improved its balance, made it louder, and improved its sustain. In addition,
it appears that it will prevent the top from ever bellying again. Next, I will
be installing one in my new custom Taylor 955-CE. Here's my reasoning:
1) A 12-string guitar with an Engelmann top is almost certain to belly with time unless it is braced so heavily that it doesn't sound good,
2) Taylor's repair department uses the Bridge System to repair bellied Taylor guitars,
3) I can either choose to spend $50 on the Bridge System right now to prevent my new guitar from bellying, or I can wait for it to belly and then send it back to Taylor to have them install the Bridge System.
To me, it is well worth the $50 right now to prevent problems in the future.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
If you want to learn more about the JLD Bridge System on your own, you can visit
the JLD Web site at http://www.jldguitar.net/.
They have a lot of valuable information about how the System works.