JLD Acoustic Guitar Bridge Pins (#AN3694)

I recently put the Bridge Doctor in a 50 year old Martin D12-28 12-string that had been carelessly stored for the past 20 years and had developed a large belly bulge causing the bridge to tilt significantly toward the sound hole resulting poor action and poor intonation. This is a common problem with 12-strings due to the extra string tension on the soundboard. Some research which led me to two methods to correct belly bulge. The first was to remove the bridge and clamp two hot plates around the bridge area then wait - sounded like an expensive trip to a luthier. The other was the Bridge Doctor. The reviews were encouraging and installation looked to be pretty simple, so before taking the guitar to a luthier, I gave it a try. Although the brass pins version is recommended for 12-strings, I went with the screw version. I didn't like the look of the brass pins and was concerned about not having enough break angle - plus the brass pin version cost more than twice as much. Installation was easy. I used a screw driver type handle that accepted my drill bits, allowing me good control. After I'd cut the rod to length and made sure it contacted the tail block, I tightened it in with the Allen screw, being careful not to overtighten. I'd expected it would take some time for the soundboard and bridge to adjust, and would be followed by additional tightening. However, I was surprised to find that even after the initial installation, the bulk of the belly bulge was already gone and the bridge tilt was much improved. Over the next week, I have checked the tension on the Allen screw every couple days and found that I was able to give it 1/2 turn the first time, a 1/4 turn the 2nd, since then it's stayed about the same. I left it like that for a couple months to give it time to get used to the changes. The result? When I started, the belly bulge measured over 6mm - now it's about 1mm, about the same as my new D-18. The bridge tilt has leveled significantly, so that now the action and the intonation are much improved. Note that the Bridge Doctor will change the tone so that the top end loses brightness if it is too tight. So, after the belly was reduced and the top stabilized, I loosened the Bridge Doctor so it was just snug enough to keep the belly from coming back. This allowed the tone to regain most of its brightness. The Bridge Doctor saved me hundreds of dollars that I'd have had to pay a luthier to fix this guitar. I now have a guitar that plays great and saved a lot of money. What's not to like? Got an older 12-string that starting to show some belly bulge? Install Bridge Doctor, or take it to your luthier and have them install one for you. It'll remove the bulge you have and prevent it from coming back. One thing to note, the dot which was provided to go into the screw hole in the bridge is black, not abalone. This would have worked better for me anyway as all my bridge pins are black, but instead I made a wooden plug cut to an exact fit and stained it to match my rosewood bridge.

Easy to install and worked perfectly.

a great way to save a slightly sunken soundboard (top) I used it on a vintage MIJ Aria acoustic and it worked well. Just make sure you don't overtighten to hex rod as it could break. It doesn't take that much pressure too lift back up most tops.

I used this bridge doctor knockoff to fix severe belly bulge in an old inexpensive 12 string acoustic. It worked great now that the old girl is playable again.

It does what it claims. It's not a combination neck reset and top flattening, but it does reduce the bow in the top considerably. I have a 1963 Guild F-30 that I bought new. I didn't take very good care of it when I was younger and the top has a pronounced bow. It's a very nice sounding guitar. It's horrible looking and people are often surprised by the sound. I figured that the worst that would happen would be that the device wouldn't do anything. One little installation surprise was that I had to cut it down a bit. It was bigger than the cross section of the body under the bridge plate. A couple minutes with a razor saw solved that. The rest of the installation was a snap. To drill the hole in the bridge I made a pilot hole with an electric drill and then used a quick change bit in a ratchet screw driver to enlarge the screw hole. No problems. If I did a couple of these I think I could get the installation time down to under 30 minutes. I've adjusted it a couple of times and reduced the bow. Bonus, there is a bit more sustain. Because the neck angle is changed there is a bit of buzz that wasn't there before. I haven't gotten around to that yet. All in all this is a good way to improve a guitar you care about but don't want to spend a huge amount on. This is much cheaper than getting the top flattened professionally. It improves the action and, in my case, changed the tone a bit for the better. Expect to need some set up after installation. You are changing the geometry of the guitar. One con. The piece of plastic described as MOP was dark grey in mine. I used a bit of silicone putty to anchor it in the hole.

I own a guitar repair shop where we install these fairly often. This is a great devvice which solves (or improves) a common problem. The reviews here that mention having issues are not using the product correctly. The guy that says it "pushes up on the soundboard causing an undesirable change in action" probably has the device installed incorrectly. There are three positions to choose from, if you place it too far forward it may not be able to do its job, which is applying upward pressure DIRECTLY UNDER THE SADDLE to counter the tendency for the top to drop in front of the saddle and rise behind it.by rocking the bridge back into a flatter position, you are actually lowering the action and creating more break angle by dropping the back of the bridge down. The person who complained that the wood is "cheap" is incorrect. the device is made of spruce (like the top of most steel string guitars) and id plant strong to do its job. im not sure how she managed to break it, but you certainly will not break one under any conditions I have encountered. Bottom line: this is a very good product. Any luthier will tell you that.