Bridge Replacement

[Scott Howarth]

Hello All,

 

The bridge on my '61 J-45 has cracked and needs to be replaced. I was quoted $450 (CDN) to replace it but wanted to check with folks on here to see if that is a reasonable price.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Scott

[jedzep]

That's about right, Scott, but there are a couple of 'ifs, ands and buts'.

 

If you're not repairing, but replacing, you could lose the nice Brazilian rosewood that was orig. It would be nice to keep that BR, and I know there are BR blank belly bridges available to luthiers. Maybe your repair shop is already on that. Many cracked bridges are repaired and then re-installed with long-lasting usefullness. I've had a couple cracked ones re-glued successfully.

 

If this is an adjustable bridge I would recommend it be replaced with a fixed saddle style, preferably bone.

 

Good luck.

[memoryman]

Could you post a pic of the broken bridge?

[jvi]

wonder if that includes bridge plate issues ? if your near guelph or waterloo ont area Folkway Music are the best in the biz, great instruments as well as best restoration/repair service

[j45nick]

That seems a bit high for a bridge replacement, but it depends on what other work might need to be done at the same time. The guy who works on my guitars (a real luthier) charged me about $250 US for a new Brazilian bridge a few years ago. This was part of a lot of work he did on a guitar, so the cost might be more expensive just for a bridge. He also did a new bridgeplate at the same time, and the cost for the bridge and bridgeplate part of the entire job was about $450-$500 US.

 

He used a piece of very dark Brazilian, to match the fretboard:

 

 

I don't know if luthiers in Canada can still use Brazilian rosewood or not. If not, I would b e a shame to lose the original, if it hasn't been shaved down over the years. At the same time--as has been mentioned--if the old bridge has an adjustable saddle, this might be a good time to convert to a conventional bridge and saddle.