Bob Marsh Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 Hi again! If I bend your ears too much just give me a verbal slap - I ran across these photos while cleaning up my Flickker account and thought they may be of interest. Last year a client brought in his beautiful (but ailing) Maple J-200 - He said the bass strings wouldn't hold tuning and inspection revealed that the bridge was split from end to end. The folowing shows how we went about the repair which took a couple of days to complete - Another one back in service! I'll check my files for a photo of the finished project - The owner was very pleased with the replacement and the beautiful J-200 lives on.. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 . Really interesting. Love the details on how you guys accomplished that job. Thanks Bob. B) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilliangirl Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 That was fascinating! An Epilog Helix 60 watt laser? Learn something new every day! I hope you can find the follow-up one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PickitPaul Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 Great work! Oh, to have the tools & the knowledge to use them......makes work like this rewarding indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhanners623 Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 I don't think you can ever bend the ears of this audience too much with photos and descriptions like these. Really fine work. I've often wondered about the bridge of a J-200, though. Obviously, it is overly ornamental, a product of its time. But I wonder if, all things being equal, there would be any sonic differences between a moustache bridge and a "normal" bridge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devellis Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 Very interesting. Thanks for the excellent descriptions and photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-1854Me Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 I don't think you can ever bend the ears of this audience too much with photos and descriptions like these. Really fine work. I've often wondered about the bridge of a J-200, though. Obviously, it is overly ornamental, a product of its time. But I wonder if, all things being equal, there would be any sonic differences between a moustache bridge and a "normal" bridge. I can't think that there would be a discernible difference, apple-to-apple (so to speak). I say this based primarily on having owned an early-Bozeman J-100 which was in every respect the same guitar as the J-200 of the time, the main differences being largely cosmetic. The J-100 had the smaller, reverse-belly bridge, while the J-200 had its standard, "moustache" bridge. But under the hood, the both models were the same guitar. I showed the guitar to Ren Ferguson back in about '99 and he told me that these were among the best guitars they were making in sycamore (maple) back then (1989-91-ish). Here it is, with Ren: Fred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Marsh Posted April 3, 2011 Author Share Posted April 3, 2011 I'm sure there are far more people on the forum who could give and accurate answer on the sound quality of the bridge - All I know is when the J-200 was finished and I played it...it was a well balanced CANON indeed - Lovely guitar! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhanners623 Posted April 4, 2011 Share Posted April 4, 2011 I've got no doubt the thing is a cannon. It looks to me like the moustache bridge probably has a bigger contact area with the top than a normal bridge. And if the design were a dog, I'm sure Gibson would've ditched it long ago (remember plastic bridges?) and switched to something more traditional. That said, the moustache bridge is, I suppose, one of the things that makes a J-200 a J-200. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BUYSELLBROKER Posted April 4, 2011 Share Posted April 4, 2011 Are you a luthier by trade or hobby? Why can't one simply purchase a replacement bridge for the J-200? If so, how much would it cost for the part itself and labor?? Hope it never happens to my baby. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leray1 Posted April 4, 2011 Share Posted April 4, 2011 I want your job, Bob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Marsh Posted April 4, 2011 Author Share Posted April 4, 2011 jfitzoz, leray1, I'm not a luthier at all - By trade I'm a graphic artist, mostly screenprinting but have worked for a European pen manufacture here in the states doing all sorts of artwork for printing and laser engraving. After bringing my Martin to Bob Rigaud 5 or 6 years ago for repair work we talked about CNC milling, Laser engraving, etc. He visited Senator Pen and saw the Epilog lasers they had in action and decided to by one for his operation (Of 1 at that point) I started doing art and setup for him about 5 years ago and did quite a bit of exclusively inlaying for a while. Bob is being kind enough to teach me repairs in the times when the laser isn't so busy. Though I've done a couple things before this CF is the first large project I've done a lot on. Of course I can't take all the credit - Bob sees to it that things are done precisely and sometimes that means he does a critical operation himself.By and large I guess I'm a repairperson-in-training. leray1: sooooooo sorry....no, been waiting for something like this all my working life - I had to retire to get it! B Oh yeah, jfitzoz: It never occured to me to buy a bridge from Gibson - I really don't know what they might cost although I'm sure they have them - We're so used to fabricating about anything except electronics I guess I just went with it without thinking. B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 Very Nice retirement job. Congrats! Speeking of electronics....Do you guys install them or contract it out?? Rod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Marsh Posted April 5, 2011 Author Share Posted April 5, 2011 Hi Rod, Bob installs electronics in-house - He does a lot of business with Fishman and Lindy Fralin Pickups. I sent pics of a recent electric project via PM - you should have it by now. Cheers! Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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