Bridge Repair & Installation

This acoustic guitar came into our shop to have it's bridge moved because it was improperly installed in the wrong location at the factory in China. It was a good sounding and playing guitar, had a solid spruce top and rosewood back, but we knew the sound could be much improved by resetting the bridge.

At the factory, the bridge was originally installed nearly a quarter of an inch too far (15/64 to be exact) which caused the intonation of the guitar to be completely off!

Once we removed the bridge, the existing pin holes were patched on both the top and bottom of the bridge plate inside the body of the guitar. The patches are made from spruce to match the top wood, and their grain pattern go in the same direction for a seamless appearance.

Below: Showing the inside of the guitar. Three of the plugs are installed. We needed to do every-other-one, let them dry, then cut and install the next three. Doing all 6 at once would cause cutting the holes to be inaccurate.

Below: This picture shows the top with the bridge removed. One of the top plugs has been installed, notice how the direction of the grain matches. The lines on the masking tape show the new bridge location.


Below: All 6 plugs installed on the inside of the guitar. Again, the grain direction matches.


Below: This is the top of the guitar, all 6 plugs have been installed and new wholes have been cut for the strings/bridge pins. Also the finish has been removed in the area where the bridge will be placed. This wood to wood contact will ensure a good bond.


Below: After the patches were in place, new holes were drilled for the new string positions. To make sure the bridge would have a strong union with the top, the existing lacquer finish was removed where it would would be glued together. Finally the bridge was glued in its new position and the guitar was restrung and tuned.  Note: At the request of the customer, we did not cover the “battle scar” behind the bridge with any finish (although we did use sealer to protect the wood).

The result is a guitar that plays in tune across the neck, and also has a sound that opened up because the bridge is where it should be! Not to mention a happy customer!

Do you need your guitar repaired? Contact Damm Music today or learn more about our instrument repair services.