Anybody install this bridge plate mate?

[schoolie1]

I have a guitar with a messed up bridge, after 20 years of playing. Would this product extend the life of the bridge on a new guitar?

 

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bridges,_tailpieces/Acoustic_guitar_bridges/Plate_Mate.html

 

ANybody install one of these? Does it really improve tone too?

 

 

My luthier told me that slotted bridge pins are the worst development as far as bridge longevity. He told me that I should insert the bridge pins with the slot facing away from the string. Any truth to that?

 

 

By the way, I'm really liking HCAG! Nice group of people:thu:

 

Thanks,

 

Rob

[Terry Allan Hall]

Never used one, but the premise sounds reasonable...besides, Stew-Mac doesn't sell crap!

 

For less than $25, it sound like something you'd do well to try...having a new bridgeplate installed will cost quite a bit more.

[Galabar]

I installed this on an Epiphone that I had. I don't notice too much difference in tone (maybe some improvement). I got it from here:

 

http://www.mitchelsplatemate.com/3.html

 

I think these are actually called "Mitchel's PlateMate". The website seems to be going through some changes -- you may want to mail Mitchel directly.

[Grant Harding]

I haven't used the plate mate, but I've done something similar on a couple of guitars (FG180 & FG450SA).

 

I took a really nice thick ebony bridge blank, cut a piece off, and shaped a psuedo plate mate, with recessed dishes for the string balls to sit in. Lighlty glued into place and the bridge modified so the strings can lock in. The bridge pins are pretty much cosmetic, except that they add a bit more ebony mass.

 

The result is really good. The sustain and projection are both noticeably better and it's warmer than brass. The tuning is rock solid as well.

[Freeman Keller]

I agree with your tech, but in somewhat milder terms (after all most manufacturers use slotted pins on very high end guitars). But a correctly slotted bridge with either unslotted pins or turned around is probably a better way to go.

 

As far as the plate mate, it will probably fix the problem, but also may kill some tone (after all, it is going to add a lot of mass to the bridge plate). I've had lighter plates installed in both my old Martins and it improved the tone and volume dramatically - adding mass can only hurt. Bryan Kimsey (google or follow the link at the Links section of the Annex) talks about bridge plates, slotting and ramping, pins and even shows a picture of a plate mate (he calls it a "tone killer"). If your bridge plate is really damaged it can be replaced, again Bryan's price list will tell you about how much (he did my Martins)

[exhaust_49]

 

I have a guitar with a messed up bridge, after 20 years of playing. Would this product extend the life of the bridge on a new guitar? http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bridges,_tailpieces/Acoustic_guitar_bridges/Plate_Mate.html ANybody install one of these? Does it really improve tone too? My luthier told me that slotted bridge pins are the worst development as far as bridge longevity. He told me that I should insert the bridge pins with the slot facing away from the string. Any truth to that? By the way, I'm really liking HCAG! Nice group of people:thu: Thanks, Rob

 

 

I bought and tried one of these plate mates with the same idea that you have...to extend the life of the bridge plate on my guitar. For a while I thought I liked it. After about a year of using it, I tried taking it off. Well, without the plate mate the sound of my guitar is so much woodier. I haven't used it since. I also plan to have slots cut into each bridge pin hole so that I can use solid pins. I have been reading up on this and every book I have read (written by a luthier) recommends doing this to avoid bridge plate wear.

[Hudman]

Wow, $22.95 for a 2" piece of brass sheet metal with holes in it.

 

Nice profit margin on that product.

[Galabar]

Wow, $22.95 for a 2" piece of brass sheet metal with holes in it. Nice profit margin on that product.

 

Hey, it also has little indentations for the strings in the holes.

 

Seriously though, it was great to not have to come up with something myself for my Epiphone. It is actually very thin and light, so I don't think it will have much impact on the guitars sound (I thought mine sounded a little brighter with a bit more volume, but I could have been imagining things).

 

As mentioned, you can also fashion your own thin ebony "platmate", but that takes some time and effort. Maybe this Mitchel guy should branch out to other materials.

 

Thanks to folks for pointing out the solid pin thing. However, that won't help a bridge plate that is already chewed up. This seems like a good quick fix if you've got a moderately priced guitar with bridge plate issues (if you've got a vintage Martin, pay to have it fixed).

[Bert]

Martin Marquis strings are supposed to keep the wear down with their silk wrappings. Sounds like a cheaper way to go......

[BlackAngusYoung]

I just found this thread while researching the Plate Mate because it was recommended to me by a user in another guitar forum... a user called bbsailor at the Music Electronics Forum in a thread about string grounds.

 

He suggested I use the Plate Mate for what he says is an undocumented use. I'm not sure if it's his original idea or where it came from, but thought people in this thread would find it interesting. Seems like a good idea to me but I haven't tried it yet.

 

I have an acoustic guitar with a magnetic pickup. It makes a humming noise that goes away when I touch the metal on the output jack. bbsailor suggested I install a Plate Mate and solder a wire between it and the ground on the output jack.

With the string ends resting in the grounded Plate Mate, the strings would be ground like on an electric guitar (I think???) and I shouldn't have a hum problem while I'm touching the strings.

....but does anyone know if I could maybe have an electrocution problem? I think I'd dislike that.

 

I don't know a lot about this stuff yet, but this sounds like an inventive solution. I'd appreciate any input, especially if anyone's already tried this.

 

-BlackAngusYoung

ps

Longtime Harmony Central Reviews fan... excited about finally joining the Forum today! The reviews have sure helped me a lot and I'm sure the forum will too. I look forward to contributing whatever I can.

[guitarcapo]

I know that some luthiers will heat the bridge plate and remove it entirely to replace it. That always seemed a bit excessive, prone to damage the soundboard from the heat...and difficult to me. My usual fix is to get a very thin piece of ebony a little smaller than the plate but of the same rough dimensions and just glue it over the plate with hide glue. Then just drill holes from above. The ebony is pretty thin so it doesn't seem to effect tone much at all and it's less prone to that contact wear than maple. In my opinion it buys you a few decades (I've never had to address a worn out ebony strip ever again) and in theory you can always remove the ebony or the whole plate later if you ever needed too so it's not a permanent alteration of the guitar. Same idea as that Stew Mac contraption without dealing with metal there...and a lot cheaper.

[Grant Harding]

I like the concept of the bridge mate, but could never get my head around the price that they want. I shape my own out of ebony bridge blanks and slot the bridge so that the strings dive down at a steeper angle than normal.

 

The bridge pins are just there in the event that one of the ball-ends slips out, but it's never happened. Great party trick to pull a bridge pin out after a song, pretend to inspect it, then stick it back in.

[DeepEnd]

Beyond being grossly overpriced (don't forget to add $8.50 for shipping, which brings the total to $31.47), you'll be adding mass to the bridge plate. Whether you'll like the result is debatable.

[seagullplayer77]

Wow, $22.95 for a 2" piece of brass sheet metal with holes in it. Nice profit margin on that product.

 

My thoughts too. I doubt the local hardware store would carry brass blanks of that particular size, but . . . damn. That's a lot of money for a pretty simple item.

 

The premise is interesting and it makes sense. All those ball ends take their toll on the bridge plate over time, I suppose. But I can't help but wonder if this is just some kind of gimmick. Sell a piece of metal with some holes in it, say it keeps your guitar in good shape, and sell it for a small fortune. Seems fishy to me .

[Grant Harding]

Or you could just buy one to use as a template for your own...

[Gary Palmer]

 

I just found this thread while researching the Plate Mate because it was recommended to me by a user in another guitar forum... a user called bbsailor at the Music Electronics Forum in a thread about string grounds. He suggested I use the Plate Mate for what he says is an undocumented use. I'm not sure if it's his original idea or where it came from, but thought people in this thread would find it interesting. Seems like a good idea to me but I haven't tried it yet. I have an acoustic guitar with a magnetic pickup. It makes a humming noise that goes away when I touch the metal on the output jack. bbsailor suggested I install a Plate Mate and solder a wire between it and the ground on the output jack. With the string ends resting in the grounded Plate Mate, the strings would be ground like on an electric guitar (I think???) and I shouldn't have a hum problem while I'm touching the strings. ....but does anyone know if I could maybe have an electrocution problem? I think I'd dislike that. I don't know a lot about this stuff yet, but this sounds like an inventive solution. I'd appreciate any input, especially if anyone's already tried this. -BlackAngusYoung ps Longtime Harmony Central Reviews fan... excited about finally joining the Forum today! The reviews have sure helped me a lot and I'm sure the forum will too. I look forward to contributing whatever I can.

 

 

 

It seems nobody has read your post and perhaps it may have paid to creat a new thread.

 

I assume the pickup is a single coil, but what brand is it and was it installed on a DIY basis? This can help identify a potential solution, but checking for breaks in wires/bad connections, slackness in the output jack and the ground on your amp should also help.

[DeepEnd]

 

It seems nobody has read your post and perhaps it may have paid to creat a new thread. . . .

 

Actually I did read his post but I'm not an electric player and my knowledge of electronics is sufficiently minimal that I knew any direct reply of mine would be essentially useless. I chose instead to comment on the Plate Mate itself.

[Gary Palmer]

 

Actually I did read his post but I'm not an electric player and my knowledge of electronics is sufficiently minimal that I knew any direct reply of mine would be essentially useless. I chose instead to comment on the Plate Mate itself.

 

 

I can totally understand your's and everyone else comments regarding the Plate Mate, but this old thread (Jan '09) was only resurrected so someone could ask a question regarding it's potential use as part of a grounding/earthing device.

[Guitar Hack]

 

Martin Marquis strings are supposed to keep the wear down with their silk wrappings. Sounds like a cheaper way to go......

 

 

I used to use those but the silk windings kept getting caught in the groove in the bridge pins and they would pull out when you tightened the string. I switched to SP's as a result.

[BlackAngusYoung]

I ended up making my own version of the plate mate out of a cheap souvenir miniature serving tray. It works great. The buzz/hum problem I had is no longer!

 

Since Ibanez is originally from Spain... I thought it was kinda funny to use a souvenir from Spain to fix it... and both are made in China!

 

[knockwood]

It's probably just that I'm stupid, but I cannot fathom WTF difference it makes in terms of bridge plate wear whether the bridge itself or the pins are slotted. I'm sure the logic is there somewhere if a bunch o' luthiers feel so strongly about it, but offhand I just don't see it. I always figured the idea of slotting a bridge had to do with break angle.

 

I'm wondering if bridge plates are a component where micarta might come in very handy. It's strong as {censored} and extremely light.

 

And how the hell do you install this brass thingy way deep up in the soundhole with the holes lined up perfectly? Seems about as easy as sticking your elbow in your ear.

[Grant Harding]

Interesting idea with the grounding! Still feels a bit over the top to me, as my Fishman soundhole pup has a battery in it and is virtually silent, even with gain.

 

knockwood -I do the slotting of the bridge for other reasons, not reducing wear. By slotting the holes in the bridge, the strings dive down over the bridge and LOCK in place against the bridge plate. This increases the break angle (great for those old guitars with only a sliver of saddle left) and improves tuning stability, since you're not relying on friction to keep things tight.

[Grant Harding]

And like I said - it makes a great stage trick. If your guitar goes out of tune, you can pull a bridge pin out, inspect it closely, then put it back in and tune up. The guitarists in the crowd go WTF????

[BlackAngusYoung]

 

And how the hell do you install this brass thingy way deep up in the soundhole with the holes lined up perfectly? Seems about as easy as sticking your elbow in your ear.

 

 

Yes. It was very difficult to use double-stick tape as suggested and get the holes lined up, since it's stuck as soon as you touch it. And since my guitar is especially thin. Wouldn't be as hard on a dreadnought or jumbo.

 

But you don't actually have to stick it there with tape. All six strings are clamping the plate against the wood, and you know how much tension that is! It's easy to just hold it in the guitar with one hand while you put the first couple string ends through the holes. Once there's a peg or two jammed in there, the plate will stay even when it's not tuned up. Just have to remember that it's there when you're taking the strings off again.

 

I know it's kind of a weird idea and my homemade piece is a little wonky looking, but it has greatly improved the guitar. I used to be really annoyed with it but now it sounds awesome. Haven't tried it with an acoustic amp yet, but through an electric tube amp it reminds me of a hollow or semi-hollow. Like the Kay Jack White plays sometimes.

[Bridgepin]

I have a guitar with a messed up bridge, after 20 years of playing. Would this product extend the life of the bridge on a new guitar? http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bridges,_tailpieces/Acoustic_guitar_bridges/Plate_Mate.html ANybody install one of these? Does it really improve tone too?

 

Yes I have used them and still use them, I think that they work great and I'm glad to pay the twenty something dollars to stop the damage that the ball end of the strings have done to the bridge plate and prevent the posible damage to my guitar top once the ball ends are through the plate. They say it is a temporary fix, well I have had it on one guitar for 3 years and it still works fine. I like what it did for the tone of the guitar it added volume and sustain.... Now how to install, just remove the strings and the bridgepins, take one bridgepin ( the high E sting ) stick in hole, remove paper, on plate mate, with plate mate in hand reach inside the guitar find the bridgepin with your finger slip the plate mate on the the end of the bridgepin DON'T push the plate mate to the top yet, now take one more bridgepin stick it in the (low E string ) hole ( OooooO ) slip the plate mate on to the end of that bridgepin and now push it up to the top make sure you hold down the bridgepins so they don't come out and BINGO lines up dead nuts, push the plate mate against the bridge plate so that it sticks now check to see that all your bridgepins will seat all the way down with out hitting the plate mate, if they don't go all the way down remove the pin use a small round file and inlarge the hole in the plate mate, make sure you put a rag inside your guitar to catch the file shavings and that's it