Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi folks. I was looking around Breedlove's web page and thought this was quite interesting...

http://www.breedloveguitars.com/gallery/02/index.html

   I thought to myself... if there was enough tension on that truss, you would have a top w/no tension on it. Or at least a neutral balance. Does it make the bridge like a fixed point? Normal string tension in a sense gets the bridge close to a fixed point. Does the tension on the top itself contribute to vibration? Will it, being neutral, lose some acoustical advantages? Just maybe my mind wandering too much.

Okay I'll say it - I think Breedloves sound like poo. There are folks that I
respect who really like them so there must be some desirable attributes to
thier tone, but they've never done much for me.

I still think of the "Bridge Doctor" as a last resort/quick fix for a cheap
guitar. I might stick one in a collapsing 12 string Giannini Craviola top, but I
wouldn't use them in a case where I was at all concerned with the guitar's
sound.

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Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.

[QUOTE=ToddStock] I think neutral tension is a bit misleading...the compressive load on the soundboard from string pull is certainly still there, as is the download from the saddle, so as far as I can see, only the torsional load is reacted by the Bridge Doctor.   The system should still allow brace and top thickness reduction; however, at least on the Breedloves I've seen, the tops and braces looked about as heavy as more conventionally constructed instruments in the same price range.[/QUOTE]

If you are REALLY BRAVE, remove the Bridge Dr. and see what the top of the Breedlove does!

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Hank Mauel

Played two Breedloves with the JDL system.... didn't anything for me...on the contrary!

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com