Replacement footer and badge for my '63 Kessel

[jzucker]

Somehow, I don't think you can go wrong with Brazilian rosewood. It is a celebrated guitar tonewood for good reason. If that were an option for me, that would be my choice.

I have a Dupont bridge that is black, but it has the word "Brazilian" handwritten underneath. It is from 1993 and came with the guitar (his upmodel MD-20) when new. It looks and sounds great, so you could use "ebonized" Brazilian if your luthier can figure out how to "ebonize" it. Contact Tommy Davy at Django guitars. He will know how to do that.

TOMMY DAVY

thanks. I compared the bridge base on my kessel (oiled brazilian) to the one on the L4 and they are very similar in darkness but the oiled brazilian is a shade lighter. He wants $150 for a base and $150 for the top . Maybe I'll just have him make a topper and if I like it enough, I can always have him make a matching base.

[RJVB]

Somehow, I don't think you can go wrong with Brazilian rosewood. It is a celebrated guitar tonewood for good reason.

There are also very good reasons why one could go wrong with adding BRW to a guitar, but that aside, is there really a reason to believe that the properties that make BRW a "celebrated" tonewood are relevant for making a bridge/saddle out of it? Rosewoods used as B&S are known for "boosting" the highs and lows at the expense of the middle register. That doesn't sound like something you'd want in a bridge/saddle.
(Spruce and red cedar are also celebrated tonewoods, but I don't think anyone would even attempt to use them as a bridge/saddle.)

[bluejaybill]

There are also very good reasons why one could go wrong with adding BRW to a guitar, but that aside, is there really a reason to believe that the properties that make BRW a "celebrated" tonewood are relevant for making a bridge/saddle out of it? Rosewoods used as B&S are known for "boosting" the highs and lows at the expense of the middle register. That doesn't sound like something you'd want in a bridge/saddle.
(Spruce and red cedar are also celebrated tonewoods, but I don't think anyone would even attempt to use them as a bridge/saddle.)

BRW has been used for bridges and saddles by Gibson for so long that I honestly don't know when they started! Flat tops (bridges) and arch tops (base and saddle, for instance ES175 before tunamatics), and it is a fine wood for that.

As fr as BRW backs and sides boosting highs and lows, I would say maybe, it depends. Maybe more than mahogany, as an example, and maybe less bright than maple, in my experience. But I think it depends on the guitar.

I have a BRW Martin 00028, it is warm, mellow, bright, not too bassy, everything I would want in an acoustic.

I also have a BRW D28, that guitar does have more highs and lows.

[rolijen]

i'm going to try wood on the L4 1st and then if it goes well, maybe gradually replace on my other ones. Any experience with this bridge?

https://www.stewmac.com/parts-and-ha...-guitar-bridge

or

Archtop guitar ebony bridge for jazz guitar | eBay

I’ve used both those bridges. The StewMac/Benny bridge is a good quality piece.

The replica propeller inlay bridge is also good but quite a bit smaller than an OEM Gibson bridge. Although it sounded good on a laminate top Broadway, I eventually went with a bridge with a larger base.

[RJVB]

As fr as BRW backs and sides boosting highs and lows, I would say maybe, it depends. Maybe more than mahogany, as an example, and maybe less bright than maple, in my experience. But I think it depends on the guitar.

It always depends on a lot of factors including the particular pieces of wood themselves, but the consensus about B&I RW in particular is out there and corresponds to what I've heard in every comparison that makes sense. RW gives that awe,wow impression and then more often than not it becomes a bit tiresome for me, like if the instrument has an always-on "loudness" button like one used to find on old amplifiers. (Maple can sound bright but in reality it's pretty neutral and versatile in that it "shapes itself" to the sound you're after - the words of a Taylor engineer (?), not mine!)
FWIW, the use of BRW for B&S is relatively recent; even Torres used it only later in his career (IIRC he preferred maple).

For an acoustic archtop saddle+bridge I'd expect you want a hard, light wood with a high density and (thus) little internal damping. RW isn't as hard as ebony, it must have the other qualities, and one could imagine that the South-American rosewoods were a bit easier or cheaper to obtain for American guitar builders than (good) ebony. Most of the saddles I've seen on (photos of) vintage Gibson L5 archtops and family appear to be ebony btw.
I'd guess that wood for a typical flattop bridge just has to be light and relatively hard.

[wintermoon]

"Most of the saddles I've seen on (photos of) vintage Gibson L5 archtops and family appear to be ebony btw."

They were in the 20's then switched to BRW, then back to ebony in the 70s where they've remained since.

[RJVB]

They were in the 20's

That figures then, those are the ones I prefer

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

Except the fingerstylers …

You nailed it with that one, John!