INSTALLING THE
JLD BRIDGE SYSTEM
PART 5: FINAL ADJUSTMENT
GUITARS WITH FLAT TOPS
If you are installing the JLD Bridge System in a guitar which has no problems with a pulled up top (Rub your fingers across the top from side to side behind the bridge. You might be surprised to find a high spot there.), simply use a 3/16 alan key to tighten the adjustent screw. Once the soundpost contacts the tailblock, give the adjustment screw another twist or two and you're finished.
Overtightening the soundpost will cause the guitar to have a nasal, thin sound. The post should be tight enough to make firm contact with the tailblock but it is not necessary to exert any significant pressure unless you are fixing a warped top.
GUITARS WITH PULLED UP TOPS
Here's where we use the JLD Bridge System to permanantly pull the belly out of a warped top. If your top is severely warped, you might want to go through this procedure slowly over the course of a day or two. Some tops can take 50 years to pull up. An old top is stubborn and set in its ways. We want to be gentle but firm.
Let's look at a guitar with a warped top and a JLD Bridge System installed but not tightened. (The System shown is an earlier prototype but the principle is the same.)
Notice that the soundpost is angled up because of the warpage of the top. Using a 3/16 alan key, tighten the adjustment screw until the soundpost makes snug but not tight contact with the tailblock.
Reach into the soundhole and grab the Bridge System, pulling it slowly towards the soundhole at the bottom until you feel the soundpost "skip" down the tailblock.
Repeat the procedure until the top is flat and the soundpost is parellel to the top.
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