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The woods used in the back and sides (and even in the neck) of
a guitar have a significant impact on tone. That's why some players
prefer guitars with rosewood, mahogany, maple, koa or other body
woods. Each has certain tonal qualities which it imparts to the
guitar.
The back and sides of a traditionally designed guitar are caused
to vibrate in one of two ways. The illustration below depicts
a cutaway view of a guitar which has been sliced transversely
between the soundhole and the bridge. We are looking down into
the guitar towards the tailblock.
The vibration must either travel from the bridge, through the
top, through the sides and finally into the back. (See red arrows)
or
The vibration must travel from the bridge and top through the
air cavity within the guitar before it is transferred to the back
and sides. (See green arrows)
This means that the back and sides of a traditionally designed
guitar are only receiving "second hand" vibrations from the top.
Now let's slice the guitar straight down the fingerboard to the
endpin and look into the body from the side.
If we add a JLD Bridge System to the guitar, the soundpost connects the bridge directly to
the tailblock of the instrument. The tailblock is glued directly
to the sides and back as well as the top of the guitar.
The JLD Bridge System has now provided a direct conduit for string vibration to flow
directly from the bridge and into the body woods of the guitar.
The result is to give your guitar more of what it already has.
It simply allows the whole body of the guitar to work more efficiently
and you can easily feel the difference in how your guitar vibrates
all the way to the tip of the headstock. Aside from making the
guitar louder and adding sustain, the JLD Bridge System tends
to make the guitar a little richer in the midranges - a quality
that we seek in older, "seasoned" instruments. Think of it as
aging the sound of your guitar about 50 years without adding 50
years of wear and tear.
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