JLD Bridge Doctor

I've used the Bridge Doctor on guitars from the 60's, Spanish, and even Ovations. It never ceases to amaze me in how it can bring the belly down in an acoustic. It's simple to install, creates a beautiful sustain and resonates outstandingly in any acoustic you put it in!

I bought one of these to fix a belly in an old guitar and the installation was straightforward and it seems to have fixed the belly. I will use one of these to remove the belly from a 12 string guitar in the near future and I expect a similar result, a good bit of kit.

I highly recommend the Bridge Doctor if you have some experience building or repairing guitars. It's a very simple device, but installation has a few twists. You need to be able to control the depth of the hole you drill. Don't use tape, use a physically robust stop like a collar. Also, a neat trick, if you have any, is to use a very thin piece of scrap rosewood to cover the hole instead of the included pearl dot. Your repair can be virtually invisible if you want. This is for the screw mount item. I haven't used the brass pin Bridge Doctor.

if your buying the bridge doctor. i would recommend getting a hard wood or stronger dowl rod . mine just snapped in half. dowl is like bolsa wood . i had a piece of solid dowl same specs and used that.

I have a 38 year old 12 string Ibinez guitar signed by Tanya Tucker and Collin Ray. Been through alot this guitar and I, hated when it had bulged so much down by the bridge that it was hard to play. I took it to an expert for a quote on getting it fixed a few years back, was told it would cost more to fix than the guitar was worth. Recently was in a music store looking at another 12 string, got to talking and was told about the Bridge Doctor. I purchased two screw mount Bridge Doctors, one for my old Ibinez and one for the new Takamimi. Amazing results.

I can play my old 12 string and it is as good as when new. The second was put on my new one for preventive maintence. Both sound real pretty, play beautiful and I didn't have to spend $500 to bring life back to my good ole Ibinez. I would recomend the Bridge Doctor and this company to everyone. Fast shipping, Great results, a win win situation!!!

I had a 20+ year old Cort Dreadnought with, among other things, a separated bridge that had been originally glued over the finish (ten years of attic storage, bad idea). After fixing this, I still had the problem of a badly bellied guitar. Gave this a try, and couldn't be happier (used the screw-mount model). I think it actually sounds better than it did, when new. It's definitely got a lot better low end. Brought it into a music store, since they didn't believe that this old, cheap, Korean instrument could sound as good as their big name premium models. Only their top "ask before testing" models could beat it. Mine cost me under $400, and had been anything but pampered, for a couple of decades. They couldn't believe the sound, either. Sound is subjective, I know, but there were three guys in the room who actually deal with instruments every day. I think the very vocal "expert" I'd originally discussed it with was actually a bit embarrassed. I'll be using this again, if I have other acoustics. Thanks to this little guy, however, I don't need a new one, now.

I have an older guitar that i had to ship to another state to have the bridge & pickguard reguled. I also had some fretwork done to this guitar in a neighboring town. The bridge again was starting to separate and it did have a bellying problem when i bought it used but I did not want to put a lot more money into it. But it does have a nice aged sound. So I read all the reviews here and what ever information I could find before ordering, as i did not have much choice than to let the guitar sit or sell it as is. So i ordered the JLD Bridge Doctor and took my time installing it. It works. My guitar is much improved. I tightened it after a couple weeks. It sounds, plays, and looks a lot better. This is a great product. Thanks for a great product and to the others for writing their reviews. That helped me a lot.

This thing is really amazing - so simple, yet so perfect. You'd think that adding mass would deaden the guitar, but because of the redistribution of tension, it actually opened up the guitars I put them on - and besides, unless it's an instrument of great collector value, what's the point of a guitar you can't play? In the case of my '68 Goya Cowboy T-23 Verihuge, or whatever it's called, it made the guitar "tighter" sounding sort of like it has compression on it - which I guess it does in a way - but the bottom is still fat. It's not the thinnest top in the world, but it's aged beautifully, and the materials are superb. So it's sort of big and warm now, and also - PLAYABLE! On the other hand, my Larrivee D-03 that I got 2nd hand (serial 083!) has a VERY thin top - a beautiful design, but fragile - not suited for the dry NM climate, or at least w/o careful humidification - was cracked and bulging/sinking like mad. I filled the cracks with Titebond II several times over a few months and then added the Doctor. WOW - not only did it become playable (very nice) it got punch like it probably had new - but as it's oldish now, warm and sweet too. The idea of relieving tension on the lower body behind the bridge is real, I believe. It seems to allow the booty to come back to the instrument.*******All-in-all? Easy to install if you have any mechanical skill, and a real life extender for my bunch of possible has-beens. I'd recommend professional installation for those who are not adept with tools - all I care about is tone, and you can easily mess up the looks of your baby if that matters to you.

Pretty slick arrangement. Simple to do, just try not to misplace that little white thingie! It is in the Twilight Zone as far as I can figure. And I really dont know where to find the silly thing, So i painted the screw black and it works for the $40 guitar it is installed in. Sound got better too.

I used the brass pin version on a twelve string with a significant belly and got very satisfactory results. I'm sure a more discerning ear might notice a change in the sound, but it sounded like a big, jangly 12 string before and it still sounds like a big, jangly 12 string.

Not sure what the problem is that some people seem to be having with the instructions, as they seemed pretty straightforward to me. Just know that the instructions are included for both pin and screw versions and don't confuse the two.

I would also recommend de-burring the string holes on the pins prior to installation.