Official Luthiers Forum!

The subject line is taken from http://home.provide.net/~cfh/martin.html#specs.

suggesting(?) / indicating(?) that prior to 1948 Martin "notched" their bridgeplates into the X-braces.

Any of you Martin experts know if this is true? Is it true for "0" models?

And what does "notched" mean, exactly? Lap joint? Rabbet joint?

Just trying to figure out what makes a 1943 Martin 0-18 that I heard the other day sound so big.

Larry

It's true. Martin notched not only the bridgeplate, but the other braces as well. The notches were the thickness of the brace or bridgeplate into the bottom of the X-brace, usually around 3/32" into the X. If you have a chance to look at one of these old guitars, the notches are usually clearly visible as the fit was not always perfect. Sometimes you can see the pencil marks where the notches were marked. As usual, there are several schools of thought as to whether the notches had any tonal effect.

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Jimmy Caldwell
http://www.caldwellguitars.com

Thanks for the good info.

A buddy wants to make an 0-18(ish) guitar, as well. I'll propose that we do one with and one without notching.

Maybe something to learn from the old masters here.

Thanks, again.

Larry

Sounds like it was a structural safety approach and they probably got rid of it since it must have been time consuming to do?

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Build log

It probably took too much time, didn't improve the sound and, perhaps more importantly, it made it a bear to replace once the plate was chewed up.

What it was , is that in the old days the glues didn't have the strength so the added surface of the joinery gave more glue surface area to "bite". As the glue got better , the joinery was no longer needed. The notching of the bridge plate also created repair issues to get them out clean and refit a new one.

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

I thought Martin used hide glue until the 60's?

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Build log

used Hide glue into the late 60's . they changed the production technique in the 40's.

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

So modern hide glue is stronger than the hide glue from the 40's ?

-jd