Bridge slotting

[Meathead]

Very interesting video.  Has anyone performed this mod on any of their acoustics?

[sleigh]

Interesting, though I'm not hearing a huge difference in the sound before and after, which makes me wonder if this modification's worth the effort involved. I too would be curious to hear from someone here who has done this mod.

[AlanSam]

Totally agree with Steve - the sound doesn't seem very different. Also, a test where the tester strumming the guitar doesn't know which guitar (modified/unmodified) they are playing would seem preferable. Finally, if you go to the trouble of producing this vid, is it beyond the ken of man to buy, steal or borrow a camera appropriate for displaying the ball-end of the string anchored against the bottom edge of the bridge? Good sales spiel though.

[Rens]

I do hear a tiny bit of a difference but not enough to justify that, I feel. Plus, you don't A/B them at home, so...

I do think it'd be a more useful video if he just played a song and would go in between slotted and unslotted.

[TomC]

I have done 3-4. My E40OM sounded a little fuller with better sustain. I think it is more a case of protecting the bridge plate over a longer period of time. My John Walker Wise River and Bourgeois came with slotted bridges and unslotted pins.

[Zissou Intern]

All three of mine are slotted bridges with slotless pins. Two of them came that way, and I slotted the third one myself. I have slotted probably 10-12 guitars. As Tom, said it is more for longterm bridge plate health than tone, but I think they sound better slotted... probably more of a self fulfilling delusion than reality.

[Jure]

I have done this mod along with ramping the bridge to a guitars with low saddle. It worked very well.

[Meathead]

Great feedback... thanks all.  For those who have performed the mod - what saw/blade did you use?

Something like this?  
https://www.amazon.com/StewMac-Acoustic-...B075RDR7PH

[TomC]

Tim
I have an Exacto kit that has a couple of small saws in it. The blades are a little thin, so I double up the blades for the wound strings. I have a file I use for ramping and finishing the width on the E and A strings.

Otherwise you can use the files (like above) or the saws here - https://www.stewmac.com/luthier-tools-an...ws--files/

Also StewMac was offering a free one year membership which includes shipping. I am not sure if they are still doing it.

[Zissou Intern]

I have one of the small Stew Mac slotting saws from 10-12 years ago. They only made one back then, and it's pretty narrow. I use a set of inexpensive needle files, like you'd find at Michael's or Harbor Freight, to widen and finish off the slots.