The Guitar Gallery Forums - The Guitar Legacy of Matsumoku

Right, that's the DC59 I mentioned. Also the '63. Both are essentially the same electronically and have the Masonite over spruce bracing construction. I'm fairly confident that there has to be a solid block under the bridge plate or they couldn't sink 3 screws into the body! There must be room under there for one more.
Ah yes, dear Marcy. I emailed her quite some time ago trying to find a source or a spec for the paint used on these reissues; I have several chips and dings I'd love to repair. She referred me to some VP of something-or-other who was very prompt and polite but basically said that there ain't none! Colours were mixed for the reissue run and that was it. No records. No specs. Bugger all.
But, just for fun, I'll send her a note to see if they can give me any info at all.

Whatever the final solution, I need to first flatten out the plate. I don't have a vise, but I do have one of those Black and Decker Work Mate's which has an adjustable, vise-like top (wooden laminate) which I could use to "squish" it back together without scratching or damaging it. That should do nicely methinks. Then I think I'll be attempting the wood screw fix...seems like the most reasonable and direct way to go. Not sure when I'll be able to do it, I still have an Urchin to finish, and a wife on the war path. Always something.(sigh)

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"A little song, a little dance. A little seltzer down your pants." -Chuckles the Clown
Guitars: https://legend.barryeames.com
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Right.
Couldn't stand it any more, and since I love frustration, i just had to try again.
I actually bought a package of #10 x 1-1/2 hex head wood screws, but when I compared them to the wood screws on the bridge they were just too big, and I thought better of it. I decided instead to test it all out with a non-invasive solution first (thanks Nevin)...flat washers!

But first I had to take her all apart again. I don't know what in hell happened but the truss rod nut had somehow loosened or the rod settled or something, and the neck had a lovely dip in it! So-o-o-o-o off she came again for another adjustment. (sigh)

Then it was time for the bridge plate. I removed the wooden saddle and this is how it looked:



I popped it into the clamping table and squeezed the bugger as far as it would go. Almost but not quite, so I put it in the end of the table and "encouraged" it some more with a small impact hammer!


That worked:


It took two tries to get a suitable combination of washers under the bridge, which meant having to remove and reinstall the strings each time, and set up the string height etc., etc. Sorry the pix are not the best; taken indoors.

You can just make out the two flat washers under the bridge. I used double sided tape to hold them together and to the underside of the plate until things were tightened up.


All in all a frustrating guitar to set up, but it seems not too bad now. Except I'm reconsidering the 10's.

_________________
"A little song, a little dance. A little seltzer down your pants." -Chuckles the Clown
Guitars: https://legend.barryeames.com
Music/Pix/Videos: https://getback.barryeames.com

Do the bridge "end-pins" always cant forward like that?

Seeing what the "main" base plate of the bridge looks like, I'd be REALLY inclined to epoxy a metal plate to the underside to reinforce it--shaping it to leave clearance for the slots & miscellaneous holes...

...but if this works, great (maybe use a bigger piece [surface area] of wood or metal against the body, though).

Actually, I think the most elegant (if somewhat labor-intensive) approach would be to fabricate a new bridge plate out of thicker metal. Drill three holes, cut six slots and hacksaw, grind and file to shape. If you use stainless steel you wouldn't need to have it plated.

If you're referring to those highly expensive wood screws ( ) they're actually 90° to the top; it's just the picture angle that isn't too good.

The plate does not sit flat on top, it leans against the head, and the only thing actually holding the plate to the body is the single rear screw! You adjust the front screws through the holes in the plate which raises of lowers it for string setup; and the screw in the rear also allows the saddle a small amount of adjustment by pitching the the plate up or down.

The available replacement bridge is somewhat better since it has individual saddles, but it has a weird sliding set screw arrangement to set the intonation which requires that the string be loosened first! Bizarre. And it's expensive for what it is.

But the sound of these guitars is amazing, and worth the nuisance of setup. And if you want to understand electric guitars at the most fundamental level you can't get much more basic than a Dano!

_________________
"A little song, a little dance. A little seltzer down your pants." -Chuckles the Clown
Guitars: https://legend.barryeames.com
Music/Pix/Videos: https://getback.barryeames.com

While I agree in principle with Bohop Rebebop, that much cutting & drilling with even soft stainless is a lot of work & can be rough on your tools--not to mention your hands & your patience.

I'm proposing adding a piece of metal narrower than the string "posts" that would stop short of the center screw hole & string slots. The major work there would be roughing up the bonding sides of the metal, then clamping them together. However, if a screw or a stack of washers works & poses no threat of structural damage, I'd declare victory & play.
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As for the "Dano tone", I get the "lipstick tube" sound from an Ibanez Talman (TC830BT, the "holy grail" of the 3 lipstick tube Talmans). While it has a maple-capped alder body, the big universal 1-hole "swimming pool" pickup rout combined with the control cavity route gives it a Dano vibe on a pretty stable platform.

The problem: FedEx beat it to death. The guy I bought it from paid FedEx (one of those "contract stores") to pack it & walked out the door. And what did they do, you ask? They took the guitar out of the gig bag, wrapped it in one ply of bubble wrap, stuck it back in the gig bag, & shipped it that way across the continental United States. NO BOX, therefore NO EXTRA PADDING.

The good news: I bought it at less than half of collector book, & since the damage isn't visible from the front when I'm playing, I showed their inspector the guitar, we agreed at a price it would be worth in its current condition, & he cut me a check for the difference between that & what I paid. It still makes me a little nauseous that close to $500 of it's value went up in smoke (or perhaps I should say "down in dents"), but it's still a good player.

The only thing about it I don't like is how small the body is--when I play it, I look like David Hidalgo playing a tricked-out dinky Jazzmaster that's about the size of a Duo Sonic (I'm 6' 2" & two hundred & plenty pounds--but losing).

One weakness that all of the above solutions to Barry's sagging bridge problem share is that they are all likely to dampen the way the bridge vibrates to one degree or another.

From a tonal standpoint, might it be better just to accept that the thing is going to sag and just install a new saddle with more of an arch?

True enough Bohop, and I thought about that possibility too.
The main reason I'm reluctant to swap it out in the first place is that I'm trying not to change the tone. Using metal washers instead of wood is an attempt in that direction. Meantime, I'm waiting on a reply from Danelectro's "Marcy" to see if there's any direction from them (I'll not hold my breath on that one!).

Of course the problem with replacing the saddle with a thicker one, besides the pain in the arse of making it, is that there's no guarantee that the bloody plate won't continue collapsing, necessitating yet another saddle. And once it touched the body would it not be doing the same thing as the washers at that point?

_________________
"A little song, a little dance. A little seltzer down your pants." -Chuckles the Clown
Guitars: https://legend.barryeames.com
Music/Pix/Videos: https://getback.barryeames.com

Interesting looking guitar Slo. Didn't know about this one before.
For those who may be interested I found a cat scan here: http://www.ibanezrules.com/catalogs/us/1996/96009.jpg

_________________
"A little song, a little dance. A little seltzer down your pants." -Chuckles the Clown
Guitars: https://legend.barryeames.com
Music/Pix/Videos: https://getback.barryeames.com

OK, here's another idea.

You could make a new saddle with the middle third of the bottom cut away so that only the outer two thirds rest on the metal bridge (sort of like an archtop guitar or violin bridge). That would reduce the tendency of the plate to bend. I don't know if you could make the saddle tall enough for this to work ,though.