Unhappy with sound after installing benedetto ebony bridge

[northernbreed]

so, you paid $32.95 for a gewgaw made in India, called Ebony, branded Benedetto, sold by Stew Mac and nothing could go wrong there? The last time I checked Walkin Japan a Gabon Ebony saddle, no base, costs JPY15500 i.e.about USD115. You do get what you pay for. Blackened wood in India is sometimes called Ebony when they are in fact Ebonised. You could be getting Ebonised Boxwood for all you know. For $32.95 that is somewhat more likely than not.

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ChatGPT really comes in handy at times. I knew there were multiple logical fallacies in your bellowing statement above. But I didn't know it was possible to pack so much BS in so few words.

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This statement contains several logical fallacies or flaws in reasoning. Here are the main ones:

1. Appeal to Authority (without Evidence)

The mention of "Walkin Japan" and their pricing is presented as an authoritative benchmark for what genuine ebony costs, implying that anything significantly cheaper must necessarily be inferior or fake. However, no evidence is provided to support the claim that the more expensive item is definitively superior or that the cheaper item cannot be genuine.

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2. False Equivalence

The statement compares a $32.95 product with a $115 product as if the price alone determines quality or authenticity. While cost can sometimes be an indicator of quality, it is not a definitive proof. Factors such as supply chains, labor costs, or manufacturing processes can all influence price without necessarily affecting quality.

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3. Hasty Generalization

The claim that "blackened wood in India is sometimes called Ebony when they are in fact Ebonised" assumes that this is likely true for the product in question without any evidence specific to this item. This is a generalization about products from India that unfairly casts doubt on this particular item.

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4. Appeal to Probability

The statement concludes that because "blackened wood in India is sometimes called Ebony," the $32.95 gewgaw is "somewhat more likely than not" to be ebonized boxwood. This reasoning assumes probability without substantiating it with concrete evidence about the specific product.

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5. Implied Ad Hominem

The tone of the statement ("nothing could go wrong there?") is sarcastic and dismissive, suggesting that the buyer's decision was naive or foolish without providing a substantive critique of the purchase.

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Summary

The flaws lie in making unsupported assumptions about the product's quality based solely on price, origin, and generalized claims. A more logical approach would involve examining specific details about the product's materials and manufacturing to substantiate the claims made.

[Stringswinger]

Isn't genuine African Ebony a wood controlled by CITES? Of course, the word ebony can also be used to denote a color. What exactly is Stewmac selling? And is Howard Paul licensing the Benedetto name/design without insuring quality materials. I suppose someone could write and ask him.

I would bet that the Stewmac bridge is not made out of genuine ebony based on the price point, but before northernbreed gets his panties in a wad, I admit that my bet would be based on a hunch as opposed to empirical evidence.

[sgosnell]

The vast majority of ebony on the market in the past several years is not black. Once upon a time, most of the ebony that was felled was discarded, and only the small portion that was actually black was used. This was based solely on appearance. Now, there isn't enough old-growth ebony in existence to allow throwing it away, so the grey/brown/streaked wood is used and sold as ebony, which it is, just not the color most think of as ebony. Just because the wood isn't black, or is dyed black, doesn't mean it isn't ebony. Some people are willing to pay much more for the increasingly scarce deep black ebony, some aren't.

[mauibob]

[mauibob]

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[nevershouldhavesoldit]

Mauibob, can you or your bot friend relate the point vs line source phenomenon to guitars for me? It's a well known concept for speakers, and the sonic differences are clearly defined. It's very easy to see a speaker as a point source or a line source. But I don't understand how this applies to a guitar bridge.

Then again, maybe the bot also doesn't know.

PS: Your bananacaster really has a peel.

[jazzgtrl4]

sadowsky true tone bridge? i dont know if Rodger makes them any more but its an idea....i have one for my Victor Baker, havent installed yet.

[Cavalier]

Back to the different bridges idea, my ES125 likes a TOM with nylon saddles. I've had everything else on there but the tone and acoustic volume are better.

[jzucker]

FYI, my luthier confirmed that the bridge -- while it may certainly not be gaboon ebony -- didn't sand like dyed wood. He said the sanding pattern seemed to be approximately like other real ebony he has and that the "black" didn't sand off on the bottom of the base like other dyed fake ebony he's seen.

[deacon Mark]

On my 2005 Super 400ces it came with a tunomatic. I carved an ebony saddle, and I had a rosewood saddle already done, both sounded pretty much the same. I could not say one was that much different. However, I much preferred the ebony sound to the tunomatic which simply was not as warm and smooth across the sound spectrum. The intonation issue I believe is way over-stated by the tunomatic crowd. One can say that the harmonic perfect with the 12th fret better on a tunomatic, that does not mean guitar will play in tune better. Just due to differences in where you play and being " in tune" depend on the player. IN general, on a 25-inch scale or longer the gradual compensation is as good, we are splitting hairs.

For the record the great Johnny Smith who was an excellent guitar technician always set his guitar up to match the 17th harmonic. This gives a better intonation over the middle register of the fretboard where most jazz guitarist play. Also, I am like Stringswinger, my ears are pretty good, but they have no trouble with an ebony saddle compensated in the gradual manner. Others must have better ears.

[aquin43]

The cause of the original problem, I would suggest, is putting a lower mass bridge on a guitar that is optimised to take a high mass TOM bridge.

The string acts as a transmission line with a certain "mechanical impedance" and the wave made by plucking it traverses the string repeatedly, being reflected at the nut and the bridge. The fraction reflected at each end depends on the mechanical impedance of the bridge or nut. Both of these impedances are made to be much higher than that of the string so that most of the wave is reflected. Otherwise there would be no note, just a thump as all of the string energy went into the guitar body at once. There is a delicate balance between reflecting enough to sustain the sound and and transmitting enough for a good audible sound.

Adding mass to the bridge raises the impedance at that point and I would surmise that the mass of the original bridge had been taken into account when the guitar design was optimised. Lowering the mass would increase the string coupling and reduce sustain. If there were already some frequencies where impedance at the bridge was already a bit on the low side, leading to an unevenness in response, then this effect would be exaggerated.

The pickup, of course, only reads what is left in the string after the guitar body has taken its bite.