R
robin watson
New member
I read the procedure here (see under 'tips'):
http://littlebrother.nlpd.com/
He has clips (before and after the mod), but the results I had with a Yairi classical (with B-Band Core 99 pickup) were even more pronounced.
Despite B-Band's claims, I've been pretty disappointed with the B-Band's sound, being typically no less 'blatty' sounding than any other UST I've tried.
However, with the clay shim made/installed as described, it's really tamed this tendency and brings a more mic'd quality to the output. Yet to use the guitar in a live setting (where it's always sounded pretty disappointing).
I think the 'clay' (in my case a mix of wood, stone and ceramic powder) embeds the pu strip element and provides a more thorough interface with the bridge wood itself as well as the saddle, creating additional wood tone, while offering some hi freq. damping.
I managed to get down to about a 0.5mm shim thickness, which had minimal effect on the action, although a steel string is perhaps a bit more critical in this area. I went from high tension strings to med tension, which probably compensated for any increase.
TIP: Hardest part was lifting the thin clay shim off the roll surface and popping it into the saddle slot - it's so thin and the clay is fragile. Use a thin telephone card or similar to lift the shim in one piece and place it in the slot.
http://littlebrother.nlpd.com/
He has clips (before and after the mod), but the results I had with a Yairi classical (with B-Band Core 99 pickup) were even more pronounced.
Despite B-Band's claims, I've been pretty disappointed with the B-Band's sound, being typically no less 'blatty' sounding than any other UST I've tried.
However, with the clay shim made/installed as described, it's really tamed this tendency and brings a more mic'd quality to the output. Yet to use the guitar in a live setting (where it's always sounded pretty disappointing).
I think the 'clay' (in my case a mix of wood, stone and ceramic powder) embeds the pu strip element and provides a more thorough interface with the bridge wood itself as well as the saddle, creating additional wood tone, while offering some hi freq. damping.
I managed to get down to about a 0.5mm shim thickness, which had minimal effect on the action, although a steel string is perhaps a bit more critical in this area. I went from high tension strings to med tension, which probably compensated for any increase.
TIP: Hardest part was lifting the thin clay shim off the roll surface and popping it into the saddle slot - it's so thin and the clay is fragile. Use a thin telephone card or similar to lift the shim in one piece and place it in the slot.
