Watch me flop at putting a rubber bridge on a guitar while I eat cookies! Follow me on Instagram: @themollyfrances Listen to my music on Spotify: Molly Frances
AS A LUTHIER THIS MAKES MY EYE TWITCH A LIL😂 BUT YOU TOOK CARE ENOUGH, YOU DIDN'T CUT YOURSELF AND GUITAR SOUNDS FINE 🎉 ILL SUGGEST PUT THE ORIGINAL SADDLE BACK(WHAT YOU CALLED BRIDGE) AND INFRONT OF THAT PUT A PIECE OF THE RUBBER AND THAT WILL MAKE THE SAME EFFECT AS THE RUBBER SADDLE BUT WITH THE RIGHT INTONATION
Hahah, Yeah I did not do this and my guitar is way out of tune but I still wrote a song around the weird tuning. If I can find the bridge somewhere ill fix it but it was made from an beginner fender acoustic so I wasnt really caring how it turned out. Thank you for the advice!
First, I am a Gretsch fan / owner. I have two. I am really glad you only replaced the saddle and not the actual bridge; you can undo that relatively easily. Have a nice day !
That was really ineteresting and I'm glad u posted it. I have found that you can leave the bridge intac😅t and simply put a piece of rubber under the strings in front of the bridge. You do not get intonation issues and the results are excellent as long as you done fit the rubber too tight overmuting the strings.
They’re popular in a lot of pop and folk songs right now: Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Phoebe Bridgers. It gives a rustic vintage kind of sound and the lack of sustain leaves a lot of room for vocals
Interesting project. Don't cut the string slots, let them find their own indent. This keeps the action just about where it was with the slotted plastic/bone bridge. The string tension across the bridge should hold the strings in place. ?
For those who are wondering what the hell this is all about. I just did some research. A guitar player/builder decided to used rubber on the saddle combined with a piezo and a hot pick up. Some well known pop artists incorporate this. It gives an interesting sound (which to be honest you could probably duplicate with an effects pedal). As far as I can tell the rubber shortens the sustain and gives a hollow treble sound. I assume because the rubber would have a greater dulling effect on the larger bass vibrations. I think Molly used a rubber that was too soft in this instance. I think, as an experiment Molly could try just putting a thin piece of rubber over the existing saddle. The action would be a little high but if it works then she could just sand a little off the bottom of the existing saddle to bring the strings back to their original height. There is a video in that for you Molly :)
I like how Jon Meyer just put the contoured rubber piece in front of the sanded down bridge and "exacto-ed" the slots so the rubber wraps around the string, instead of completely replacing it. It keeps the intonation intact. Then he used flat wounds...nice sounds th-cam.com/video/UpC--dYVr70/w-d-xo.html
You are handy with a knife. Well done. Yeah, I put a trapeze on mine. I like this guitat, but belly bulge is a problem. So, on with a trapeze. Could be a mod to allow you to swap out bridges at will. Good luck with your music. And thanks for sharing. I may just rip my bridge off completely now.
Definitely start with the height of the rubber bridge higher than what you think you need as the string pressure will compress the material significantly.
I love this sound actually! Those top strings sound great. Maybe remake the saddle with compensation for action and intonation, throw in a magnetic pickup (e.g. Fishman Rare Earth) and nice amp and I think this is a winner. Thanks for sharing!
Just tried this two times and a modified version one last time with stiff industrial rubber. This is not how you make a rubber bridge guitar. You’ll end up with the string cutting through and bending the rubber if you do it this way. It will work for a few hours but will eventually break. Check out some other tutorials that use a flat piece over the whole bridge.
From a Bass players perspective you might also want to experiment with some low density foam between the soundboard and strings back by the bridge (the trick with this would of course be getting the the thickness & density correct) or maybe a thin piece of cloth between the strings and saddles to achieve a more desirable result (this could potentially require filing down the string slots in the saddles a little bit to work well, if at all).
no, rubber is literally the worst material you could possibly make a saddle out of the purpose of a saddle is to be hard and rigid so that it transmits vibration from the strings into the resonating body of a guitar; rubber would do the exact opposite of that by dampening vibration while also being soft and unstable, causing the guitar's intonation and action to constantly shift, creating tuning and other noise issues that you can't really correct the only reason you would put a rubber saddle on a guitar is if you want to hear what the worst guitar in the world sounds like
That’s actually the saddle not the bridge, you don’t need to cut where the strings sit, they find their place naturally on a saddle, and yeah it will kill the sound of the guitar…
I have the same guitar and I love it! I also have an old parlor that I got off reverb and "rubberized" it. It's just such a fun sound. Keep up the good work with the vlogs! This video is probably going to get a lot of hits!
Hell yes, girl! So punk rock of you to just say "I cant find it. Screw it. Im going to make my own!" lol I have a few guitar experiments like that. Id love to see more of you doing this! The fact that youre sort of figuring it out as you go with the help of tutorials adds a lot of charm to it! Plus there are soooo few women doing this, so it would be really awesome!
Nahh... To me it sounds like a piece of crap. Jim Dandy sounds dimly and muddy out of the box, no need to deminish its sound even more. It's a matter of taste though.
Those lines on the saddle could be simply removed with 2500, 3000, 5000, 7000 and 10000 grit sandpaper, eliminating the small cracks. I don't think it was genius to replace the plywood crosspiece with rubber and handmade!! There is a reason why plastic, bone or plywood is used and it concerns precisely the sound and vibration of the strings which rubber certainly does not have because it tends to absorb the vibration of the cards!!! plastic or bone instead reflects the sound! A stringer costs very little, all you had to do was go online and choose a similar one or get advice from whoever sold you the guitar...!! My advice is to always turn to an expert luthier for problems whose dynamics we don't understand otherwise you risk ruining the instrument and then you'll spend double to fix it! Ciao!
I am commenting in dad mode, well more like granpa mode....I am relieved that you only did this to an inexpensive guitar and you can also reverse it. But you accomplished your goal of getting me to view and like your video. Good job young lady.
@@eitanmuir It's rubber. You should NEVER use rubber as a saddle, it's just ridiculous. The saddles job is to transfer string vibration to the top of the guitar. You do want to HEAR the guitar, don't you?
A magnetic pickup and a nice amp would take care of that problem, if you like the tone but volume is a concern for your application. If you're playing at home solo for your own enjoyment, maybe your guitar doesn't need to project quite as efficiently. If you need to be extraordinarily loud acoustically, maybe just invest in a banjo. And if you are satisfied with the results of modern-traditional guitar construction and don't want to tamper, that's fine too - but that doesn't mean everyone else has to follow suit, especially insofar as easily reversible, non-destructive modifications.
AS A LUTHIER THIS MAKES MY EYE TWITCH A LIL😂 BUT YOU TOOK CARE ENOUGH, YOU DIDN'T CUT YOURSELF AND GUITAR SOUNDS FINE 🎉 ILL SUGGEST PUT THE ORIGINAL SADDLE BACK(WHAT YOU CALLED BRIDGE) AND INFRONT OF THAT PUT A PIECE OF THE RUBBER AND THAT WILL MAKE THE SAME EFFECT AS THE RUBBER SADDLE BUT WITH THE RIGHT INTONATION
Stop shouting Mike. Also yeah thats a 100 times easier and what i did also.
Hahah, Yeah I did not do this and my guitar is way out of tune but I still wrote a song around the weird tuning. If I can find the bridge somewhere ill fix it but it was made from an beginner fender acoustic so I wasnt really caring how it turned out. Thank you for the advice!
Mike , what about thin rubber ( bicycle inner tube ) laid right on top of original saddle ?
First, I am a Gretsch fan / owner. I have two. I am really glad you only replaced the saddle and not the actual bridge; you can undo that relatively easily. Have a nice day !
That was really ineteresting and I'm glad u posted it. I have found that you can leave the bridge intac😅t and simply put a piece of rubber under the strings in front of the bridge. You do not get intonation issues and the results are excellent as long as you done fit the rubber too tight overmuting the strings.
I did put a sponge strip under the strings in front of the bridge and it works in a similar way
Hi, i have the same guitar, you use some product to clean the guitar?
I would think that guitar or most any guitar is going to sound muddy at best with a rubber bridge. Where did you get that idea?
They’re popular in a lot of pop and folk songs right now: Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Phoebe Bridgers. It gives a rustic vintage kind of sound and the lack of sustain leaves a lot of room for vocals
It's actually the point. I can't believe Polaroid came back either.
Interesting project. Don't cut the string slots, let them find their own indent. This keeps the action just about where it was with the slotted plastic/bone bridge. The string tension across the bridge should hold the strings in place. ?
Random observation but shoutout the Casio watch! Damn good watches
This is really cool. Did you try again with lighter strings maybe or shallower cuts?
Where did you get that little piece of rubber? Hardware store?
For those who are wondering what the hell this is all about. I just did some research. A guitar player/builder decided to used rubber on the saddle combined with a piezo and a hot pick up. Some well known pop artists incorporate this. It gives an interesting sound (which to be honest you could probably duplicate with an effects pedal). As far as I can tell the rubber shortens the sustain and gives a hollow treble sound. I assume because the rubber would have a greater dulling effect on the larger bass vibrations. I think Molly used a rubber that was too soft in this instance. I think, as an experiment Molly could try just putting a thin piece of rubber over the existing saddle. The action would be a little high but if it works then she could just sand a little off the bottom of the existing saddle to bring the strings back to their original height. There is a video in that for you Molly :)
I like how Jon Meyer just put the contoured rubber piece in front of the sanded down bridge and "exacto-ed" the slots so the rubber wraps around the string, instead of completely replacing it. It keeps the intonation intact. Then he used flat wounds...nice sounds th-cam.com/video/UpC--dYVr70/w-d-xo.html
I saw a video where they used a small rubber hose and wound it through the strings. I thought that sounded the best.
You are handy with a knife. Well done.
Yeah, I put a trapeze on mine. I like this guitat, but belly bulge is a problem. So, on with a trapeze. Could be a mod to allow you to swap out bridges at will.
Good luck with your music. And thanks for sharing. I may just rip my bridge off completely now.
Definitely start with the height of the rubber bridge higher than what you think you need as the string pressure will compress the material significantly.
Braver than I am!! Sounded Dope in the end 👏
My guitars sound too beautiful to do that to them. Not for me.
....and too expensive .....
I love this sound actually! Those top strings sound great. Maybe remake the saddle with compensation for action and intonation, throw in a magnetic pickup (e.g. Fishman Rare Earth) and nice amp and I think this is a winner. Thanks for sharing!
Just tried this two times and a modified version one last time with stiff industrial rubber. This is not how you make a rubber bridge guitar. You’ll end up with the string cutting through and bending the rubber if you do it this way. It will work for a few hours but will eventually break. Check out some other tutorials that use a flat piece over the whole bridge.
Any other cookie eating videos?
So much fret buzz 😂
That’s a saddle, not a bridge.
Bien!! Buena explicación mujer bella. Saludos desde México. Un abrazo y beso
It deadens the vibrations, and sound, but you did a great job!
From a Bass players perspective you might also want to experiment with some low density foam between the soundboard and strings back by the bridge (the trick with this would of course be getting the the thickness & density correct) or maybe a thin piece of cloth between the strings and saddles to achieve a more desirable result (this could potentially require filing down the string slots in the saddles a little bit to work well, if at all).
you are cool molly :) 🙃💘😘de la france
You probably don't need to compensate it if you aren't really playing past the 5th fret it doesn't matter....to most people
What drove you to want to do that in the first place?
I think Blake Mills, Phoebe Bridgers, etc use flatwound strings on their rubber bridge guitars. Good video. Thanks.
☕️
Is it better than the plastic or bone saddle?
no, rubber is literally the worst material you could possibly make a saddle out of
the purpose of a saddle is to be hard and rigid so that it transmits vibration from the strings into the resonating body of a guitar; rubber would do the exact opposite of that by dampening vibration while also being soft and unstable, causing the guitar's intonation and action to constantly shift, creating tuning and other noise issues that you can't really correct
the only reason you would put a rubber saddle on a guitar is if you want to hear what the worst guitar in the world sounds like
That’s actually the saddle not the bridge, you don’t need to cut where the strings sit, they find their place naturally on a saddle, and yeah it will kill the sound of the guitar…
Lol I thought you were Cobie Smulders! haha
I have the same guitar and I love it! I also have an old parlor that I got off reverb and "rubberized" it. It's just such a fun sound. Keep up the good work with the vlogs! This video is probably going to get a lot of hits!
Hell yes, girl! So punk rock of you to just say "I cant find it. Screw it. Im going to make my own!" lol I have a few guitar experiments like that.
Id love to see more of you doing this! The fact that youre sort of figuring it out as you go with the help of tutorials adds a lot of charm to it! Plus there are soooo few women doing this, so it would be really awesome!
good job, nice & dead sounding
hell yeah
looks like someone seen that one video
Action’s definitely to low…you got the buzzes going on ,,,,if at first you don’t succeed. ✌🏼✌🏼
Always use a rubber.
Nah
Good jee
I thought why is actress Jennifer Connelly holding a rubber bridge guitar? Wait.. Holy Molly!
Nice experiment. as you can see, with rubber there is no sound transmision to the bridge and top sound is lower.
its called a saddle not a bridge.
You look like Demi Moore..
😮😂
good work on the guitar!
Thanks!
I liked and subscribed. Cool stuff.
I don't know why you would do that, but experimenting is cool. Good job.
Nahh... To me it sounds like a piece of crap. Jim Dandy sounds dimly and muddy out of the box, no need to deminish its sound even more. It's a matter of taste though.
Rubber from an acoustics and sustain staindpoint is not wise. This girl is ridiculously cute.
Those lines on the saddle could be simply removed with 2500, 3000, 5000, 7000 and 10000 grit sandpaper, eliminating the small cracks. I don't think it was genius to replace the plywood crosspiece with rubber and handmade!! There is a reason why plastic, bone or plywood is used and it concerns precisely the sound and vibration of the strings which rubber certainly does not have because it tends to absorb the vibration of the cards!!! plastic or bone instead reflects the sound! A stringer costs very little, all you had to do was go online and choose a similar one or get advice from whoever sold you the guitar...!! My advice is to always turn to an expert luthier for problems whose dynamics we don't understand otherwise you risk ruining the instrument and then you'll spend double to fix it! Ciao!
Good idea. I'll borrow it, if you don't mind ...
cool 👍
I see the kids have discovered muting again. what A time to be alive.
Interesting but not a great sound. Mods are hit n miss!
I am commenting in dad mode, well more like granpa mode....I am relieved that you only did this to an inexpensive guitar and you can also reverse it. But you accomplished your goal of getting me to view and like your video. Good job young lady.
Destroy a brand new set of strings 😢
Que muchacha tan aburrida
the video is excellent...other than that...I have a major crush on you lol ..o my
it sounds awful
Not trying to be a hater but that is a saddle not a bridge.
That's a saddle, not a bridge. And that is something you should NEVER do.
lmao
Hahah why not? Saddle replacement is the most easily reversible change you can make to an instrument 😂
@@eitanmuir It's rubber. You should NEVER use rubber as a saddle, it's just ridiculous. The saddles job is to transfer string vibration to the top of the guitar. You do want to HEAR the guitar, don't you?
A magnetic pickup and a nice amp would take care of that problem, if you like the tone but volume is a concern for your application. If you're playing at home solo for your own enjoyment, maybe your guitar doesn't need to project quite as efficiently. If you need to be extraordinarily loud acoustically, maybe just invest in a banjo. And if you are satisfied with the results of modern-traditional guitar construction and don't want to tamper, that's fine too - but that doesn't mean everyone else has to follow suit, especially insofar as easily reversible, non-destructive modifications.
@@eitanmuir Wow. That must be your sister. I've only been doing this for 25 years, so let me know how many guitars you've built or repaired.
confused why you'd want to do that to a guitar. also that's a rubber saddle, not a bridge...
Put the old bridge back on please. No way can it give a good sound...
Kinda odd that most of you don't know the difference between a saddle and a bridge...
Thx for doing the trial and error on the worlds behalf. 🤌🏻