Best bridge replacement for 1970 d28

[timmoryan]

Posting this in the general discussion as well ; )
Hey all, was gifted a 1970 d28 this month and the bridge has a wee crack through the peg holes. Still plays like a charm, but if I were to eventually replace that, what’s the best bridge to use and who’s got ‘em? I hear I need to go with maple but not pre-war, and there seems to be a strong, pro ebony camp out there as well. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

[JayBee1404]

Originally Posted by timmoryan

Posting this in the general discussion as well ; )
Hey all, was gifted a 1970 d28 this month and the bridge has a wee crack through the peg holes. Still plays like a charm, but if I were to eventually replace that, what’s the best bridge to use and who’s got ‘em? I hear I need to go with maple but not pre-war, and there seems to be a strong, pro ebony camp out there as well. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Maple would be for the Bridge-plate, not for the bridge itself - that would surely be ebony? I don't recall ever seeing a D-28 with a maple bridge.

[zombywoof]

As noted, Martin replaced the standard size maple bridge late with an oversized rosewood plate from 1968 until 1988. When it comes to bridge plates size matters.

[L20A]

If it is the bridge that is cracked, it can possibly be repaired without the need of replacement. If it does need to be replaced, stay with Ebony.

[Osage]

Originally Posted by timmoryan

Posting this in the general discussion as well ; )
Hey all, was gifted a 1970 d28 this month and the bridge has a wee crack through the peg holes. Still plays like a charm, but if I were to eventually replace that, what’s the best bridge to use and who’s got ‘em? I hear I need to go with maple but not pre-war, and there seems to be a strong, pro ebony camp out there as well. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

As others have mentioned, ebony is the only accurate replacement.

Any good luthier can make and fit an exact replica for you. You can buy pre-made replacements from places like Stewmac that will be good quality but will most likely not be the exact size and will need to be properly fit to your top.

[Br1ck]

Get the bridge repaired or replaced before messing with the bridge plate. Part of this process will be evaluating intonation. Many bridges were glued in the wrong place. Many have an oversized bridge put on, which looks worse to me than a finish scar, and sucks tone. Binge watch Bryan Kimsey videos for everything you need to know about 70s Martins.

[Borderdon]

My 70’s 000-18 required a bridge replacement, I had one made, it was no problem, only a really trained eye could tell the difference. IIRC it cost around $125 installed. (It was part of a package that included neck reset, re- fret etc. so that cost could be quite different)