Of all the possible accessories to use with or on a flattop, acoustic guitar, Mitchel's PlateMate has to be one of the simplest yet good ideas to show up in some time. It is exactly what is needed for old guitars with worn out bridge plates. It can also be used to protect good bridge plates from turning into ruinous ones; splintered and scarred by the ravages of wear as the metal grommet at the end of each string eats its way through the wood over time. I have no idea how long it has been available on the market, but it may prove of great service to vintage guitars and new ones alike.
Some month ago I was riding on a train through the seaside mists of a black, New Jersey night. A little round man in a bad suit asked if he could look at my acoustic guitar-oriented magazine. He had made his living as a traveling salesman in all kinds of industry and confessed he was really only interested in looking at the advertisements and classified ads. He was astounded by all the little gadgets and knickknacks people have come up with to support or otherwise take advantage of the acoustic guitar world. I explained what several of these add-ons and eccentric gear were all about. At the same time I realized how few I have actually seen or tried myself. This included the PlateMate, made by Little Mountain Music, Inc. of Middlefield, Ohio and later supplied to me by Maury's Music.
It sounded like a good idea when I first read of it and I am happy to say I can't think of one item listed in the back of such publications as sensibly worthwhile as the PlateMate. Even guitarists typically resistant to modern accessories may find it of great help. It is innovative but as uncomplicated as possible, providing protection of precious guitars in a place not easy to check for problems.
The oft forgotten bridge plate is actually a major part in the chain of a guitar's tone production. It helps transfer vibrations from the string, saddle and bridge to the soundboard itself. But if it wears down over time it can also be responsible for changes in the angle, or "break" of the strings as they come out of the holes and cross up and over the saddle. That angle likewise goes unnoticed more often than not, but can actually have a lot to do with how well the strings react to being played.
Basically the PlateMate corrects this problem. It consists of a 2-3/4" x 1/2" plate of very thin, quality brass with six holes in it, each with a small notch. And that is about all there is to it. There is also some double-sided, adhesive tape on the bottom side which you use to connect it to your bridge plate. The strings fit through the holes and then their grommets pull tight against the brass rather than digging into the wood of your bridge plate. A classic example of "Why hadn't someone thought of this before!"
I wish I had known about the PlateMate when I owned a vintage Martin. The only downside to that guitar was the fact the bridge plate was so worn down the strings did not come out and over the bridge at anywhere close to the correct angle. The PlateMate would have solved that in a matter of minutes.
One of the selling points of the PlateMate is that it supposedly enhances sound quality. This would certainly be true if you have a dilapidated bridge plate causing improper string break. Whether it actually alters the sound of the guitar in other ways is hard to tell or prove. One would think it should have some effect. After all the string grommets are now terminating into metal rather than the wood connected directly to the soundboard. However, it is hard to say if the "little something different" I was hearing on the guitar installed with the product was due to the PlateMate or simply the brand new strings installed at the same time. But I did discern a slight difference in the voice. It was like the brightness was turned up a bit and the treble strings were ringing a bit clearer. There also seemed to be the slightest increase in definition or space between the tone of the unwound strings.
I should think that any changes in guitar tone would be subtle at most and perhaps might be along the same lines as what a bone saddle brings about. This might prove problematic if a guitar's trebles were already on the brash or shrill side, as it is likely such frequencies would be enhanced by the PlateMate effect. So it is possible that someone may not like the change which comes from having a metal strip between the wooden bridge plate and the strings themselves, however subtle a change it may be. If that were the case, a butter knife or similar thin, wide tool would be all that is needed to lift the PlateMate off of the bridge plate and remove it from the guitar.
Obviously many guitars have healthy, long lives without such additions. But Mitchel's PlateMate is a welcomed cure when it comes to instantly correcting decades of erosion on the bridge plates of older instruments and it would also help keep newer bridge plates from ever getting that chewed up in the first place. The PlateMate comes in 8 styles, so be sure and know your string spacing at the bridge before ordering yours.
One final note. A player could easily have their PlateMate engraved prior to installation with owner information, or a note to any future repairmen saying something like "If this guitar was not given to you by Todd Stuart Phillips, please call (555) 555-5555 as it may be stolen." Not a bad idea, come to think of it. Perhaps I will do that very thing!
Out of a possible 8 Notes on the T Spoon Scale of Guitaracity I give the solid brass PlateMate a solid 5 Notes.
TSP, NYC
