To regraduate or not...

[Mike Mandelas]

Here are some pictures of the canditate for regraduation. It has a dense grain in the top plate and a nicely flamed back. I checked the bass bar with my mirror and it seems to be in place, with the proper size. Anyway, when i'll take the top out i'll post some pictures and hope for your kind responses.
Mike

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Mike Mandelas

Here are some pictures of the canditate for regraduation. It has a dense grain in the top plate and a nicely flamed back. I checked the bass bar with my mirror and it seems to be in place, with the proper size. Anyway, when i'll take the top out i'll post some pictures and hope for your kind responses.
Mike

Nice wood. Who scalped the Bridge?

Tight grain and dense wood are not the same. When the top is off you will see if it's heavy of light in comparative weight. Also from the inside, you can test how dense it is with a tool of some sort.

[Matthew Tucker]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

Also from the inside, you can test how dense it is with a tool of some sort.

How can you do that?

[Anselm Hauke]

Originally Posted by Matthew Tucker

How can you do that?

scratch it with a screwdriver...

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Anselm Hauke

scratch it with a screwdriver...

Thank you..

We used to test maple years back when it was hard to tell on some pieced if it was hard maple or soft maple as some of the Sugar maple looked soft. We used our fingernail. If it dented, it was soft regardless o f species. If not, it was hard.

[Mike Mandelas]

I made this "wingless" bridge following some bassists' trend in Brighton,UK. It makes the sound brighter and gives a better arco response. This bridge has considerally improved the sound of the bass.
The top's wood is rather soft, since it is easy to make a dent with a fingernail.
I am in the middle of a serious engineering project so i haven't much time to take the top out. When i'll do it, i'll try to estimate the stiffness of the top plate using my knowledge from violins lutherie. I'll keep you informed. Thanks for all your input.