Before operating I would suggest a few investigations first. If you have already done this please forgive nose in business. Using a guitar pick or similar object pluck the offending strings and some adjacent strings. If the tone or sustain changes it is not the hammer and no amount of futzing will change the tone. If the tone changes it is the bridge, board or plate. Check for plate clearance all around the strut, sides and bottom. Check bearing at offender. Remove bridge pin on one string to double check and make sure there is no negative bearing or far too much bearing.. Check for improper side bearing, i.e. not enough Check for loose bridge pins. Check bridge soundboard glue joint. Check for loose bridge cap. Check rib soundboard glues joints Check for soundboard button that may go through board and touch plate. If this is all correct then an adjunct tiebar may be in order but I doubt it because notch bridges have been around for many years and rarely cause such problems although and would greatly prefer to continuous uncompromised bridge construction. Let us know what you find. Newton nhunt@rci.rutgers.edu
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