I just bought an older Deering Golden Era that had a Deering 11/16 bridge on it. The 3rd and 4th strings were a bit clunky and had little to no sustain. I checked the head tension with my drum dial and it’s fine. The action also felt a bit high and I happened to have a 5/8 Grover compensated in a drawer so I swapped it out. This improved the string height and took some of the clunkiness out of the bass strings but I’ve got some buzzing so I figure maybe it’s a truss rod adjustment issue but I might be wrong (it’s happened before) so I’m gonna take it to a friend who happens to be a Luthier (I’m lucky that way) and I’m sure he’ll hot rod the ‘ol girl.
I just realized that I’m taking the long route to my questions, so sorry for that. Does anyone know if the 11/16 was the factory original? Isn’t 5/8 more or less the standard? Is there even a standard? Does bridge height have an effect other than string height? Is it a lower the better situation for tone or is it just personal preference?
Bridge height
The mass and density of the bridge is what makes the most difference. Heavier bridges mellow out the sound. Lighter bridges make a brighter sound (like tightening the head). A nice tight wood transfers the sound better. A taller bridge might be heavier, but not necessarily. At least that’s what I’ve experienced when experimenting with bridges. This info is only worth about 2 cents, though, as I’m no expert. 
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