Wish me Luck

einstein magoo

einstein magoo

Member
Tomorrow is acoustic repair day.

A friend told me about a "highly respected" local repair tech that does work for most of the music stores in this area. He has worked on by buddies Martin HD-28 and his Tele to great success. Dude also has a shop at his home so I'm off there early morning with four weak but not yet dead soldiers.

I've had this stuff sitting around for years and now that I'm getting ready to get serious with recording, it's time for some tune-ups. Unlike the guy in the other thread, I am certainly not afraid to change my own strings. I've done some truss rod adjustments and minor bridge saddle work, but some of these guys need deeper attention.

My daily driver is a Yamaha FJ645A that I installed (hacked) a pickup and preamp into several years ago. It's a jumbo with a great tone and seems to be getting better with age. Bought it new in 1992 and it's played regularly. Needs maybe 3 - 4 frets down there in granny position, but also fear a neck-set may be in order. What I have to do is see what dude wants monetarily to get this one back up to snuff and It may be cost prohibitive as there is not a lot of $$$ value on this one. Still in good shape cosmetically, but may not be worth the cost of extensive work...but it is my friend.

Also taking in a Guild D-55 that has similar issues. Think this one may be worth dropping some coin on.

The Guild JF30-12 twelve string is in pretty good shape mechanically and cosmetically, so I'll probably dump a few bills into this one for a full set-up to get it playing better.

Number 4 is a Blueridge BG-70 that just sounds lovely and plays really well. Gonna' see if I can talk dude out of some new tuners (one just broke plumb off) and a set-up. He has a lot of old guits around and I may convince him to just cannibalize some tuners from one that will work and maybe install myself if his cost is too high on this one. I think I can get it set up and playing ok myself once the tuner issue is fixed.

I know I won't be able to afford all it will take for all four, so I have some decisions to make once the "expert" advises me on where to put my money.

No real significant meaning for this thread, just excited to be getting off my ass and moving forward with my true passion.

Anyone have any insight or input as to what I should put the $$$$ into?

Thanks: magoo
 
I probably have a different view on this than everybody else, so consider the source.

First off, nothing says you've got to do them all at once. I'd say do the one that you need the most urgently first or the one who's the closest to impending doom.

That's the logical side of me talking. I never listen to that guy.

Do the daily driver first. It doesn't matter if it doesn't make sense because it's worth the least. It's your friend. Would you do the most to save your best friend, or the friend of yours that has the most money? I hope I know the answer to that one.

Just my view on the world. YMMNECC (Not Even Come Close)
 
notCardio said:
It's your friend. Would you do the most to save your best friend, or the friend of yours that has the most money? I hope I know the answer to that one.
Click to expand...
Wow, dude...that is deep! :cool:

I'm with Cardio on this one, take the daily driver and see what it's going to cost to get it playing perfectly (or as close as age will allow). Depending on how much you're comfortable spending at once, have the "expert" take a look at the others and make your decision based on the ballpark figure that you get.
 
Back from repair shop with great news!

First of all, THANKS so much notCardio and pikingrin for your advice! Will admit I was leaning that way to start, and didn't figure I could get it all done, but having notCardio's response before I made the trip this morning compelled me to pull out the Yamaha first. Neck reset not necessary after all. Just 3 new frets, fret dress, saddle work, truss rod, set-up will pull my friend back into spec. All work on this one for $155. That left me a little to play with so...

Guild 12 string, as I suspected, only needs a set-up for $55.

Guild 6 string which was pretty bad action wise had me scared, but for $110 will be fixed. The bridge on this one is really thick (high) and the tech is going to work off the top of the bridge to lower it, reshape and refinish it, cut new (deeper) saddle slot, set-up and
 
Don't know why the rest of my post got chopped off, but the rest of the story...

Blueridge is getting new tuners and set-up. $100. tax, title, and off the lot.

For $420 (plus cost of the new strings I took with me for all four) I'll be getting back four really nice instruments ready to rock, or bop, or just make some racket will. Better than paying $400 for another new run-of-the mill acoustic.

I'll come back with quality of work report and post some pics when these come back. Next weekend for the Yammy and 12, couple more weeks for the other two.

Thanks for your help guys! Good day!!
 
if you're talking about the guild D55 that the bridge is high in....
Is that an American made Westerly RI Guild?
If so I would be asking why the bridge is high. If filing the actual plastic bridge piece down doesn't lower it enough...it probably needs a neck reset. Don't allow the wooden piece that the plastic bridge sits in to be shaved down. That would basically be doing an irreversible alteration o the guitar and damage the collectability value of it. It wouldn't be a big deal on a cheapo $200 acoustic but there is no way I would allow it on a D55. I would save up for a neck reset ($250) and fix it right. You would easily recoup the $250 if you ever resold the guitar.
You can take the plastic bridge out of the slot and string it up...if the action is still high without the plastic piece ....it needs a neck reset.
Don't let the dude shave the wooden piece if that's the case.
my 2 cents
 
Thanks for your legitimate concern jimistone.

Normally I would agree with you 100%, however, this guitar has a repair history that probably would not make it desirable as a collector's item. Firstly, this is not a Westerly guitar but an early 2000's Tacoma built instrument. Nothing wrong with that at all but...this guitar has already had the top completely removed repaired and replaced, refinishing, bracing work redone, etc. While the repair was a high quality job and is not even noticeable to the layman (including myself), I would never put this out as a collectable item without revealing all I know about it. There is one noticeable thing about the repair; when complete, the pickguard was not reattached. Still looks great, plays well (when set up) and sounds very sweet, but not really a collector.

Secondly, I got such a sweet deal when I bought this...paid only $300 which is unheard of, but I absolutely know with certainty that the seller was the true owner and there was nothing flakey in the deal. That puts it pretty close to the cheapo $200 mark you described above.

Lastly, and maybe more importantly, I personally view any instrument I own as a tool, or as something to bring me (and hopefully others) joy! I take good care of them but don't get concerned if they get a ding or a scratch. For me, they are not for looking at, collecting or re-selling, but for playing. My only son has no interest in this stuff so it's not like I could rob him from some legacy, or even anything of huge monetary value, so what happens to it after my demise is out of my hands. I don't think the guitar world will suffer from my decision to modify this guitar to make it playable at an affordable price.

Sincerely jimistone, I do appreciate you concern and would caution everyone to not bastardize a valuable instrument, but I am pleased with my decision to go ahead with the operation.

Thanks again!
 
Back Again

Just wanted to resurrect this thread for a moment. Got my instruments back, the first three, two weeks ago and the D-55 last week.

The repair guy did a splendid job on all. All are set up with low E at 5/64" and high E at 4/64" at 12th fret. Nice action!

In case anyone gives a rat's ringo, iI've attached these photos. Hope I get them sized right this time. We'll see.

If you see this jimistone, I know I somewhat mutilated the D-55 but not really. Turned out very nice with the bridge wood trim, plays like a dream, sounds great, and I am finally realizing the difference the ebony board makes on an acoustic.

Thanks arcaxis, for turning me on to FastStone Photo Resizer. Hope I figured out how to use it right!
 

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notCardio said:
Congrats!

Love the Gibson top hat knob. :thumbs up:
Click to expand...

Yea, that knob's atop a pot. Had an underbridge p/u installed a few years ago and told the guy I wanted a vol control only. Works well. I just happened to have a couple of those knobs and thought it would be a good one for this.

There are some kind of electronics in there to make it work, not even sure what it is, but it has one of those stupid battery bags velcro'd up inside the upper bout. A real bitch to get to. Maybe I'll take a closer look to see what's in there next time I re-string.

Thanks!
 
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