Light said:
Yes, you are clueless, because while the problem was caused BY SOMETHING ELSE ENTIRELY. What part of a badly fitting saddle do you not understand here? Or is the part where the saddle did not sit deep enough in the bridge to support the tension? Either of these things have nothing to do with the guitar, and EVERYTHING to do with a bad repair.
You say that "...the problem was caused BY SOMETHING ELSE ENTIRELY." Yet, you can't possibly tell from the photos provided that the saddle wasn't set low enough. Afterall, danny.guitar says it played fine for some time.
.........
Light said:
And of course, that is just talking about high end guitars. Most cheap guitars these days are made with bolt-on necks, including Fender, Washburn, Yamaha, lower end Alverez, etc.
The bolt-on neck of which you speak is NOT the same bolt-into-place modification of which I speak.
Light said:
How old of a Washburn? If it is within the last few years it probably CAME with a bolt on neck. If it is an older one, then you spent WAY to much money on a bad repair, on a guitar which should have just gone in the trash anyway. You will certainly never get your money out of it.
The Washburn was made in the late 80s, and I've never had it "repaired". I simply had the neck bolted into place by a guy who currently has over 50 yrs of experience in building/repairing/customizing violins, cellos, basses, guitars, mandolins, dulcimers, etc. You say that I--"...will certainly never get 'my' money out it." Agreed, and WE all know that $ doesn't grow on trees--except for the trees that were harvested for the wood used to build the thing to begin with.
Originally Posted by toyL:
BTW--I'm very selective/careful about string-sizes--if I go "heavy" on 2 or 3, I go a bit lighter on 2 or 3 of the others.
Light said:
Good for you, but it doesn't change the fact that you have no idea what you are talking about. In fact, it is quite reasonable to believe that you are doing something very bad for your neck by not using a balanced set of strings. If you look at the tension at pitch of standard sets of strings, each string is at very close to the same tension. That is how string companies design their basic gauges, and while I'm not sure it matters much, there is reason to believe that not using a balanced set can cause a neck to warp.
Alternate tunings and the use of "larger" strings by a couple thousandths more or less, here or there, is the whole reason for the mod to begin with. I've been taking my instruments to the same guy for the past 30-some yrs. He'll be 76 yrs old soon, and the only "complaint" I've ever had with him is that he consistently underestimates how long it'll take for me to get my instrument back. As for his bolt-into-place neck-mod for acoustic guitars, he just "grins" and says--we never see the guitar again after it leaves his shop...but, I "have no idea what" I'm alking about...so, nevermind.
Originally Posted by toyL:
I'd love to hear you explain exactly what the "major problem" is with "OVER-BUILT"--"inexpensive guitars". Could it possibly have anything to do with the materials used, design, or workmanship?
Light said:
The problem with an over-built guitar? I'd think that would be obvious - they sound like shit. The top can't move enough, or at enough frequencies, to provide a decent sounding guitar. Does anyone with an IQ in the triple digits need that explained? Hell, for that matter, I'm not sure that you even need to get very high into the double digits to get that one. Sure, it is very possible to go too light, but that is rarely an issue in mass produced guitars.
Sorry, you lost me here. I don't understand what IQ has to do with guitars that "sound like shit". The ability to perceive a sharp from a flat note, staccato from vibrato, is hardly dependent upon one's "IQ".
Originally Posted by toyL:
"Yes, I understand what light, medium, and heavy mean "today". However, when I first picked up a guitar 30-some years ago, lights were .008...you get the picture?...and there's plenty of great sounding stuff out there that was performed and recorded when the both of us were barely out of our diapers."
Light said:
No, they weren't. I've got string packages in my shop from back when we had a shop brand of strings (made for us by D'Addario, but with our own packaging) which are older than that, and the gauge of strings from the major manufacturers hasn't changed since our shop opened - 36 years ago, this year - Extra-lights have always been .010s, lights have always been .011s, and mediums have always been .013s.
You say--..."we had a shop brand...", but YOU weren't even born yet. That's OK, though, because I don't expect you to REMEMBER anything that occurred before you were born.
Light said:
People have moved to LIGHTER strings over the years, seeing as how they can now amplify their instruments, and no longer need to make their guitar so loud (the tendency of players in the 30's-50's is what lead Martin to shift the X brace back and stop scalloping the braces on their guitars in the 40's and 50's - they were spending too much money on warranty work from all the Bluegrass guys using .014 heavies on their D28's so they could be heard along side the banjos).
So, the difference between a set of .014 "heavies" from 1930 and a set .013 "mediums" from 2007 is .001"?...what can you tell us about the sizes of the other 5 strings in these so-called "balanced sets?
Light said:
Back in the seventies, we sold more mediums than anything.
According to your profile you were born in 74'. So, I guess you sold your first set of strings when you were how old?--age 4 or 5 maybe?
Light said:
These days, we sell lights 10-1 over everything else on the wall.
..."lights", extra-lights, ultra-lights, mean nothing to me.
Light said:
Back in the sixties, Eric Clapton had to steal strings from a banjo set to get a .010 for his ELECTRIC, and acoustics have always used heavier strings than electrics. In point of fact, I would not be at all surprised if I were to find out that no one even MADE an .008 back then. Seriously dude, given your complete lack of memory, you should probably have gone a little lighter on the Mary Jane back in the day.
So, Clapton sought out a .010 because he ran out of .011s?...or, because his .008s and .009s didn't quite have enough sustain?...Well, I'm glad you and EC have got it all figured out...BTW--clean the gunk and rust off a .009 and you'll have your very own "hand-made" .008...my advice for this procedure would be to use a bit of "tung-oil", because it will also protect and preserve the natural hardness of your fretboard--without adding any unnatural looking glossyness or shine if you are especially careful of how and with what you cut the tung-oil. Of course, you undoubtedly already know all of this, so I'm just rambling at this point. For those of you who are unfamiliar with "tung-oil", have a look see at a product called "Blitz"--normally found at your local Army/Navy surplus store.
Originally Posted by toyL:
"--apparently the owner of this guitar has some doubt."
Light said:
Actually, I don't think he has any doubt at all, he knows his guitar is not particularly valuable, and probably not worth the work it needs.
Well, the dude did ASK--"What do you think caused this? Will I need a new bridge? If I do, what's a rough estimate of how much that'd cost? Or if it can just be repaired how much would that probably cost? Just curious about how much I should expect to pay to have this fixed."
toyL here: Generally speaking, these questions would seem to indicate "some doubt". Ya' know, maybe danny.guitar really LIKES this Cort of his. Maybe his inquiry has nothing to do with whether or not the guitar is "particularly valuable"--as you have said.
Light said:
The real point here is that they should have done a better job of fixing it in the first place, and not having done so they should fix their own mistakes; pretty standard customer service stuff in MY business plan, though not in most of America, apparently.
...or, maybe the "real point" is that 13s will wreck an inexpensive (so-called "factory-made") guitar.
Light said:
You know, "factory" isn't even jargon, so what don't you understand? A factory guitar is made in a factory setting, such as all of the inexpensive guitars on the market, but also Martin, Taylor, Gibson, etc. This is as compared to what Muttley and I do, which is small shop builders doing most or all of the work themselves. "Factory" versus "hand-made" is what we are talking about.
Design, materials, and workmanship (i.e. quality control) are what matters the most. Call it a "factory", call it "hand-made", the difference can be minute.
Originally Posted by toyL:
"Do you really think that banging on 13s "everyday" is somehow less stressful on the neck than simply loosening the strings and letting it sit?"
Light said:
Less stressful? No, but if you are playing it everyday you are also (unless you are really dense) looking at it everyday, which means that if a small issue comes up you can do something about it before it becomes a major problem; you can't do that if you have it in storage. Also, when guitars are put up for storage, the climate control tends to be less consistent, so you can have issues from that, and constantly tuning and detuning your strings will cause a lot of unnecessary fatigue on the strings, causing them to wear out much faster than they need to. More to the point, guitars are meant to be played - it's good for them. Your gonna spend a lot more time playing it if you don't have to re-tune it every time you pick it up. Mostly, though, you have completely missed my point, which is that having it strung up with mediums (if it is properly setup) ISN'T GOING TO CAUSE DAMAGE.
Light
A cracked-up bridge isn't exactly a "small issue".
Light said:
...strung up with mediums (if it is properly setup) ISN'T GOING TO CAUSE DAMAGE.
Light
OK, what did cause the damage?
