hoops said:
Sorry if I'm repeating some thoughts here. I skipped through some of the posts. There are a few things you should look at. First off, if the guitar is made somewhere in Asia then the wood will not be as high of quality as North American made guitars.
Not necessarily true. Many of the "Asian" made guitars are made of fine tonewoods that better or match western made instruments. They have the buying power and also are not governed by the cosmetic appearance of the timber which many western based manufacturers place too much regard on. Many times I visit suppliers in Eastern Europe and the Tyrol region and see piles of fantastic timber set aside for dispatch to the big Asian makers. Even the Chinese are now sourcing their timber there in an attempt to improve on their instruments.
They will most likely not handle a 13 gauge string. I have worked in a guitar shop that does major guitar repairs for about a decade. I have not seen one Asian guitar hold up to a 13 gauge string yet. The only guitars that are warrentied for 13 gauge strings in the shop I work at are he American made guitars. Read your warrenty.
There are many Asian made guitars that will hold up to 13 gauge strings. Most better than any western made guitar. It will depend on the instrument however and you should get qualified advice before attempting it. For starters just about every Yamaha in the fg series will, hell I've even seen "Asian" guitars sent over with 13's on them.
You will need to get it setup for 13's. Truth is that you will not notice a significant improvement in tone over a set of 12's. 13's by the way have always been quoted as Medium gauge by most manufacturers. 12's have always been light or medium/light. The gauge references for strings has only really been mudded when talking about electric lights and "super...." whatever etc.
To look for signs you have to heavy a gauge of string. Check the guitar top inbehind the bridge. If it is not flat and is bubbling up you may have to heavy a string.
All acoustic guitars will belly behind the bridge it is the nature of the beast. They also dip and belly up around the sound hole. The top would be the last thing to fail on any half decent guitar. The first thing to go would be the action and neck twist, then the bridge would most likely pop off if anything was to fail. For 13's you need to get a proper setup. Including, setting the truss rod correctly, reworking or repalcing the nut and possibly the saddle. Re set the bridge pins. The pull of a set of 13's will do the same as a set of 12's to your average top. If it goes wildly out then the top has bracing problems.
Try fixing it yourself if you don't want to pay alot of money for it. Put some wood glue in the cracks and see if you can clamp it shut to dry. When it is dry then put some 12's on instead. If that works then you can have it set up propperly by someone who knows what they are doing.
I guarantee you will make a mess if you attempt it. Listen to the advice you have already been given and demand satisfaction from the shop that carried out the work in the first place. Plus attempting a fix yourself will compromise any warranty you have statutory or otherwise.
Simply clamping the splits shut with "wood" glue is not enough. The soundboard, bridge plate and bridge need to be supported while the cracks are closed as well as a good look to make sure that the existing glue lines are secure and the bracing around the plate is holding. Not hard but you need to know what to watch for. Once closed you will need to make sure the bottom of the slot is perfectly flat, I suspect it no longer is. The sides of the slot will need to be trued up and a new saddle of the correct width and hight needs to be cut and setup.
Either way I'm going to talk to the owner and see what he/she says. If he acts the same way as the salesman, then I may just forget that place all together.
