Interesting repair job for me

[vandenboom]

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"Originally Posted on:Sun Aug 08, 2010


I haven't done much in the way of repairs but got this dread from a friend of my daughter's. The action was really high and I said I'd have a look at it and try and improve things.

It has been an interesting little exercise that is getting worse the further I get into it.
I followed Kent Everett's suggestion on his setup DVD - spend some time just looking & measuring.
- dreadnought, "Ayers" brand. Found their website - looks like they are mass produced in Asia somewhere. Mahogany back, side, neck. Top is also hardwood, but not sure what. This guitar is priced around $1000.
- it had a truss rod
- relief was rediculous, approx 2mm
- action high : 2.5mm treble to 3.5mm bass side
- nut slots - perfect
- string height at saddle, just under 1/2", so ok
- 1/8" saddle, compensation looked ok, saddle shape was weird - I should have paid MUCH closer attention to that.

- Removed strings
- cheap, shitty, flimsy, slotted, plastic bridge pins
- truss rod was not under tension - nut totally loose. Single action truss rod.
- Had to tension truss rod a bit to flatten neck.
- Straight edge across frets - frets looked pretty good, but straight edge did not sit proud of bridge.So bridge possibly a bit high.
- removed saddle - little ply shim on bass side
- had a look inside. Top bracing a bit of a shock. X bracing, one finger brace on each side, but no tone bars at all, just a single brace running between X-braces, parallel to and about 1" behind bridge plate.
- checked fb radius - 16"

- So I levelled the frets - didn't need much.
- put truss rod under a bit more tension to reduce relief
- took about 1mm off saddle and applied my standard shaping, with peak down centre and "B" set back a bit.
- strung her up, relief and action better but scope to get a bit more out of it.
- Guitar in tune in open position, but playing out of tune up the neck - like BAAAADDDD!!
- Pull out the 25.4 LMI fret slotting template, lay it over the frets - perfect.
- Measure scale length. Mmmmm!!Correct scale length right at the back of saddle slot - saddle too far forward. That's why the saddle was shaped the way it was with apex right at the back of the saddle for EBG, centred for D and forward for AE. It couldn't have been right but I didn't listen for that.
-Checked compensation - close to 1/8", ok

So, what to do now????
Talk to the owner about rerouting the saddle slot further back.
But it's a crap guitar....but he paid $1000 for it
Maybe I'll just try shaping a new saddle like the previous one....

Undecided....
A bit of a rave, but it has been interesting for me.
Next time, I will probably check scale length and fretting in the initial info gathering....
Any other suggestions, or comments?
Frank

[kiwigeo]

$1000!!!?????



Ive just been working on a Washburn travel guitar (Rover model) out here on the rig. First thing I found was a piece of plastic jammed under one end of the saddle saddle. The action is hihg enough to limbo dfance under and one of the tuners is binding badly. This is a brand new guitar fresh out of the shop. Neck is flat but theres a slight positive rake on the neck.....this is a badly built instrument.

Oh yeah when I got the thing the top two strings were missing..apparently the owner "leant" the strings to the rigs chef to use for cutting cheese. Man Im just thinkig of all those bacteria on the string jumping for joy as they see the big fat cheese approaching at 12 oclock.

[Kim]

If jigged up for it Frank, I would just fill the slot and recut...just watch out though, if this guitar has been left in a car on a hot day, the glue may have crept a bit under string tension allowing the top to dip around the fretboard extension. Often this is catastrophic and quite obvious, but some times it can be quite subtle and you need to look very carefully for deformity around the heel/neck block area and the top itself...look horizontally 'across' the top from the back, front and the sides. It can be hard to pick up but if the transverse has slipped and re-bonded allowing the fb extension to depress the top in a little, this can produce what you are seeing ie; action high so the bridge looks too high with a straightedge down the fb and a bit short on intonation. Don't listen to the owner if he swears it has never been exposed, they have a habit of forget all about 'that' time. Have a look with a light and mirror on the back side of the UTB and elsewhere for evidence of creep, this can be a clue but if not evident it is not conclusive.

I am by no means saying that heat stress 'is' the problem, but it is certainly worth a good hard look because most factories, even those in Asia, have been getting things like intonation pretty good for the last few years since CAD and CNC came in to play, especially in that 1K price bracket.

P.S. if the guitar has suffered heat stress, its rat shit, reshape the saddle and hand it back fella.

Cheers

Kim

[vandenboom]

Kim
Thanks so much for this insight. There's a lot of experience bound up in that response. I can't see any evidence of the creep you described. But I'm a bit nervous about the strength in the fb extension area. It is flat but I feel I can see just a hint of the top caving in a bit (strings on and under normal tension).

I am going to recut the saddle slot - all good experience and the guitar is useless as is. He's got nothing to lose.
Thanks again. Frank.


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