jfilm
Member
Well I just ordered this one, and need some advice on some condition issues I've noticed (but don't have enough expertise on).
The seller assured me there was no evidence of any repairs having been done (I asked because certain photos were blurry), and no evidence that the bridge had been shaved down or glued. Well it certainly looks to me that the bridge has been reglued, as I can see the glue in the back, and the whole bridge footprint has a white glue outline. If you can see glue like you can here, does this necessarily mean that the bridge needs to be reglued again?
Also, it looks like the fingerboard has some glue where it meets the body, and there's a bit of a gap. Which makes me think a neck reset has been done. However, the bridge itself is very slender, which makes me think it was shaved down- it's only about 3/8" from the strings to the body of the guitar, bridge plus saddle. For contrast, my '56 F-20 has about 5/8" clearance. The wings of the bridge on the F-30 are just about 1/8" tall, and on the F-20 it's 3/16". So I'm sure there is some variance between bridges, and also the F-20 was made 10 years earlier, but, that bridge just looks very thin to me on the F-30. Were the F-30 bridges of this period (1966) thin in general, or has this likely been shaved down?
So it puzzles me that the bridge appears to be shaved down AND some sort of neck reset was done. If so, it seems like perhaps it was done haphazardly- if they were going to go to trouble of resetting the neck, shouldn't they have put a new bridge on while they were at it (unless they really wanted to keep the original bridge, understandable I guess).
All this said, it does sound pretty nice, though the G string buzzes when strummed with force. I guess what I'm wondering is if this if the bridge has just been shaved down too much, should it be replaced, and at that point, it probably needs another neck reset, or, just leave it, but probably reglue the bridge as it appears to be lifting? I'm trying to weigh what the additional costs might be to make this a keeper, or if I should return it.
Hope this all makes sense, thanks for your input!
https://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y412/jayridgewood/IMG_0515_zpsajs5ljin.jpg
The seller assured me there was no evidence of any repairs having been done (I asked because certain photos were blurry), and no evidence that the bridge had been shaved down or glued. Well it certainly looks to me that the bridge has been reglued, as I can see the glue in the back, and the whole bridge footprint has a white glue outline. If you can see glue like you can here, does this necessarily mean that the bridge needs to be reglued again?
Also, it looks like the fingerboard has some glue where it meets the body, and there's a bit of a gap. Which makes me think a neck reset has been done. However, the bridge itself is very slender, which makes me think it was shaved down- it's only about 3/8" from the strings to the body of the guitar, bridge plus saddle. For contrast, my '56 F-20 has about 5/8" clearance. The wings of the bridge on the F-30 are just about 1/8" tall, and on the F-20 it's 3/16". So I'm sure there is some variance between bridges, and also the F-20 was made 10 years earlier, but, that bridge just looks very thin to me on the F-30. Were the F-30 bridges of this period (1966) thin in general, or has this likely been shaved down?
So it puzzles me that the bridge appears to be shaved down AND some sort of neck reset was done. If so, it seems like perhaps it was done haphazardly- if they were going to go to trouble of resetting the neck, shouldn't they have put a new bridge on while they were at it (unless they really wanted to keep the original bridge, understandable I guess).
All this said, it does sound pretty nice, though the G string buzzes when strummed with force. I guess what I'm wondering is if this if the bridge has just been shaved down too much, should it be replaced, and at that point, it probably needs another neck reset, or, just leave it, but probably reglue the bridge as it appears to be lifting? I'm trying to weigh what the additional costs might be to make this a keeper, or if I should return it.
Hope this all makes sense, thanks for your input!
https://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y412/jayridgewood/IMG_0515_zpsajs5ljin.jpg
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