New 12 string

[avagadro]

bought a new GADFJ 3012 last week. I've had the craving for a nice Guild 12 string for many years now. love that blonde maple. it seems as if the top is lifting a little, it was tuned to standard when I got it so I lowered her down a whole step. does anyone know if adding a "BridgeDoctor" will void the warranty? hate to get involved with sending back an otherwise nice guitar, but I know what happens with 12 strings. It's always the bridge or the top.
Happy Birthday to Graham. I always get a chuckle when I see your avatar.
IMG]http://i735.photobucket.com/albums/ww354/avagadro10/DSCN1046.jpg[/IMG]

 

[Treem]

Welcome to LTG amigo!!!

And congrats on your new 12-string!!

Treem 8)

 

[devellis]

First, welcome.

I would strongly suspect that a Bridge Doctor would void the warranty. Have you had a Guild authorized repair person look at the guitar? Maybe it's within normal specs. If not, best to get it taken care of sooner rather than later and better to have Guild take care of it than paying for it yourself and having a non-authorized repair performed. Just my opinion, of course.

Others may have different perspectives. There are a lot of people here who really know these guitars.

 

[adorshki]

Hi Avagadro, Welcome!. About warranty: You must be original purchaser and be able to provide proof of purchase. Assuming that's all good, you DO need to take it to a Guild authorized warranty shop for Guild approved confirmation of the problem. They have a list of warranty shops on their website http://www.guildguitars.com. About Bridge Doctors: I've read many happy reviews here especially by 12 string owners, but at least one type of installation involves mods to the guitar that WILL void the warranty. The bridgepin replacement system claims no mods are made but I suspect it would invalidate the warranty simply by being an unauthorized modification in itself. It DOES introduce mechanical stresses to the guitar even though they are theoretically only counter-acting harmful mechanical tension. Maybe the way to get real confirmation would be to ask the warranty shop if it would invalidate the warranty or not. They might even install it. Can't get much better warranty guarantee than that.
Personal opinion is I'm considering installing one on one of my guitars but it's actually under warranty itself so I'm still in "wait and see" mode. I forgot to ask them at the warranty shop I just went to, had other things on my mind....GOOD LUCK to ya!

 

[Taylor Martin Guild]

I don't know about Guild but my wife's Taylor started to belly behind the bridge.
I keep the humidity at around 45% so it isn't humidity related.
I called Taylor and they said that they sometimes install a Bridge Doctor in their guitars to relieve the belly problem.

Call Guild and ask them.

 

[taabru45]

You paid your money for a new guitar. i.e. without problems! get it back to Guild for servicing, or replacement. If there is some slight design flaw, or material flaw, that is what it is waranteed for, and if this is a recurring problem with other 12s then it would be incentive for them to investigate and solve the problem....they ARE in the stages of reinventing themselves reputation wise. Get 'er done...and that world be such a drag with a new guitar....best of luck. beautiful guitar by the way, and if it were me i'd throw on a 'traditional' pickguard, regards Steffan

 

[jazzmang]

If you take it into an authorized repair center, Guild will more than likely completely replace the guitar. They usually do this with the imports.

Just have your receipt handy when you take it in!

Good luck!

 

[chazmo]

Humidity.... I see you're in Arizona. Are you controlling the RH of the room (or case) where you're storing your guitar? New or not, you need to do that or your solid wood guitar (you're GAD is) will buckle.

Depending on the severity of the belly, you might be able to help the guitar retain its shape just by re-humidifying it (multiple dampits in the soundhole + humidified room), slacking the strings, and resting some books on the belly and letting it flatten out naturally.

There are a number of folks with positive comments about the bridge doctor here. So, I'm not dissuading you on that score.