Is a little belly bulge normal and does it add to the tone?

fronobulax

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The seller says that he's going to bring it in to his guitar tech to have it checked out and have them go over it and see if it needs any work.

Hmmm... I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Wouldn't you know first hand if your guitar needed "work" and if so, wouldn't you do that before putting it up for sale?

I'll wait and see what the report will be.

I'm not sure that is a bad thing. There are a lot of people who sell things that they don't know much about or, more to the point, don't know as much as the buyer. If it is not being used much then the seller might not know or remember specific things about condition.

In my case if I had a buyer that was annoying me with very specific questions, I might very well take a guitar to tech. That gets personalities out of the transaction. If you buy the instrument and disagree with any of the statements made pre-sale I can refer you to the tech and don't have to waste my time listening to you tell me how I was supposed to measure the scale length.

So if someone told me they were going to have their tech check out the instrument it might be a good thing and make me more inclined to buy that particular instrument.
 

ClydeTower

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I'm not sure that is a bad thing. There are a lot of people who sell things that they don't know much about or, more to the point, don't know as much as the buyer. If it is not being used much then the seller might not know or remember specific things about condition.

In my case if I had a buyer that was annoying me with very specific questions, I might very well take a guitar to tech. That gets personalities out of the transaction. If you buy the instrument and disagree with any of the statements made pre-sale I can refer you to the tech and don't have to waste my time listening to you tell me how I was supposed to measure the scale length.

So if someone told me they were going to have their tech check out the instrument it might be a good thing and make me more inclined to buy that particular instrument.

Maybe I should clarify... the seller came across as being "knowledgeable" when answering my questions... or at least wanted to project the impression that he knew what he was talking about. However, I found it odd that he mentioned "a little belly bulge" when asked about it, but never responded to my repeated inquiry asking if the bridge was lifting (I think I asked 3 times). At my third attempt, he just said he would bring the guitar to his guitar tech to have it checked out... never ever acknowledging my question about the bridge. He has since removed the listing from Reverb.

It all just seems a bit odd. Maybe there's a lack of candor on the sellers part, maybe its ignorance or maybe there's nothing to it. We'll see if the listing pops back on Reverb in the coming days...
 

adorshki

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At my third attempt, he just said he would bring the guitar to his guitar tech to have it checked out... never ever acknowledging my question about the bridge. He has since removed the listing from Reverb.
With all due ironic humor, maybe the tech bought it.
:biggrin-new:
 

kostask

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I can't tell action from the Reverb pictures.

It would be a good idea to get some clarification of what the seller means by bridge bulge. is it some curvature of the top from side to side (perfectly normal)? Is it the top pulling up some from top to bottom (may be normal, depending on the amount)? Is there a dip in front of the bridge (broken or loose braces, or broken/cracked bridge plate)? Much of the determination is based on how much bulge there is. Some bulge is normal, no bulge indicates either an overly thick top, a dried out guitar, or an over braced top. Too much bulge is an indication of structural problems (see previous). In a properly thicknessed top that is not over braced, there will always be some bulge.

Bridge bulge is not designed in, but more of a byproduct of a well designed, properly braced, resonant top. It is true that good sounding guitars always have some bridge bulge. It is not true to say that bridge belly is designed in to improve tone, or that it even contributes to good tone.
 
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