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Guitar repair advice needed


stoopid
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My lower end Martin didn't survive the cross country trip so well. It plays fine but I immediately noticed the slight neck gap/separation.

 

I've seen a few diy repairs videos on youtube. It seems dubious I'd be able to repair this myself with some wood glue(?).

 

Link to dropbox hosted image: https://www.dropbox.com/s/bafycqs1dg7g6fa/martin-gap.jpg?dl=0

Edited by stoopid
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Is it only on the one side?.....if so, it may have sustained a knock and the wood on the other side may have been driven into the body a touch...I suppose you could try a few gentle taps on the raised side to level it out and maybe use wood glue once you are satisfied there is no gap, but not sure i would fancy trying it myself.
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Have you called around to any shops to get a quote?

 

This would be my personal approach. Depends on the sentimental and commercial value for you, I guess. It looks slight, though I'd still get someones qualified opinion on this 1st, as I'm no good at woodwork!

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Have you called around to any shops to get a quote?

 

Not yet, was starting to lean toward diy when I saw people supposedly had success. Money's a bit tight for such things at the moment, but I also know having it in this state isn't good for the long term.

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Have you called around to any shops to get a quote?

 

Depends on the sentimental and commercial value for you, I guess.

 

It has neither, it's just a decent guitar for noodling and very occasional tracking. That's one reason I want to avoid spending a bunch of money fixing it.

Edited by stoopid
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The key thing is: if you try it yourself and totally hose the guitar, would it be a huge loss? If not, back off the string tension, glue it up, clamp it and say some prayers to the Martin gods. I noticed you said 'low end' in your post, so that would be a key. If this was higher end or vintage...oh hells no, let a pro take care of it.

 

Honestly for separation like that, i'm not sure what else a shop would do except what I said.

 

Then it again, it's easy for me to give advice when there's no chance of f***ing up my own gear. :P

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Thanks for the encouragement. I went ahead and did the DIY repair and so far it's holding. I left it a day as you see it in picture 1, for it to cure, since I didn't have any way of clamping it.

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/eipsls3znalhkzm/guit1.jpg

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/u7w7mc2b5qqqt9a/guit2.jpg

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/eckvbkjgmswz2dd/guit3.jpg

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Thanks for the encouragement. I went ahead and did the DIY repair and so far it's holding. I left it a day as you see it in picture 1, for it to cure, since I didn't have any way of clamping it.

 

https://www.dropbox....lhkzm/guit1.jpg

 

https://www.dropbox....qqt9a/guit2.jpg

 

https://www.dropbox....wz2dd/guit3.jpg

 

Looks good . . . maybe you should put an extra two hundred pounds of weight on it, though . . . :scared:

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Thanks for the encouragement. I went ahead and did the DIY repair and so far it's holding. I left it a day as you see it in picture 1, for it to cure, since I didn't have any way of clamping it.

 

https://www.dropbox....lhkzm/guit1.jpg

 

https://www.dropbox....qqt9a/guit2.jpg

 

https://www.dropbox....wz2dd/guit3.jpg

 

Looks good . . . maybe you should put an extra two hundred pounds of weight on it, though . . . :scared:

 

It's not all on the neck. I think there's 40 pounds total shown, and the way the weights are placed some is being sent into the floor through the body. Considering my lack of proper tools, I'm pleased I was even able to get the job done with what I had.

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Correction, 45 pounds shown.

 

How will those weights affect the sound? And you sure are going to fatigue quickly playing it that way!

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Correction, 45 pounds shown.

 

How will those weights affect the sound? And you sure are going to fatigue quickly playing it that way!

I play an early Ibanez solid body that's heavy as an anvil. Just gotta build up the girly man shoulders.

 

hqdefault.jpg

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Correction, 45 pounds shown.

 

How will those weights affect the sound? And you sure are going to fatigue quickly playing it that way!

 

Ever gig with a solid body bass? I'm up to the challenge!

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The repair is kinda holding, I can see a little bit of light on the bottom/start of where the prior separation was, but the overall integrity of the neck seems fine so I'm letting it be for now. I only need it for plunking and very occasional recording.
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Update on this?

 

As I was gone from the forum for awhile, this is the first I’ve seen this thread, but my first thought was just to have the neck re-set. Since you said it is a lower-end model (i.e. an HPL body, or something like that), then that may be a repair that costs more money than it’s worth. But I’d say if the neck starts to revert to the way it was before you repaired it, that would definitely help.

 

And pretty much all Martins that I know of (except the early parlor guitars) are notorious for needing neck resets at some point. I have a 1936 0-17 that I just had the neck reset on a few months ago. For around $300, it’s a repair that typically lasts about 50 years- it definitely lowered the action and it’s easier to play now, and no fret buzz.

 

Whatever the case, I hope it’s still enjoyable to play.

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Update on this?

 

As I was gone from the forum for awhile, this is the first I’ve seen this thread, but my first thought was just to have the neck re-set. Since you said it is a lower-end model (i.e. an HPL body, or something like that), then that may be a repair that costs more money than it’s worth. But I’d say if the neck starts to revert to the way it was before you repaired it, that would definitely help.

 

And pretty much all Martins that I know of (except the early parlor guitars) are notorious for needing neck resets at some point. I have a 1936 0-17 that I just had the neck reset on a few months ago. For around $300, it’s a repair that typically lasts about 50 years- it definitely lowered the action and it’s easier to play now, and no fret buzz.

 

Whatever the case, I hope it’s still enjoyable to play.

 

Thanks for the nudge and advice.

 

The neck is holding together okay since the repair (almost 7 months ago). The tiny gap hasn't widened any more, so the glue repair must be doing its job. If it reverts to the same gap I'll probably spend the money or maybe donate it to a shop and buy something tossable for the cost of repair (if it's $300 like you suggest, I can get by with a $300 takamine or something).

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Update on this?

 

As I was gone from the forum for awhile, this is the first I’ve seen this thread, but my first thought was just to have the neck re-set. Since you said it is a lower-end model (i.e. an HPL body, or something like that), then that may be a repair that costs more money than it’s worth. But I’d say if the neck starts to revert to the way it was before you repaired it, that would definitely help.

 

And pretty much all Martins that I know of (except the early parlor guitars) are notorious for needing neck resets at some point. I have a 1936 0-17 that I just had the neck reset on a few months ago. For around $300, it’s a repair that typically lasts about 50 years- it definitely lowered the action and it’s easier to play now, and no fret buzz.

 

Whatever the case, I hope it’s still enjoyable to play.

 

Thanks for the nudge and advice.

 

The neck is holding together okay since the repair (almost 7 months ago). The tiny gap hasn't widened any more, so the glue repair must be doing its job. If it reverts to the same gap I'll probably spend the money or maybe donate it to a shop and buy something tossable for the cost of repair (if it's $300 like you suggest, I can get by with a $300 takamine or something).

 

That’s good news, and yes, I totally understand- putting a $300 repair into a $500-or-so guitar would not exactly be cost-effective. But if it’s working out as it is and it’s perfectly playable and enjoyable, that’s all that matters.

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Well things aren't improving with the guitar. Noticed the other day there's a crack on the back, exact mid seam near the neck end. I'm pretty sure I would have noticed this before. Guess I'm playing this until that crack grows to the point it affects the sound and then moving on to another instrument. This guitar is likely a victim of the cross country move, probably relied on the case too much to protect it and needed to take more precaution with it. I'm a bit surprised just how thin the wood is on the body. It's a light guitar but never made the connection as to *why* it's so light. Edited by stoopid
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Well things aren't improving with the guitar. Noticed the other day there's a crack on the back, exact mid seam near the neck end. I'm pretty sure I would have noticed this before. Guess I'm playing this until that crack grows to the point it affects the sound and then moving on to another instrument. This guitar is likely a victim of the cross country move, probably relied on the case too much to protect it and needed to take more precaution with it. I'm a bit surprised just how thin the wood is on the body. It's a light guitar but never made the connection as to *why* it's so light.

 

What could you have done differently? Stuff the case with towels or something? Is the guitar moving around inside the case when it's closed?

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Well things aren't improving with the guitar. Noticed the other day there's a crack on the back, exact mid seam near the neck end. I'm pretty sure I would have noticed this before. Guess I'm playing this until that crack grows to the point it affects the sound and then moving on to another instrument. This guitar is likely a victim of the cross country move, probably relied on the case too much to protect it and needed to take more precaution with it. I'm a bit surprised just how thin the wood is on the body. It's a light guitar but never made the connection as to *why* it's so light.

 

What could you have done differently? Stuff the case with towels or something? Is the guitar moving around inside the case when it's closed?

 

It was in the trunk of the car for 2600 miles. The trunk was fairly packed, and I'm pretty sure the acoustic case was on the bottom of at least another guitar or two, because I assumed the hard shell case was robust enough to support some additional weight.

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Well things aren't improving with the guitar. Noticed the other day there's a crack on the back, exact mid seam near the neck end. I'm pretty sure I would have noticed this before. Guess I'm playing this until that crack grows to the point it affects the sound and then moving on to another instrument. This guitar is likely a victim of the cross country move, probably relied on the case too much to protect it and needed to take more precaution with it. I'm a bit surprised just how thin the wood is on the body. It's a light guitar but never made the connection as to *why* it's so light.

 

What could you have done differently? Stuff the case with towels or something? Is the guitar moving around inside the case when it's closed?

 

It was in the trunk of the car for 2600 miles. The trunk was fairly packed, and I'm pretty sure the acoustic case was on the bottom of at least another guitar or two, because I assumed the hard shell case was robust enough to support some additional weight.

 

I took my HD-28 on a road trip about a month ago, first time I’ve ever taken a guitar in the car for longer than a trip across town- and I got rear-ended on I-70. The guy was braking, but he was still going at a decent clip when he hit me.

 

The guitar was not in the trunk, though, I just had it in the back seat, in a hard shell case. It flew forward and the case smacked up against the interior of the car, between the front and rear door on the passenger’s side. But the guitar was fine.

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Well things aren't improving with the guitar. Noticed the other day there's a crack on the back, exact mid seam near the neck end. I'm pretty sure I would have noticed this before. Guess I'm playing this until that crack grows to the point it affects the sound and then moving on to another instrument. This guitar is likely a victim of the cross country move, probably relied on the case too much to protect it and needed to take more precaution with it. I'm a bit surprised just how thin the wood is on the body. It's a light guitar but never made the connection as to *why* it's so light.

 

What could you have done differently? Stuff the case with towels or something? Is the guitar moving around inside the case when it's closed?

 

It was in the trunk of the car for 2600 miles. The trunk was fairly packed, and I'm pretty sure the acoustic case was on the bottom of at least another guitar or two, because I assumed the hard shell case was robust enough to support some additional weight.

 

I took my HD-28 on a road trip about a month ago, first time I’ve ever taken a guitar in the car for longer than a trip across town- and I got rear-ended on I-70. The guy was braking, but he was still going at a decent clip when he hit me.

 

The guitar was not in the trunk, though, I just had it in the back seat, in a hard shell case. It flew forward and the case smacked up against the interior of the car, between the front and rear door on the passenger’s side. But the guitar was fine.

 

For $3,000 I'd hope it was better made than my $600 Martin. :P

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Well things aren't improving with the guitar. Noticed the other day there's a crack on the back, exact mid seam near the neck end. I'm pretty sure I would have noticed this before. Guess I'm playing this until that crack grows to the point it affects the sound and then moving on to another instrument. This guitar is likely a victim of the cross country move, probably relied on the case too much to protect it and needed to take more precaution with it. I'm a bit surprised just how thin the wood is on the body. It's a light guitar but never made the connection as to *why* it's so light.

 

What could you have done differently? Stuff the case with towels or something? Is the guitar moving around inside the case when it's closed?

 

It was in the trunk of the car for 2600 miles. The trunk was fairly packed, and I'm pretty sure the acoustic case was on the bottom of at least another guitar or two, because I assumed the hard shell case was robust enough to support some additional weight.

 

I took my HD-28 on a road trip about a month ago, first time I’ve ever taken a guitar in the car for longer than a trip across town- and I got rear-ended on I-70. The guy was braking, but he was still going at a decent clip when he hit me.

 

The guitar was not in the trunk, though, I just had it in the back seat, in a hard shell case. It flew forward and the case smacked up against the interior of the car, between the front and rear door on the passenger’s side. But the guitar was fine.

 

For $3,000 I'd hope it was better made than my $600 Martin. :P

 

Hey, I used to have a $600 Martin, too. ;)

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