warped top

[gayler]

Can a warped top be repaired, and if so how would it be done?

[brownacid]

What kind of guitar is it and how badly is it warped? On my breedlove the have a bracing system under the bridge so that if the top warps you can just tighten the truss rod under the bridge and it should go back to normal.


Failing that I do believe vthat the top can be replaced but it could be costly and you would want to price it and consider what your own guitar is worth. You may be better off just getting a new guitar rather than replcing it.


Your call though.

[cornerstone]

Originally Posted by brownacid

What kind of guitar is it and how badly is it warped? On my breedlove the have a bracing system under the bridge so that if the top warps you can just tighten the truss rod under the bridge and it should go back to normal.


Failing that I do believe vthat the top can be replaced but it could be costly and you would want to price it and consider what your own guitar is worth. You may be better off just getting a new guitar rather than replcing it.


Your call though.

What you have on your Breedlove is the JDL bridge system which is designed to keep the bridge from belling up to to string tension. It does not have any special bracing nor does it have a"truss rod" to adjust the top. Its a solid piece that connects to the bridge from under the bridge patch with screws and attaches to the end block, its designed to keep the bridge from tilting forward due to string tension which can slightly warp the soundboard.

[cornerstone]

Originally Posted by gayler

Can a warped top be repaired, and if so how would it be done?

What kind of guitar is it? sometimes removing the strings and placing the guitar in its case with an humidifier may do the trick. Severe dry weather can cause major warping in a top.

[texasdave]

Yep, Breedlove adopted the Bridge Doctor right into the design of their guitars....allowed 'em to go with lighter than traditional bracing on the top... Bridge Doctor was originally created as an easy (and rather ingenius) fix to a bellied up top... "stout-hearted" and I found a nice Tak for his son that had a pretty significant saddle pull, and he threw one in and straightened it out nicely... you might take a few pics of the top in question and let's see what we're talking about...

[gayler]

I kind of fixed it. I cut a block of wood the correct thickness and glued it inside where it was warped and clamped the top flat. it's holding up good so far and didn't hurt the tone much!

[texasdave]

OUCH!!

I guess we shoulda pushed you a little harder towards these... and it's JLD, not JDL, sorry...

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Sp...ge_Doctor.html

[teleking36]

Anyone had this done to their acoustic? I just got a '00 Guild D30, and it looks as if it's got a very very slight belly developing. Nothing too major right now, but I figured I could look into getting the Bridge Doctor installed as sort of a preventative maintenance kind of thing.

Also, would these hurt the value of an acoustic? If so, how much?

[Stubee]

Teleking: I've had a bunch of old flattops and still have a couple. Some "bellying" is to be expected, and in fact almost all old Gibson's have some. If it get's really bad, it's maybe a top brace that's let go (usually due to drying out). These can be re-glued to hold again, not that big of a deal.

Top "sinkage"--where it collapses between the bridge & soundhole--is a whole 'nother thing and more of a problem, but that's due to poor guitar design & set-up and fairly rare anyway.

If it were my D30, I would not worry about a "very slight belly" at all, and if I were worried, I'd have a competent tech look at it to see if the brace had come loose. The last thing I'd do would be to put a BD or chunk of wood or anything else in a guitar that wasn't originally designed for such as a preventative. The best preventative maintenance, IMO, is to keep the guitar from drying out in yer house in the winter, plus don't let it get super hot in a car or something.

Flattops are around and being regularly played that were built 60+ years ago, and w/o BD's or "chunks of wood" added. They are sound instruments if well put together & maintained a bit.

[GuitslingerTim]

Originally Posted by Stubee

Top "sinkage"--where it collapses between the bridge & soundhole--is a whole 'nother thing and more of a problem, but that's due to poor guitar design & set-up and fairly rare anyway.

I thought 'top sinking' was caused by lack of humidity. What type of setup causes a top to sink?

[Stubee]

I've never owned one with bad sinkage but have had one or two with just a very little bit of it, and saw worse. I believe it is caused by the "fulcrum effect": too high saddle height + X-brace design and/or other build factors that allows the top to "sink" there. Kinda like the bridge & and associated wood collapses inward. Some '60s Hummingbird and related models experienced this, perhaps exacerbated by the owners trying to fix a poorly adjusted neck by raising the common adjustable saddle on some of those guitars. It can apparently happen & then stabilize-like the one or two I had--or get pretty bad. I do know the BD has been used to "fix" guitars with that problem, just because I inquired about an old one like that once long ago.

I think top sinkage is not much of a problem for most of us, and is not necessarily related to dryness at all (unlike so many other issues). I've not owned or worked on a guitar with bad top sinkage, so perhaps a real expert will chime in.

[teleking36]

Originally Posted by Stubee

Teleking: I've had a bunch of old flattops and still have a couple. Some "bellying" is to be expected, and in fact almost all old Gibson's have some. If it get's really bad, it's maybe a top brace that's let go (usually due to drying out). These can be re-glued to hold again, not that big of a deal.

Top "sinkage"--where it collapses between the bridge & soundhole--is a whole 'nother thing and more of a problem, but that's due to poor guitar design & set-up and fairly rare anyway.

If it were my D30, I would not worry about a "very slight belly" at all, and if I were worried, I'd have a competent tech look at it to see if the brace had come loose. The last thing I'd do would be to put a BD or chunk of wood or anything else in a guitar that wasn't originally designed for such as a preventative. The best preventative maintenance, IMO, is to keep the guitar from drying out in yer house in the winter, plus don't let it get super hot in a car or something.

Flattops are around and being regularly played that were built 60+ years ago, and w/o BD's or "chunks of wood" added. They are sound instruments if well put together & maintained a bit.

Thanks for the info Stubee. I wasn't too worried about it, because as I mentioned, it's very minor. I definitely take care of my guitars with proper humidity control, etc. I'll just continue to use my humidifier, and if I notice any big changes, I'll have my tech take a look at it.