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#1
06-05-2017, 01:56 PM
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Martin set-up
Hi,,,I have a fairly new Martin Acoustic Grand Performance guitar that was brought in yesterday for a set-up..The string height at the 12th fret was .130"..The neck relief was .017...I straightened out the neck to .005"relief and lowered the saddle to .085" height....The height at the twelfth fret now is .115...When I lay the straight edge along fingerboard, the edge of the straight edge hits about .065" below the lip of the bridge...All this indicates a neck reset..Would you agree?
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#2
06-05-2017, 02:26 PM
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Neck is under set, saddle is low, action is high (assuming your measuring the high e at the 12th). You didn't mention the string height over the first fret to see if it is within parameters, lowering to appropriate levels might eek out a hair lower action. In the end if all that doesn't make it feel playable to the owner I'd say yes, neck reset time.
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Tim B
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#4
06-05-2017, 02:44 PM
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What is the average humidity where the guitar is stored? Is it it mostly stored in a case with humidifier, on a stand, etc.?
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#6
06-05-2017, 08:44 PM
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How thick is the bridge?
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#7
06-06-2017, 12:14 AM
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Is the repair being done as a favour or paid repair.
I have seen new Martins that need neck resets, it is not just an issue with Martin guitars, it also happens with many manufacturers. What is your skill level? Steve
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Cole Clark Fat Lady Gretsch Electromatic Martin CEO7 Maton Messiah Taylor 814CE
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#8
06-06-2017, 05:34 AM
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John...The neck is 3/8" thick...I guess you are thinking of sanding it down.....The Bridge is made from Richlite...
Steve...This is a paying customer....My skill level is good I guess...I have done resets and deep guitar repairs....I have also built 24 guitars, 4 Irish Bouzoukis and 3 or 4 mandolins..... I guess I'm just trying to confirm what I already know....This is a fairly new guitar...Over 2 thousand dollars to buy, has Richlite fingerboard and bridge, a flawed soundboard and already in need of a reset....Its stamped Made in the USA...I expect better from Martin....My advice to the customer, will be to get in contact with martin or sell it.....He's not going to like it....
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#9
06-06-2017, 06:04 AM
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My question re skill set was in regards too, are you offering him the choice to do the neck reset.
It's really not that uncommon with a lot of brands I have seen 200 dollar to 10,000 dollar guitars, new on the shelves not sold needing resets. If it's not covered under warranty, then with a neck reset he will have potentially a good guitar again. IMO the amount of guitars high end manufacturers make, less than one percent will need further work to make them good to great guitars, that is still pretty good. Steve
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Cole Clark Fat Lady Gretsch Electromatic Martin CEO7 Maton Messiah Taylor 814CE
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#10
06-06-2017, 06:38 AM
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Quote:
I think that's good advice. I had a similar issue with a Martin of mine. I took it to my regular guy (who is not an authorized Martin repair guy). He told me that he thought it was best that he not touch it and sent me to an authorized Martin service guy. That guy confirmed what we already knew which was that it needed a neck reset. He contacted Martin for authorization to proceed. Martin indicated that they wanted to do the neck reset themselves. The repair was done completely invisibly and the guitar is back to right.
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#11
06-06-2017, 09:30 AM
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As Quickstep said, Martin really should cover this under the warranty, but only through an authorized repair station or back at the factory. Don't do anything more to this guitar. The owner might have to argue with them a bit - I did on the two eventually covered neck resets that were needed. They finally relented and stood by their warranty.
The big down side is that each neck reset took five months through repair stations (I only trust really good repair techs, and they tend to be busy). I understand that the turnaround time at the factory is comparable or even longer, plus shipping both ways is at your expense.
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#12
06-06-2017, 09:41 AM
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In my case, the authorized repair guy pretty much did the arguing for me. I delivered the guitar in person, so avoided the delivery charges. It took a while,
 but the repair was invisible.
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#13
06-06-2017, 10:05 AM
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Quote:
3/8" is a thick bridge, which can be cut down to 5/16". If the action is then lowered to 0.090", the saddle height above the lowered bridge would be 0.097". Not ideal, but I believe that is in the acceptable range according to Martin.
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