Harmony Sovereign H6303 Neck Reset. Is it worth it?
 

I have a 1972 Harmony Sovereign H6303. It's a nice little guitar. Solid spruce top, solid mahogany back and sides. Ladder bracing. Nice neck. I love it's small concert size. No cracks, the original finish is in really pretty great shape.

BUT...It definitely needs a neck reset. I don't think it is worth having it done professionally. It doesn't seem to me the guitar is worth putting that kind of money into. But I do like the guitar and would be tempted to attempt it myself.

Should I? Shouldn't I? What would you do?

I don't want to ruin it, that is for sure. I've watched a few videos on the process and I feel confident I could get the neck off. But getting it back on straight and solid seems like that could be a challenge.

http://i1016.photobucket.com/albums/...pszvx2olro.jpg

What about this method to attempt a reset?

http://www.dipintoguitars.com/blog/q.../#comment-7768

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What about converting it to a bolt on like this?

http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/Luth...ichreset1.html


http://www.liutaiomottola.com/construction/Bolton.htm

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That was interesting, and reminds me of something a luthier pal do d form me on a cheaper instrument once - he took off the back, , angled the whole neck block back and reglued the back.

It had a slight "ripple" in the laminated rosewood, but it resolved the problem for many years, and I sold the guitar on only recently with no issues at all.

Then get the neck reset. Current monetary value aside, it's a solid wood American made instrument. Well worth saving. If it needs nothing else, a neck reset shouldn't cost more than $300, or $400 if you have to ship it two ways. These guitars are worth saving IMO.


What I really think of that is not printable. Calling it butchery would be too kind. It creates a lousy joint, a lousy looking repair, diminishes structural integrity, and throws the intonation off. Any competent repairman could reset it properly with less work.

What you're describing is like the method commonly called a "California neck set" or what what Howard Klepper calls a "headblock job". This was used before the current techniques of removing an neck and trimming the heel were widely used. However, the whole back does not have to come off, and it can be done cleanly. It would be a great alternative to the wedge thing described above, but on a Harmony there's no reason not to use a conventional reset because the neck comes off easily enough.

I agree it is worth saving. Don't worry I definitely won't do the hack off the fingerboard wedge thing. The conversion to bolt on looks like a great idea in my opinion but my opinion on this is not worth much on this subject. I feel confident I could get the neck off with no issues. But getting it back on at a perfect angle seems unlikely. With the bolt on you can sand back the angle by sliding sand paper between the body and heel. Bolt it back up, re string it. If that wasn't enough unbolt it and do it a bit more. Seems to make sense.

Cutting off the tongue and securing it with bolts would be strong except the heel is very short cross grain. It could easily crack. How strong would that really be?

Around here I hear the number 500.00 thrown around for a neck reset. I've never actually gotten a quote on it though. I guess I should at least do that before I start hacking parts off.

What about a hybrid of a traditional neck reset and the bolt on method.
Completely remove the neck properly.
Drill holes in the neck block
Add threaded inserts to the tongue.
Slide it back together and bolt it instead of glue it?
That way it could be easily taken back apart if needed for further adjustment but it would retain the original joint.


So educate me a bit on what is happening here. From what I understand the heel block and the Bridge are caving in on themselves slowly over time. This causes the Bridge to curl and the neck to lift. Would there be any way to insert a threaded rod into the body of the guitar that could slowly add pressure between the head and heel? Basicly jacking the body back into shape?

Call it the banjo method.
Buy a length of threaded rod, a nut and a T Nut.
Drill a hole through the end of the guitar by the strap button.
Put the T nut in the hole on the inside.
Thread the rod all the way through the body of the guitar until it presses against the heel.
Tighten slowly over time to push the neck back down.
?? Watcha think?

Or instead of a threaded rod just do it like a Bridge Doctor.
Drill a hole through the headblock
Put in a threaded insert
Run a hardwood dowel through the hole to the tail block.
Insert a set screw to put pressure on the dowel. Pushing back the neck.
Call it a Neck Doctor!





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OK here is what I am thinking I might do. I am posting this here because I want honest feedback as to whether this is a good idea or not.

First of all, my main goal is to improve the playability and tone of this very cool old vintage guitar. The neck and the body woods are in great shape. The Bridge may need to be replaced or repaired because of attempts to shave it down, cut slits in it etc in a feeble attempt to lower the action. The original head stock overlay was missing when I got the guitar so I just added a curly teak veneer to the head stock to clean it up a bit. I recently changed the tuners and had to drill out the original holes to accommodate the new ones. So this guitar has been altered and I don't care that much about keeping it historically accurate. I just want it to play the best it can. And it definitely has great "bones" as we say in the furniture business.

So my plan as I see it now.

1. Steam the neck off in the proper manner.
2. Clean up any glue residue as needed to make an easy fit of the neck dovetail joint.
3. Drill out the tail block and add threaded inserts into the neck heel.
4. Assemble the guitar with bolts
5. Check neck angle
6. Add veneer shims above the top bolt to pitch the neck back until the proper angle is achieved.
7. While the guitar is assembled in this position use a multimax tool to cut into the heel flush against the guitar body. This should trim more wood off the bottom of the heel and none at the top. Cut up to but not through the dovetail.
8. Take the neck off. Remove the shims and bolt back together. This should keep the new neck angle but eliminate the gap caused by the shims.
9. Once the neck is properly set figure out some way to secure the overhanging fingerboard to the top. Maybe lightly glue it or run a couple of screws from underneath.

Honest opinions appreciated.

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I'm a bit dubious on a couple of your proposals .

Firstly, there is no need for bolts (plural) . One bolt will suffice.

Also, exactly what type of threaded insert are you going to use ? If it were me, and if I were determined to make it a bolt on, I would use a hanger bolt, and insert a reinforcing dowel vertically in the heel so that the threads would have cross grain to bite into.

I do feel that if you are going to the trouble of steaming off the neck, then you would be just as well to do the reset the way an experienced luthier would do it, by carefully calculating how much needs to be pared off of the heel, do the paring with a sharp chisel, and fit shims to the dovetail cheeks to take up the slack. It will be time consuming for you, but it isn't rocket science.

Thanks for the suggestions. A hanger bolt is a good idea. It would require a smaller hole in the heel. The dowel is a good idea too. That is my biggest concern. The heel cracking because of the very narrow cross grain. The only problem I see with the dowel is once you put in the hanger bolt it would cut the dowel in half right were you need the strength. But still something to think about.

The reason I hesitate to just shim it and glue it is I am not an experienced luthier. So there is a very good chance I will get the angle wrong. Glue the neck on crooked or some other stupid maneuver. If I bolt it on I would have a second chance at getting it right. Or a third or a forth.

But maybe you are right. Maybe that would be the best thing to do.

But wait! If I use a hanger bolt I would not be able to slide the neck into the dovetail pocket. With an insert it would be flush and slide in then a bolt would go in once everything was in place.

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This is what I am talking about regarding a threaded insert. maybe one would be enough if I am leaving the dovetail intact.

Basically I would just be substituting a bolt for glue.
http://www.rockler.com/steel-threade...atIaAo868P8HAQ

http://assets.rockler.com/media/cata...11-01-1000.jpg

It's a nice solid wood ladder braced made in USA guitar. IMHO it's worth having fixed properly. If it were a cheap laminate one a home neck reset project would be fun but I wouldn't try to learn on a nice solid instrument.

A quick search for luthiers near Orangeville turned up a couple. You might find that a professional repair is available for a reasonable price.

Fred's Musical Repairs  
Musical Instrument Repair Shop
Address: 4247 Rocklin Rd, Rocklin, CA 95677
Phone:(916) 624-0556

Nellist & Karriker Luthiers  
Musical Instrument Store
Address: 4500 Yankee Hill Ct, Rocklin, CA 95677
Phone:(916) 315-9000

ETA: There might a luthier's workshop nearby where someone would take it as a project or where you could do it under expert guidance.

Yes I should take it to some one to get an expert opinion and an estimate. I absolutely do not want to ruin this guitar. Converting to bolt on seemed like an upgrade to me. I thought if done properly it would improve the guitar. But I am no expert at this by any means. Not everybody appreciates a vintage Harmony. The few I have shown it to seemed to regard it as an old cheap guitar. (Music store techs) It actually plays pretty nice as is so there is no rush to start hacking away at it. But I would love to do it myself if I can.

A class is a great idea. I took one when I was about 20 so I have had a taste of it. Many,many,many ,many ,etc. Years ago.
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Ok I just wrote to Steve Bagwell in Nevada City. He reset the neck on my Taylor and fixed the pick ups. I will see what he has to say.

Please let us know what you decide to do. This guitar, or another one like it, would be a great project for a course! That's now on my bucket list.

This listing says that model has a Brazilian rosewood fretboard. If so that's a beautiful extra. There were lots of cheap old Harmony's and they also made a lot of stellar instruments. I think yours is one of the latter and worth bringing back to life.

I will keep you posted. Yes it is a beautiful guitar. The neck is great and the finish is all original and in really good shape. No cracks. Oddly the headstock overlay was missing when I bought it. If I could find a replacement I'd restore that to original. I found it baking in the hot sun at a swap meet. I paid 80.00 for it. I had a Harmony H1260 since high school but that one was stolen. This is my replacement for that. I actually like this one a lot better than my old one.

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