Quote:
Originally Posted by acutchin
...my guitar has an oddly high fretboard at the neck joint, and almost no neck "angle" at all. The strings are nearly "parallel" to the top, if you can imagine anything being parallel to an arched top. The string height at the bridge is only about 5/8", and the bridge itself has obviously been whittled down to fit...
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Sounds like you need to talk to your friendly local tech about a neck reset - rather than a carelessly
assembled instrument I'm thinking it was carelessly
repaired (in the loosest sense of the term) by some hack who didn't know (or care) squat about what makes these puppies bark - and chances are you're also losing a substantial amount of tone in the bargain. FWIW although this isn't an uncommon condition among older archtops (which were almost invariably strung with heavy-gauge strings - think 14-60 or 15-62 with a wound B - for Big Band comp rhythm), bear in mind that neck geometry is
far more critical to tone than on a typical flattop - the vibrational pattern is predominantly of a "piston" rather than a torsional nature, and there needs to be sufficient downward force to properly drive the top (the fact that the tailpiece is almost touching the top doesn't help matters either); while it's not going to be cheap, a guitar like yours is well worth restoring for both its tonal and historic merits - just be sure you find someone who can respect and appreciate it for what it is before you lay down your bucks...