Does a low saddle usually mean a neck reset will be needed soon?

[Earl49]

Originally Posted by ilikeguitar90

.....I think I am going to hold onto my HD28 and get the bridge shaved at first, and then go full neck reset/refret when it must be done. I am already in the process of selling off several cheaper guitars that will likely not get any play time with the HD28 around in order to reduce the blow of some costly repairs (I am expecting something around $750-$1000 for the neck reset and refret along with the new saddle, nut, and bridge).

I will admit it kind of irks that I will end up paying several hundred dollars more than a typical used mint condition HD28 would cost by going this route .....

You like the tone, so that counts for a lot. Just be aware that you are choosing to be upside down value-wise for the sake of that tone. That's OK, since you are making a conscious decision.

I would NOT shave the bridge. That is a non-reversible change that is a stop-gap measure at best. Just keep playing it and enjoying the tone until the lowered action forces you into a neck reset. Then get the fretwork and other things done at that time.

[crowmeyocks]

Someone above quoted a reset at 250-300, which is exactly the delusion I was under when I purchased a project last year (check out my Lyon&Healy thread just above this one).

I could not for the life of me find a quote under 500, and that before a refret and finish work. I checked both in the Southwest and Northwest, over a pretty wide swath of the country. For future reference (and it might be pertinent to this post), what is the real life average cost of resetting a neck these days? And after fret work, which seems pretty much inevitable, what is the grand gut punch? I suspect it's closer to the OP's original 1000-1500 estimate. I'd just like to bust the 250-300 myth once and for all, if it merits busting.

[Earl49]

Agreed. Maybe Mirwa can do a dovetail neck reset for $300 down under in Oz (kudos to him) but both times the paperwork that I signed so the Martin authorized tech could get paid showed $500-$550 amounts. The most recent was 2014. And the number that keeps popping up here for a complete re-fret is about $250. So the work needed to get that HD-28 back up to par is much closer to $1000 than not.

[mirwa]

Originally Posted by crowmeyocks

I'd just like to bust the 250-300 myth once and for all, if it merits busting.

Wow, amazing how much prices vary, typically a neck reset I charge 250-350 dependant on the type of joint and age of instrument. A brand new Martin (I do their warranty work is $250 mark), a 30 year old Martin more like the 350 range. Taylor necks (I do their warranty work) I charge 145. Matons (Australian Guitar) have got one o the best fitted dovetails and I charge 350 for them as well.

If it needs a refret, that is a different job all together I charge 310 for refrets.

Steve

[ilikeguitar90]

After another night of playing the HD28 and I am connecting with it more and more, I am sure that I want to keep it despite knowing that it may need costly work done in the future. To my ears and hands it is one of the nicest acoustic guitars I have ever played. Extremely woody and balanced. Just for kicks here is a quick sound sample I recorded of purely the guitar with no effects or EQ. Please excuse the crude quality, I was playing sitting on the ground and it was recorded directly into my iphone's mic which was sitting in front of me on the ground about a foot away.

https://youtu.be/5u7PrBRWkj8

Tell me the guitar's tone doesn't sound like it could have been an outtake of Jimmy Page playing at Bron-Yr-Aur! Thanks for all the advice and suggestions, you were all extremely helpful.

[Mbroady]

OP, ultimately it is your call on what to do, but...

For what it’s worth, do not shave the bridge. It will devalue the guitar, should you one day decide to sell or trade. And it it is not the proper way to fix the issue, and can cost you more in the long run. The only exception would be if the bridge was thicker then standard, which I have seen on older Martin’s. Martin's standard bridge is 11/32”.

Also, as long as you realize a reset will add another $300 to $600 to what you paid for the guitar and your ok with that, then keep it.

Keep playing and have fun, and keep trying as many guitars as you can when you are around a guitar store