Thoughts about neck resets?

[richnrbq]

Thanks for all the good advice- very helpful!

Rich

[blindboyjimi]

I’d send it back to Santa Cruz. I’m certain that there are very competent people in Philly, but I’m also certain that Santa Cruz would do a perfect job, PLEK it and have it dialed right in. That’s worth $65 bucks each way and it’d put my mind at ease. All guitars will eventually need a re-set and the lighter built more responsive guitars may need it a tad sooner, but like the poster here said, you’ll wish you had done it sooner.

[B. Howard]

Cheap disposable guitars get things like ramps for strings to sit on saddles that are way too low and shaved bridges and all that voodoo. Cases where a neck reset would equal or exceed the value of the instrument.

A Santa Cruz however should just have a proper neck set done by an experienced luthier. I am not that far south of Philly if you need someone for a job like that.

[mirwa]

Originally Posted by blindboyjimi

PLEK it and have it dialed right in.

Biggest waste of money happening right there.

Steve

[redir]

Originally Posted by zoopeda

No decent luthier or tech is going to shave down the bridge in order to delay a neck reset. Once the geometry is off, relief and nut are right, and the saddle is low, a good one will set the neck.

Exactly right. If it's a cheap Yamaha or something like that I'd probably shave the bridge down.

[leecag]

Give a call up to Wind Gap - Brothers Music Shop - here's a link:
http://brothersmusicshop.com/

Dave and Rich are pros. Both worked at C F Martin in repairs (Dave for 15 and Rich for about 12). They have done work for me and for several friends - they can do anything from restoration to conversions.
You'll also find many references to them on the UMGF.org site.

Excellent work and reasonable prices.

Give 'em a call & tell 'em Lee sent you.

[Truckjohn]

Definately get the neck reset.

The tone is going to change if somebody shaves the bridge down...

There are plenty of fine, capable luthiers out your way (fairly) locally.

The other options would be to send it back to SCGC or send it out to Dan in Montana since he actually built the thing. You would have to pay....

If I knew I could trust the quality of work of a reasonably local luthier - I would take it myself and pick it up in person when it was done.... Save you the heartburn over The Shipping Company smashing it with concrete blocks or driving their truck over it... It happens.

[svea]

I agree with those that say get the the neck reset. I'm also really picky about guitar repairs. I always feel that doing the least harm is the best option. DON'T GET THE BRIDGE SHAVED!!! All that said, I do know that if the guitar can be safely shipped to the SC factory, that they will take care of you and your guitar. I also hate shipping guitars if I can avoid it. So, the next best option is to call SC and see if they can recommend someone near you. What have you got to lose. Oh, and I also thought of calling Dan Roberts too. He even may know someone near you.

Svea

[richnrbq]

Thanks again, folks. I was in touch with Santa Cruz and they've put me on the schedule for October. I can definitely hold out that long and for my own peace of mind, I think I'd be happiest having them do the job. The prices were reasonable for what I hope will be a once in a lifetime piece of maintenance on this guitar.

Thanks for encouraging getting this done- I think it will be awesome to have this guitar in peak playing condition again. In the meantime, I'll change from mediums to lights and take a little pressure off...

[zavaletas]

It sounds like the neck may have warped, in which case, another solution may be to heat and bend the neck, again this requires expertise in this procedure, but is usually a lot cheaper than a neck reset.