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1979 Yamaha FG-331, to reset or not??
Hi All. First post here. When I was 10 I received a Yamaha FG-331( 1979) for my birthday and have had it ever since. It is the only acoustic guitar I have ever owned. To put it mildly I have played the living S out of this thing. Every song I have ever written has been on this guitar. Gigs, recording sessions, you name it. It is my most prized possession.
Over the past year or two I have had some work done on it to improve the action. Various set ups, saddle shavings, bone nut and saddle. It has become really difficult to play past the first few frets. I do not want to abandon this guitar for a newer one. I brought it in last week to my luthier to have some open back tuners put on and was discussing with him on the way out about the action. He said a re-fret would certainly help the playability. It was sort of in passing this comment. We did not discuss a neck reset at all. I did a sight check on my own and noticed the fretboard is noticeably below the top of the bridge which seems to indicate the need for a reset. The saddle appears to be as low as it can go. I know a reset on these guitars is not financially worth it. But its not about finances. This is my baby. So my ultimate question is this: What is the luthier looking at to get this thing back to playable condition? Is it a dovetail joint, epoxy glued??? Will it need to be sawed off and converted to a bolt on?? What is the prognosis on resetting these late 70's Yamaha's as far as eventual playability and tone? Lots of questions and lots of unknowns. If there is anyone who has experience with this particular model as a reset or a close model please chime in. Or if anyone has any advice to offer. It is appreciated. Thanks for enduring my long post but I wanted to give some history here. Cheers! |
#2
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Welcome to the group. My answer is simple - you need to ask the luthier as he is the one doing the work. My (now irrelevant) question is why after 38 years of owning the guitar did you decide to have work done on it that made it less playable. Next answer is get it straightened out and then don't bother what isn't broke.
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#3
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Last edited by BigToeify; 05-19-2018 at 09:23 PM. |
#4
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I do understand that you have some sentimental attachment to the guitar but when it was gifted to you at age 10, it wasn't meant to be a forever guitar. It was meant to be something that you learned on and moved on from at some point. So here's my suggestion... Don't throw it away. Polish it up and hang it on the wall so it will be right there to inspire you. Then take the money you'd have spent on fixing that guitar, and buy yourself something newer and better.
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Jim 2023 Iris ND-200 maple/adi 2017 Circle Strings 00 bastogne walnut/sinker redwood 2015 Circle Strings Parlor shedua/western red cedar 2009 Bamburg JSB Signature Baritone macassar ebony/carpathian spruce 2004 Taylor XXX-RS indian rosewood/sitka spruce 1988 Martin D-16 mahogany/sitka spruce along with some electrics, zouks, dulcimers, and banjos. YouTube |
#5
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You would repair your car if it needed a new front end or transmission repaired. You've played it for 40 years and it has done it all, it appears. I would certainly repair it and not look back. People take their 14 year old dogs to the vet even though they won't be around for much longer. Fix her and play her.
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#7
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I kind of have a different perspective on this, but it boils down to how fixable, how long it lasts, and for how much. Even given the cost of repair isn't worth it, I suggest considering another view point.
Say it was $500 to fix. Would/could you play this guitar for the next 10 years, the same songs you've written - happiness and joy, heartbreak and sadness - and all the songs to come? $50 a year, or $4 a month, $1 a week, for the company of an old friend doesn't sound like a lot to me. It seems to me you know you can always go to the store and pick up a new guitar without all the troubles this one gives you, and no reason you can't do that next year or the year after. But yet you still have this one. Maybe I'm sentimental because my folks bought me a Yamaha when I was 16 and I don't even know where it is anymore - left behind in some house I can no longer picture. I wonder if it's in a landfill somewhere, or cracked, or developing some great patina in the hands of someone who loves it more than I did. Sometimes it's not about the money or what's sensible. As with jewelry and real estate, memories are worth what the buyer is willing to pay. Sensible people have paid far more to recapture far less.
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Bashkin 00-12 Adi/Hog Bashkin 0M-MS Swiss Moon/PRW(build thread) Bashkin GC-12 Sitka/Koa Carter-Poulsen J-Model German Select Spruce/MacEb Fender MIJ Strat ('90) and 50s RW Tele ('19) Martin 00-28c Spruce/BRW('67) Martin M-36 (R) Sitka/EIR Michaud O-R Cedar/Koa - New Build Michaud J-R Sitka/MBW K. Yairi RF-120 Spruce/EIR KoAloha KTM-25 Koa/Koa Yamaha G-231 Cedar/Hog ('71) |
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#10
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Well you could spend $500 for a nice new Yamaha or you could spend the same for a neck reset on your old one.
Now...would Willie cheat on Trigger? |
#11
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Get it worked on. Obviously the guitar is worth way more to you than the street value or the cost of the work you want done....and that's really the bottom line. Unless the price is somehow ridiculous go for it. As far as what it needs, your luthier should answer all that as they're the ones who've seen your guitar.
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-Jon Last edited by JonHBone; 05-20-2018 at 06:50 AM. |
#12
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You and your Yamaha are soul mates, so fix it and you'll both be happy.
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#13
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You should talk to a qualified Luther about what's involved and the cost.
I'd take into consideration Jim1960's advice, but it's a "is it worth it" call and only you can make that decision. I have a 1979 Yamaha too (it was given to me), but mine hasn't been played to the extent that yours has, as I"ve picked up other guitars along the way. Good Luck in working through your decision.
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Acoustics: '89 Martin D-3532 '15 Taylor 414ce '17 Martin D-28 '18 Martin D-18 '21 Yamaha FS830 |
#14
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Best of both worlds.
Go buy a new guitar. After 40 years you deserve it. In the meantime find out how much it will cost to repair your Yamaha. If you don't mind the price, get it fixed. This could be up to a 6 month wait for the repair. Who wants to be without a guitar for that long?
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Happiness Is A New Set Of Strings L-20A |
#15
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Exactly! I'm not Willie but my Yamaha is my signature guitar.
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