Save my 12 string - I hope?

[Doons]

I have a circa 1982 or 3, Suzuki 12 string. It is an unabashed copy of a Martin D12-20. I bought it on a whim about 10 years ago. It has never been right. Perfectly in tune on the first 3 frets and farther up the board, things go south. It only effects the g,b and e sets. Took it to “my guy” Nate, at Lambs. Turns out that the bridge/saddle are positioned incorrectly. It has never been right. Had a group think with me, Nate and his Pop’s and we decided that filling the bridge slot and pin holes, then re-drill and cut about 3mm back should solve the issue. Before I dropped it off, I decided that I would not spend more than I paid ($200) to fix it. I should be just under that. It is in great physical shape, makes sense, it has never played correctly. Buck stops with me, hoping this will make it playable. Did confirm it does have a solid spruce top, sides are hog laminate. Hopefully it will rediscover itself and turn from Wall Art to a playable noise maker! On the left, the faker, on the right, the real deal.

[Dru Edwards]

So it sounds like you're going ahead with the fix. Here's to Nate doing a great job and I'm looking forward to your review.

I have to ask... did you give any consideration about getting another 12 string?

[Doons]

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

So it sounds like you're going ahead with the fix. Here's to Nate doing a great job and I'm looking forward to your review.

I have to ask... did you give any consideration about getting another 12 string?

I am going forward with the fix, had it so long I hope this saves it. I did think about the investment, most certainly. Once fixed and hopefully playable, I will have into it a few bucks less than a new FG820 12 string. That is my initial investment and the fix. If it is playable, worth it. If not, back to being wall art in the guitar room. If I get a twitch to have a 12 string in the future, I will get an affordable one...NEW! Be a shame not to make a calculated effort to keep it from becoming just hanging art. If it had a laminated top, I probably would have skipped the fix.

[FrankHudson]

I think you made a good decision, assuming you like the feel and sound of the guitar when you look past the intonation issues.

If the guitar has a regular nut (and not a zero fret) it might be worth your while to have the nut slots tweaked while you're having the work done. A 12-string with too high nut slots is less fun to play.

[superbitterdave]

I’ll jump in with the economist approach. It doesn’t matter what you paid originally. That’s a ‘sunk cost’. You should consider the value of the guitar today versus the value of the guitar after the repair less the cost of the repair. If it costs more to repair than the increase in the sale value, it’s not a good decision.

However, if you don’t care about resale, the question should be, ‘is it worth it for me to pay for the repair to have a guitar I would enjoy playing’.

Cheers,

Dave