Martin authentic question

[dcmey]

In another thread someone suggested that they wanted to switch from 13's to 12's but couldn't because of reduced tension because it has a non adjustable truss rod, my question is can you put 12's on it safely or only 13's. I had never heard this before. BTW I don't own an authentic or a guitar with a non adjustable truss rod.

[John Arnold]

Pure BS.
Light strings will work just fine.
People get all torqued about nonadjustable reinforcement, but Martin used the tee bar successfully from 1934 until the mid-1960's. Excess relief on those guitars is extremely rare.

[Rodger Knox]

The only problem with going to lighter gauge strings with a nonadjustable neck is that the action MAY need to be raised slightly. Lighter strings pull less relief into the neck, and also have greater excursion due to less tension. Both of these things can cause buzzing.

The person who asked that question is unhappy with the action and/or buzzing issues on their D-28A 1937, which has a T-bar neck. Steve Kovacik worked on it and couldn't fix it to the satisfaction of the owner. From the owner's post, Steve said the only way to fix the buzzing was to raise the saddle, but that was unacceptable to the owner. Now Martin has it evaluating it for warranty work.

Beyond that, I don't have specifics on the measurements or problem. Steve is a competent repairman and well acquainted with vintage Martin construction, so I'm not going to second guess him, especially with so little information.

From what the OP said, the relief was nearly flat with light gauge strings and theory was that if the guitar had an adjustable truss rod, they could add relief rather than raising the saddle. Two points from my experience. One, there is very little change in relief on these guitars (or vintage Martins for that matter) going from 0.12 to 0.13 strings. Two, adding relief to stop buzzing not what I'd typically do stop a buzz. As long as I had some measurable relief, I'd raise the saddle until the buzzing stopped. If there was back bow in the neck, then certainly you need to do something to increase relief.

I suppose a simple "What John Arnold said." post would have been sufficient.

[dcmey]

Thanks I was wondering about that.

[John Arnold]

I did not see the other thread, but I suspect that the owner of the guitar is accustomed to the 'quick and dirty' method of adjusting action with the truss rod. Adding relief will usually make the guitar harder to play, even if the 12th fret action measures the same.
There is an acceptable range of relief, and it is pretty easy to determine. Too much relief will mean more buzzing past the 5th or 6th fret. Too little relief or back bow will mean more buzzing near the nut. Once the relief is correctly set, then action should be adjusted at the nut and saddle.
My experience with Martin tee bar necks is that the vast majority have acceptable relief, whether light gauge or medium gauge strings are in use. If you accept that as fact, then going to light gauge strings will only require raising the saddle because of the greater excursion that Rodger mentioned. But good players will tend to lighten up when playing lighter gauge strings.

[Mr. Jelly]

I think this thread just talked me out of an Authentic Martin. I was eye balling the D-18A 37.

[Arthur Blake]

Originally Posted by Mr. Jelly

I think this thread just talked me out of an Authentic Martin. I was eye balling the D-18A 37.

Did you notice post #2?

[mustachio]

Old thread resurrection, but I was wondering the same thing. I have a 39 D-18A Aged and want a slightly lower action. Going from 13’s to 12’s will reduce tension, right? So, does this mean the neck will hold up even better over time, thus reducing further the need for reset in the far distant future? But I’ll have that slinky feeling I want. Screw it. I’m going to lights.

[ManyMartinMan]

Originally Posted by John Arnold

Pure BS. Light strings will work just fine....

This. My D-28A is sublime with 12's.

[John Arnold]

Going from 13’s to 12’s will reduce tension, right? So, does this mean the neck will hold up even better over time, thus reducing further the need for reset in the far distant future?

It's possible, especially with the emphasis on 'distant'. Just to be clear, the need for a reset has nothing to do with the neck reinforcement. A reset will not straighten a warped neck. A reset becomes necessary because of distortion in the body.

[mirwa]

Without knowing the full story its always an interpretation, typically going from 13's to 12's is never an issue.

Sometimes with some martins they have back bow from manufacture that no amount of adjustment will remove, ideally it should be corrected, sometimes heavier gauge strings are an option to overcome that back bow, so dropping back to 12's in this instance would show an underlying issue that was not addressed properly

Steve

[cap217]

I know its an old thread but it has recent posts so I will post here. What are Martins acceptable relief specs? I know action and relief are a personal preference and I like mine lower but does Martin have something for relief like they do with their higher action heights?