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Old 04-28-2018, 06:32 PM
icuker icuker is offline
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Default Losing Saddle Height over time

My alhambra guitar needed some work about 10 years ago. It was about 15 years old at the time. Anyway, due to my lack of humidifying the instrument properly it needed the saddle/bridge lowered some. There is very little saddle height left as a result. (It plays fine as is, but it can't realistically go any lower) Now it hasn't gotten worse since, and I've taken good care of it. However, I have noticed the same on some other used classical guitars, so wondered if it is a humidity problem also or do they over time tend to do that anyway?
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Old 04-28-2018, 06:42 PM
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fazool fazool is offline
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Most humidity issues can be corrected (until permanent or structural changes occur).

What you are seeing is distortion of the wood and joints due to the string tension and forces acting on the wood.
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Old 04-28-2018, 10:10 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by icuker View Post
My alhambra guitar needed some work about 10 years ago. It was about 15 years old at the time. Anyway, due to my lack of humidifying the instrument properly it needed the saddle/bridge lowered some. There is very little saddle height left as a result. (It plays fine as is, but it can't realistically go any lower) Now it hasn't gotten worse since, and I've taken good care of it. However, I have noticed the same on some other used classical guitars, so wondered if it is a humidity problem also or do they over time tend to do that anyway?
Not following you. If the guitar's top height has dropped a bit even when adequately humidified then you simply put in a taller saddle.
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Old 04-29-2018, 08:16 AM
icuker icuker is offline
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It actually bulged instead of dropped. So the action went high as a result. My basic question in all my rambling was if classical guitars in general get high action over time, or if properly cared for tend not to. I'm wondering if because of lighter bracing and use of cedar, if any of that makes a real difference in stability of the soundboard and action.
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Old 04-29-2018, 08:51 AM
Portland Bill Portland Bill is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by icuker View Post
It actually bulged instead of dropped. So the action went high as a result. My basic question in all my rambling was if classical guitars in general get high action over time, or if properly cared for tend not to. I'm wondering if because of lighter bracing and use of cedar, if any of that makes a real difference in stability of the soundboard and action.
It’s a common problem and isn’t related to care.

Last edited by Portland Bill; 04-29-2018 at 09:03 AM.
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Old 04-29-2018, 10:12 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by icuker View Post
It actually bulged instead of dropped. So the action went high as a result. My basic question in all my rambling was if classical guitars in general get high action over time, or if properly cared for tend not to. I'm wondering if because of lighter bracing and use of cedar, if any of that makes a real difference in stability of the soundboard and action.
Sorry, read your post wrong. I have had stable tops in cedar classical guitars that I have owned. It does not have to happen but is not that unusual. Have a good guitar tech or luthier take a look and give you an opinion on what could be done.
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Old 04-29-2018, 11:17 AM
zavaletas zavaletas is offline
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Typically, prolonged exposure to low humidity with cause the neck to bow -- (and frets to stick out), and eventually cause wood top and back wood to crack.

Often first attempts to deal with the bow in the neck is to lower the saddle, which often if the bow is slight is sufficient to return the guitar to a playable condition... It does come at a slight cost. As one lowers the saddle, the brake angle diminishes, and so can affect tone and volume.

The best fix I have found is to heat the neck and bend it back to remove the bow. However, this needs to be done by a luthier who has lots of experience with this technique. This also tends to be a permanent solution, as heating drive any moisture out of the neck, and causes the cellular structure to re-crystalize.
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Old 04-29-2018, 12:55 PM
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This is likely due to normal guitar age - guitar belly bulge where the prolonged tension of strings pulls the guitar top up while the neck forward. Every guitar will do this eventually with age - collapse on itself. Take it to a Luthier. You likely need a neck reset which will fix the problem.
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Old 04-30-2018, 02:13 AM
Portland Bill Portland Bill is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jazzguy View Post
This is likely due to normal guitar age - guitar belly bulge where the prolonged tension of strings pulls the guitar top up while the neck forward. Every guitar will do this eventually with age - collapse on itself. Take it to a Luthier. You likely need a neck reset which will fix the problem.

You can’t reset the neck on a classical guitar if it’s built in the traditional method, as the neck is not built separately like a steel string so can’t be removed.
There is a method called slipping the back but the problem is often fixed by a new thicker fingerboard, if you look carefully at the photos of the Augustine Hauser that Julian Bream had on loan, you can see that a new fingerboard has been fitted over the old one.

http://www.loweguitars.co.uk/index.p...ation/hauser-i

Last edited by Portland Bill; 04-30-2018 at 02:23 AM.
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