NGD - Fretboard "bump" on new-to-me acoustic guitar (MIJ)

waltschwarzkopf · #1 03-23-2022, 06:09 AM

Hello, World!

New guitar day for me, I was looking for a Dreadnought guitar so I made an offer to a guy, but he rejected it because it was too low. HOWEVER, he was interested in an amp I was selling so we made a deal for his guitar + cash for my amp. In the end, I got this beauty for about 50 bucks...

She is an Aria 9020 Made in Japan! I've read that this is one of the best Martin copies, whatever that means... Plays and sounds great, non-compensated height-adjustable bridge, open metal tuners, one-way truss-rod, and black pickguard. I've read that these models were made in the 90s, but also read that they are from the 70s. Does anybody know about this?

Overall, I am happy with her, only two issues "bother me":

The headstock broke once. The guy said that the guitar fell, but a wood-experienced friend of his recommended glue and advised him how to repair it. It looks like it didn't completely come off, but only opened from the back. It is not the best repair job, but doesn't look to bad either.
There is a small bump near the 15th fret, where the neck meets the body. I tried releasing the truss-rod, but since it is one-way it didn't help much. I raised the bridge and this eliminates buzzing, but now the action is a bit high...

I believe she has been strung with 10s which is extra light for an acoustic. I think that if I got to 12s which is the standard, the neck should bend/bow and I should be able to straighten it with the truss-rod and thus eliminating the bump. My only concern is if the headstock would be able to take the extra tension, I mean going up from 10s to 12s should be only 20% higher tension. I guess I could also start with 11s and see if it helps.

I've also read that the bump could be caused by too much humidity. Is this true? Otherwise, I could try applying some dry air (hair dryer) and see if it helps. Below is a drawing depicting where the (exaggerated) bump is and how high the strings are (exaggerated too). The dark red line on the left shows where the glued joint is, luckily it didn't break on the neck, but on the headstock, so in the worst case I could glue or bolt on a wooden or metal plate.

Since this is an old vintage instrument (maybe rare?), I would like to keep it and restore it. I am thinking on buying a new compensated bridge, maybe a nut, some graph tech RATIO machine heads (the old ones have a lot of play), applying some liquids to the wood, and of course setting her up with new strings. My main question to you is:
Is it worth it?
Or should I just try to get something better/newer?

I'll post some pictures when I get home, but here are some ads I've found on reverb:
https://reverb.com/item/13050914-ari...-japan-1974-76
https://reverb.com/item/17925343-aria-9020

Cheers,
Walter

Fathand · #2 03-23-2022, 12:51 PM

Could someone have removed the fretboard at one time? Maybe re-installed it carelessly?

Sasquatchian · #3 03-24-2022, 02:15 PM

A lot of times you'll get a bump there when the neck has been reset and it was not shimmed under the fretboard from the body to the sound hole. Since most people don't play above the 15 fret or so, having that dropoff is not usually an issue. I'd have a good repair guy look at it to see what the possible solutions are - like pulling all the frets, slightly planing the fretboard and installing new frets - could be one idea. But find out the cause of the problem and decide on a course of action.

waltschwarzkopf · #4 03-25-2022, 03:10 AM

Thank you all for the replies and helpful suggestions. I was playing the guitar yesterday and it sounds and feels good, so I guess I won't change anything for the moment, but I will get it checked by a luthier to be sure.

Below are the pictures I promised.

DCCougar · #5 03-25-2022, 08:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by waltschwarzkopf

...it sounds and feels good, so I guess I won't change anything for the moment....

Due to the cracked headstock, I wouldn't put any more money into it... besides getting it setup to play easy... and maybe put 12s on her. Then I'd start looking around for a good deal on another guitar in excellent condition. Can't have just one!

lar · #6 03-27-2022, 02:07 PM

What you may be looking at is fretboard fall away:

https://www.sweetwater.com/sweetcare...way-explained/