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  #1  
Old 04-17-2020, 02:57 PM
PerryE PerryE is offline
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Default Bridge is peeling off


As I wrote in another thread I am extremely concerned over my Rozini nylon string drying out. The area below the bridge is “wavy” and now I noticed a small crack between bridge and top. To be honest- not sure if it was perfectly flat when new but now it is. What can salvage the situation? Play it till it gets unplayable or try to have it fixed? Really unhappy right now since the guitar is really nice otherwise
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Old 04-17-2020, 02:59 PM
Martin_F Martin_F is offline
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From that picture, I can't see much of a problem. Can you get a piece of paper under where you think it has lifted? I still see a glue bead where it meets the top. At first glance, I wouldn't say there is much evidence of it lifting. However, you might see more than this picture.

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Old 04-17-2020, 03:08 PM
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That is not a picture of a bridge pealing off.

For reference,


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Old 04-17-2020, 03:08 PM
mcduffnw mcduffnw is offline
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It is a very lightly built top, a very lightly hand made guitar, and it is just flexing a wee little bit.

Not that big a deal at all, and pretty normal on most guitars, especially ones that are lightly built. Several of mine have the same or more advanced bow and waves in the tops and it is really not a big deal. Just make sure to keep your humidity as even and in the "good" range for guitars as you are able.

Without a picture of the crack, if it is similar in scope to the wave in the top, again, I would say it is not really all that much of an issue.

You've seen Willie Nelson's guitar "Trigger" yes? Well that one is still going strong and touring the world and the "issues" that it has make yours pale in comparison.

Keep and eye on it...but a relaxed eye...and if you have a chance, for your peace of mind, run it by a good repair person in your area.

But for now, don't stress yourself out, your issues are very much minor as they seem to show at present.


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Old 04-17-2020, 03:09 PM
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FWIW, I bought a Martin 00-18V last fall. The bridge was lifting a tiny bit. I set up an appointment with my tech to get it fixed, but he was booked out for 3 months. So I took a piece of paper and inserted it into the gap between the back of the bridge and the guitar top and traced the outline of the rear of the bridge onto the paper. That showed me the depth of the "crack". As I recall it was somewhat less than 1/8". I checked it every couple weeks to see if it was getting worse. It didn't change for the whole 3 months, but I took it in for repair anyway. He did a really nice job of getting glue into the gap. All is good now.

I'd suggest doing something similar to watch it for a while. If it looks like it's getting worse, I'd release the string tension until you can get it fixed.
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Old 04-17-2020, 03:39 PM
PerryE PerryE is offline
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Hmm... maybe not a complete disaster then. Mainly concerned over the “waviness “ and that this seemed to be dependent on how much I humidified. Will continue to use two Oasis plus in the sound hole and some humidipaks in the case.

What annoys me is that I paid around USD400 and then I spent USD100 for fret polishing, new (compensated) saddle and some other stuff. For that money I could have got a really nice Yamaha or Takamine with perfectly flat tops and no issues whatsoever. Of course - they wouldn't have been as unique as this one but still.

Anyway - maybe it is not too uncommon with uneven tops - wasn't aware of this at all

Last edited by PerryE; 04-17-2020 at 04:00 PM.
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Old 04-17-2020, 04:45 PM
Martin_F Martin_F is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PerryE View Post
Hmm... maybe not a complete disaster then. Mainly concerned over the “waviness “ and that this seemed to be dependent on how much I humidified. Will continue to use two Oasis plus in the sound hole and some humidipaks in the case.

What annoys me is that I paid around USD400 and then I spent USD100 for fret polishing, new (compensated) saddle and some other stuff. For that money I could have got a really nice Yamaha or Takamine with perfectly flat tops and no issues whatsoever. Of course - they wouldn't have been as unique as this one but still.

Anyway - maybe it is not too uncommon with uneven tops - wasn't aware of this at all
If you are used to steel strings, this might look odd to you. But, classical guitar tops are pretty thin and not braced overly strong. The string tension on a classical is at least about half of a steel string. Even on my luthier made classicals, the tops are not flat, as they are made to be arched a little bit to create strength. To my mind, you should keep the guitar between 40% to 60% humidity. Higher humidity risks over humidifying the top and causing even more damage. A top is much more likely to belly if it's too humid. All that being said, its hard to see what is going on from your picture. Generally, when a top is too dry it sucks in a little to the guitar and doesn't belly out.

Unless you feel that the bridge will come off, I would just play it and enjoy. Classical guitars react very different than steel-string guitars and tend to be much more temperamental with changes in temperature and humidity if they have solid tops.

Something is a little funky in your picture that your saddle is very high for a classical. This might not be wrong. It just looks high to me. Each guitar is built a little different. But, it would cause some extra tension to pull the top a little.

How is the string height on the guitar?

Martin
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Old 04-17-2020, 05:27 PM
WiseAxe WiseAxe is offline
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A luthier might have a look inside, or even "bonk" the top with the heel of his hand to check for a loose fan brace, which might also cause some distortion in the top.
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Old 04-17-2020, 05:44 PM
lar lar is offline
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Unrelated - just curious. Do you burn the ends of the nylon strings before tying them?
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Old 04-17-2020, 05:56 PM
Martin_F Martin_F is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lar View Post
Unrelated - just curious. Do you burn the ends of the nylon strings before tying them?
Looks like they are. I always do on my guitars for the nylon strings. Otherwise, they can slip and give the top of your guitar a big whip mark from the string unwinding under tension. Doesn't happen often, but it can, depending on the type of strings you are using.

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Old 04-17-2020, 07:48 PM
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blindboyjimi blindboyjimi is offline
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I don’t burn mine. But I do triple wrap them.

On that top, I’d just throw in a mirror and light and make sure the braces are all good. If you have a loose brace, then you have your answer. It’d be only $25 or so to fix. If all the braces are tight, you just have a really light weight, lightly built guitar and I bet it sounds wonderful.
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Old 04-18-2020, 12:25 AM
PerryE PerryE is offline
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7 braces and 5 of them going under the bridge. None of them loose

Dual action truss rod and neck is perfect now. Action as good as can be - original saddle was slightly too low. X-hard tension D’Addario (EJ44). The tying and burning of string ends done by the repair shop doing the set up - looks nice I think

So - everything is perfect except my concerns about wavy top under bridge and some minuscule separation

I will continue to play it and make sure it is properly humidified

Thanks for the comments
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  #13  
Old 04-21-2020, 07:22 AM
PerryE PerryE is offline
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Just bought an SKB30 hard case. Together with two “Oasis OH plus” in the sound hole the increased humidity should improve the situation. Will see how this develops
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