Acoustic bellying, how much until worrying?

[bryanlasalle]

Hey all, new to the forum and this will be my first post.
Not sure if this is the right place to post but this seemed like the best of the discussions for my question.

I have a Yamaha FG-350W that I had just recently purchased after saving up for a while, and had noticed slight bulging on both the right and left sides of the guitar's lower body, right behind the bridge. However, there is no bellying in the middle/behind the middle of the bridge. I was wondering if this was sort of normal for the guitar since I have already read a few things saying that slight bellying was okay and natural for acoustic guitar tops, and seeing as it is pretty old, but the rest of the guitar is in very good shape for the age. Almost perfectly straight neck, with a bit of relief, mid-high action, and plays and sounds great.

I am personally not affected by the bellying, but I was wondering if it was something that would need to be looked at soon, since I will be playing it very often.

Any help would be very appreciated! If pictures are needed I will try to post some as best as I can!

Thanks!
- Bryan.

[Frank Ford]

If it looks like this, a localized "wrinkle" behind the bridge ends, you may well have a loose top brace that requires attention:




Here's a full description and an article on repair:

http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/Luth...xwrinkle1.html

[bryanlasalle]

Originally Posted by Frank Ford

If it looks like this, a localized "wrinkle" behind the bridge ends, you may well have a loose top brace that requires attention:




Here's a full description and an article on repair:

http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/Luth...xwrinkle1.html

Hey Frank!

Thank you so much for the fast response and information!

Just now I had gotten a straight edge, and checked up near the bridge just like the pictures on the site, and on the right side, it does seem to have the bulge dip bulge near the edge of the bridge like it shows and I can see light pass through the crack between the bulges in the middle like it's shown on the pictures. But the left side is more of a straighter across bulge with no wrinkling. I will see how fast I can get it taken in to see how much it would cost to have the necessary repairs done. Thank you so much for this information.

Thank you!
- Bryan.