New member: Question about neck curve.

[Vigilant]

Hello all,
I am a long time orchestral woodwind musician. Recently I've had a huge disposition towards learning all the stringed instruments I could get my hands on. I started with the ukelele and now I went ahead and picked up an acoustic six string.

I just bought a Jasmine JO37 to start on and after a day or two I noticed that the action was ridiculously high from fret 7 down. By fret 15, it's almost a half inch high off the fret board!

A friend of mine advised me to eyeball the neck down the line and see if it's straight or not. Easy enough, I noticed that the neck has a nasty curve upward starting on fret 5 or so.

My question is this, is this normal? Would a setup from my local guitar center fix this? I mean, the strings are literally half inch up off the frets down near the last couple frets. Should I just return the guitar and get a different one?

Thanks for any advice in advance.

[terrapin]

Sounds like a major Truss Rod adjustment is needed. That will quite likely cure a lot of the issue, but it may be symptomatic of a worse neck problem.

[dhalbert]

Either someone cranked the truss rod incredibly or it's a bad neck. I'd return it, and inspect the replacement. Bring a small metal ruler with you to measure the action.

[terrapin]

Originally Posted by dhalbert

Either someone cranked the truss rod incredibly or it's a bad neck. I'd return it, and inspect the replacement. Bring a small metal ruler with you to measure the action.

It would actually have been loosened way too much. Over "cranking" it would give bad backbow.

[dhalbert]

Originally Posted by terrapin

It would actually have been loosened way too much. Over "cranking" it would give bad backbow.

I was thinking of backwards cranking, if it were a double-action truss rod. But yes, thanks for the correction.

[terrapin]

Originally Posted by dhalbert

I was thinking of backwards cranking, if it were a double-action truss rod. But yes, thanks for the correction.

Actually could have been over cranked and broke the rod?

[Dwight]

Welcome! Yes, of course you should return the guitar and get a different one.

[funkymonk#9]

That friend you have who knows guitars, have him come with you next time or recommend an instrument.
You have already learned one lesson: to look for a straight neck and playable action.
The guitar is not likely worth the cost of repair, unless you have already grown attached to it.
It could be truss rod done wrong and brought back to a proper place but adjusting the truss rod is not a quick fix. Anything else is just too much work.
As a long time orchestral musician, the saying holds true. You get what you pay for.

[Vigilant]

Thank you all for the quick reply. I was foolish about it and asked for a "new in the box" one. I pulled it out in the shop but I was so amazed at its shiny newness that I didn't take a good look at its action.

I would take my neighbor/friend if his wife/owner would let him, haha.
I'm going to see if they can replace it, If I remember they didnt have many left... :/