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I've got a guild AJ series ca. 1968 & of course the top has risen/deformed/whatever you call it such, that in order to keep the action half decent the saddle is only.035 higher than the bridge which is .325 thick. I'm thinking of planing the bridge down maybe .062, so I can work on the saddle. Or do I have to consider a neck reset &/or a bridge doctor?
Mike McNerney

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Mike McNerney

Its neck reset time, messing with the bridge is not the answer for many reasons. Keep the bridge stock, I doubt that a 69 guild will ever be a high demand collector item, but it is a real nice guitar, fix it right you will not regret doing so.

Fred

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Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
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It is not just that the top has arched up at the bridge it is also that the fretboard extension and neck block has rotated inward. In fact I doubt seriously that the top has pulled up. The string forces cause the bridge to rotate towards the sound hole and the neck block and fretboard also rotate towards the sound hole. This may appear to your eyes that the top has raised at the bridge because the Fretboard Plane is pointing to a lower spot on the bridge but the more than likely truth is that the neck block has rotated inward.

I have seen many good guitars have the bridge shaved to resolve this issue but it is the wrong fix the proper fix is to reset the neck. If you fix this now with a bridge shave and then later need to adjust again you will have to do a neck set. Then you will more than likely find that you need a very thin fretboard.

In play since 1968! This Guild has earned a spa treatment. Get the neck reset.

The short answer is RESIST TEMPTATION!

The bridge is the heaviest and stiffest brace on most guitars.... As such, it is an integral part of the voicing of the guitar as a whole....

If you whittle down the heavy/thick part of the bridge... it tends to shift the balance of sound towards Treble.... In other words... It will make your Balanced guitar sound really Pingy and Zingy.... Taking off 1/16" worth of bridge would likely push it into sounding really terrible... Way too trebley and lacking any bass and midrange....

It is also the primary point that the string tension pulls on... As such, modifying it could weaken the top in that area and lead to funny looking sink marks.. (Though this is usually the sort of thing that happens when you thin the wings of the bridge too much..)

Anyway, follow the advice of others here.... It's time for a Neck Reset!

Thanks

John

Concur very strongly with Truckjohn.The bridge is a area that is very sensitive to weight and stiffness changes. Make those type of changes and you will have a different guitar as Truckjohn so clearly pointed out. RESET time if you want your guitar to keep it,s present tone.

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

I will say that once you hit reset territory anything else is not going to be of any real use. If you should shave the bridge you will make the guitar playable , that is true but you will loose so much of the string energy. The optimum string height us about 1/2 off the top in front of the bridge.
Now had you planed the bridge you will now not only need a reset but a new bridge to go with it . You are going to be much happier doing a proper repair that a band aid patch. Your will find that resetting the neck not only will make the guitar more playable but you will reestablish the proper geometry for the guitar. This is not just something you will feel but something that you will hear.
Of all the resets I do I love the way a guitar will change . The voice is returned and you will be surprised that you can hear that much of a difference . Truckjohn is right that the area of the bridge is the stiffest , as you haev the plate , the top the braces and the bridge . Plus the way the finger braces are sith the X bracing you have this area very controlled . The thinnest you would want a bridge would be 5/16 and the heaviest 7/16 . I like to see 3/8 at the bridge and another 1/8 of saddle . I don't want to be more that 9/16 off the top with string height if I can help it. Too height and you can stress the top with the rotational force , too low you have more in the compressive. Finding the balance will give you the best exchange of string energy that gets converted to work.

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

Planing down bridges is a proper repair don't be put off by all the posts against, but and this is a big but its only valid in cases where the bridge is tall enough to take it my local luthier uses it, he also re-sets necks and because of his training and 30 years experience knows which is the valid technique to take.

He also advised me to attempt to plane a bridge down on a distorted 12 string saying its a cheap instrument not worth the cost of resetting also saying it'd give me experience I really took the bridge thin around 11/32" and it's still solid over 5 years down the line!

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Formerly JJH

I learn more from my mistakes than my successes

Thanks all. I see the concensus , now I just ahve to find out how?
cheers
Mike

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Mike McNerney

If you have never done a reset it is best to find a luthier that is experienced in neck resets. The neck removal is an operation where serious damage can be done to the body and neck. If you do wish to do it your self then check out Frank Ford’s site frets.com for great insight in to this repair.

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