Official Luthiers Forum!

Hello all,
Someone gave me a Takamine acoustic gtr that has issues...the bridge is pulling up and there is a crack on the soundboard from tail to bridge, my question is which do I need to repair first the crack then the bridge? or bridge then the crack? or does it matter? and is the "lawsuit" era Takamine worth all the work it would take to repair...I have played guitar for years but have never repaired a guitar with this much damage.
Thanks for any help or advice, Johnny

Ask the luthier that the guitar is taken to, to estimate the cost of repair compared to the instrument's value. My SWAG is that the guitar had throwaway value when it left the dealer's door when it was originally sold and it's been depreciating ever since. I'd be surprised if any repair estimate for any work didn't exceed its resale value.

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Peter Havriluk

Thanks...
Do these guitars sound good enough to even try, I don't care about resale value...if its a good sounding guitar might still be worth repairing just to keep and play.

It would at least be a good repair test guitar. I would pull the bridge, repair the top crack, then re-glue the bridge.

Like Barry says, the correct order is to fix the top first which is probably easier with the bridge off, then put it back on. If the top crack is from dehydration then that needs to be dealt with first. Any other structural issues as well as neck angle should be part of the overall repair.

My feeling is that at my level of experience every guitar is a viable learning process, some of the worst ones are the best because you are not dealing with a priceless vintage instrument. If your repairs go well and you don't want the guitar consider donating to a school music program.

Just send a bunch of money to https://www.stewmac.com/ .

Just kidding. Kind of. If you just want this guitar fixed, I'd find a budding luthier like myself who would do it for a reduced fee, for the experience. The repair might not be as good (or at least not as invisible) as if a seasoned luthier did it, but it will play (if I did it, it would last too, but I can't speak for all of the greener guys).

If you're looking to fix more guitars than just this one, buy the right tools for the job. That's where Stewmac comes in. They're not the cheapest, but they always have what I need (there are some instructive videos, too) and the quality is almost always really good.

And like freeman said, dehydration is likely an issue. It looks like you're in Phoenix, so that almost makes it a certainty.

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"Real guitars are for old people, Mr. Marsh."

Eric Cartman