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Post by BlackAngusYoung on Oct 6, 2010 23:19:53 GMT -5
Hi everyone, My acoustic guitar's bridge has cracks between the holes and extending a little further. Other than that, it's new. Sounds great and stays in tune. Does this need to be replaced? Can it be repaired instead of replaced? Maybe super glue or watered down super glue? Thanks!  |
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Post by cynical1 on Oct 7, 2010 11:34:08 GMT -5
Well, conventional wisdom would be to remove the bridge, and if possible, try to glue and clamp the bridge. Once the repair is re-sanded smooth it would be glued back in place.
If you remove the strings is the bridge loose? Generally a cracked bridge will be followed by the bridge coming away from the body, however there can be a varying time span between these two events.
The soundboard is probably fine underneath the bridge.
I have seen bridges like this repaired while still glued to the soundboard with a plastic covered bar clamp, but you'll want to be careful that you don't accidentally pull the bridge off the soundboard in the act of clamping the bridge.
I assume the bridge is rosewood, so you might want to wipe some denatured alcohol on the crack prior to gluing.
If you have a repair shop in the area it might be worth a visit, as pictures sometimes don't reveal all the issues, and for the cost and effort of the repair you may be better off having it professionally replaced.
Happy Trails
Cynical One
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Post by BlackAngusYoung on Oct 7, 2010 13:42:02 GMT -5
Other than this crack, the guitar is in absolutely perfect shape so I assume the soundboard is fine. It is brand new. It is actually under warranty, but I wanted info from here before mentioning it to Ibanez.
It's kinda awkward because I own the shop I purchased it from... and I'm my best customer. So I could probably send it in and they'd fix it, but I'd rather avoid bothering them if I don't have to. I could probably just request them to send me a new bridge if I can put it on myself. Even then, I'd rather try gluing this one in place for convenience and keep the new one for when it really needs it changed.
I'm the wannabe repair shop, so I was also looking at this as an opportunity to learn this skill.
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Post by cynical1 on Oct 7, 2010 14:04:52 GMT -5
STANDARD DISCLAIMER: Remember that even though you are the shop, unless the manufacturer authorizes you as a repair depot your warranty will be worth diddly if you do this repair yourself.
That said, this isn't the hardest thing you'll do on a guitar, but some care does need to be taken. Let me get home tonight and elaborate.
I do know to do it right you'll need a bridge clamp, and a special caul that evenly clamps the bridge in place. All in all tools will probably run you around $50.00 to $75.00 here in the States.
If you can get the replacement directly from the manufacturer that will make your life much easier.
Happy Trails
Cynical One
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Post by sumgai on Oct 7, 2010 16:50:28 GMT -5
BAY, I'll go it even one further...... Even if Ibanez likes you, and even if they stand behind you in sending you parts, etc., you still do them no favor by fixing it yourself. The warranty is more than just a "customer satisfaction" thing, it's a way to help improve their product. But to do that, they need to see the issue(s) first hand. Sorry to say, relying on a 30-word text description and one or two photos isn't in the same realm as having the culpritvictim right on their workbench for inspection. I say, work out your repair-wannabe's on something not covered by a warranty. Win-win all around.  HTH sumgai |
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Post by BlackAngusYoung on Oct 7, 2010 19:18:34 GMT -5
I say, work out your repair-wannabe's on something not covered by a warranty. Win-win all around. Yeah, good advice I will follow and I'm sure I'll have C1's blessing in following it. It would be very sad to mar the top of this guitar, which has hardly even been played. I guess this is like a birth defect. Even if Ibanez likes you, I don't know if they like me and I pretty much only asked about this to avoid finding out. I'd love to be selling tons of their guitars, but I don't. New guitars are a sort of add-on in our secondhand shop and the Ibanez have not been great sellers for us. We offer them at a great price, but the ones we have are still in the "2nd guitar" range and we've concluded that people who are looking for something like that will probably go somewhere with more selection. We do well with Beaver Creek guitars, good for beginners who don't know anything about guitars and want something under $200. Great for Christmas presents or to have at the cottage or whatever. I'm not sure how to present this to Ibanez. Basically, it hung on our wall for almost a year until I decided I wanted it... so I kept it, since it's basically mine already purchased at wholesale price from the supplier. In a sense, they're all ours. Effectively, it's still in the store though. I don't want to complicate things or make myself look like a dork and every time I've contacted them about anything (like, maybe thrice) they seem very hectic and hurried. Even when we opened our account with them, my dad was told to call a guy called "the controller" with our credit information and he answered the phone by saying "What's the problem?" instead of the boring ol' "Hello." My dad was like "Should there be a problem? The sales rep said to call you." Then he was ultra-warm.... not. How would you guess the bridge broke like this? I hope they don't say it's the store's fault for letting it dry out or something. The others are still ok. |
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Post by BlackAngusYoung on Oct 7, 2010 19:27:35 GMT -5
STANDARD DISCLAIMER: Remember that even though you are the shop, unless the manufacturer authorizes you as a repair depot your warranty will be worth diddly if you do this repair yourself. That makes sense. I was only going by the one repair issue I've had with them so far, but that might depend on what it is as well. It was an electric with a lousy jack, so they asked me if I could switch it myself to avoid the hassle of sending the whole guitar back. I said I could do that and they sent me the new part. I got the impression that that's how they'd like it, if the stores could take care of as much as possible before bothering them with it. |
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Post by cynical1 on Oct 7, 2010 21:42:11 GMT -5
SG is right. Something like this the manufacturer SHOULD be asking you to send the guitar to an authorized repair depot, or back to them.
As I said before, this is not a hard repair, but you need to be dead nuts on with your height and alignment. This takes some specialized tools, which, if you're in the business of repairs is an investment. In your case, they'll probably wind up costing more then the guitar.
More then likely it just dried out and split. Rosewood will do that if not oiled or finished properly. This is a common issue and you are far from the first one I've seen with this issue.
A little mineral oil rubbed on the bridge periodically between re-stringings usually prevents this. I used to see it a lot in Chicago during the winter months. Guys would schlep their guitar from the house to the cold car, heat the car, then out to the cold air and then the warm club. The humidity is lower in the winter months so whammo, cracked bridge.
Nylon strings might help a bit too once you get the guitar repaired.
Based on the tone of this conversation I will shelve my dissertation on fixing an acoustic guitar bridge.
Call your rep tomorrow and make arrangements to have it fixed under warranty. You are their customer. If they treat you like dirt then you know what'll happen if one if your customers has a similar issue... Let them prove to you that they want your business.
Happy Trails
Cynical One
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Post by BlackAngusYoung on Oct 8, 2010 12:39:26 GMT -5
I emailed the company (not Ibanez really, the distributer for my area) asking about a warranty repair or exchange. Ya never know... they might just switch it for another since it's still here and still new. I haven't messed with it or anything yet!
I'll let you know what they say/do. Thanks for the advice, as always.
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Post by BlackAngusYoung on Nov 19, 2010 17:55:45 GMT -5
Rosewood will do that if not oiled or finished properly. A little mineral oil rubbed on the bridge periodically between re-stringings usually prevents this. Is mineral oil better to use than lemon oil for this? I usually use lemon oil on rosewood. I sent the guitar in for repair a couple weeks ago now. I haven't heard anything yet. |
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Post by cynical1 on Nov 19, 2010 18:32:19 GMT -5
What's commonly sold as "Lemon Fretboard Oil" or "Lemon Oil Furniture Polish" generally has just a very small amount of lemon oil in it. They put it there so it smells more expensive.
Check the label.
HTC1
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Post by Yew on Nov 20, 2010 6:00:52 GMT -5
Whatever you do, dont put lemon juice on a guitar!!
Might cause you to hit some sour notes!
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Post by BlackAngusYoung on Nov 27, 2010 18:03:11 GMT -5
So if there's only a little lemon oil in the product sold for fretboards... mineral oil is what the rest of it is made up of?
The one I've been using is Dr. Stringfellow's Lem-Oil. It does smell expensive. Makes the room smell good, but the floor's kinda slippery. Looks like this bottle will last forever, so I'll be using this product for a while I guess.
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Post by cynical1 on Nov 27, 2010 19:25:10 GMT -5
 2 oz. bottle for around $6.00 US  8 oz. for $4.99 Actually, most all butcher's block oils are 100% pure white mineral oil. Home Depot, Menards and most of the other home improvement bloodsuckers will all have a product similar to this. Read the label, as some of it will have a mystery ingredients added...and overcharge you accordingly. As ChrisK was so find of pointing out...Marketing Is! If you miss the smell then spray some Glade around the room... HTC1 |
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Post by BlackAngusYoung on Nov 28, 2010 13:09:43 GMT -5
Cool. I never heard of butcher block oil. I'll find some when this lem-oil runs out.
Truthfully, I don't really like the smell. I kind of consider it something like lighter fluid... I try to keep it from touching anything or me too much and throw the cloth out right away. When I oil the wood, I try not to contaminate any other surfaces. It's like eating canned fish.
I just ordered some fretboard decals ...because that won't be lame. The eBay seller said they'll withstand fretboard oiling.
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Post by cynical1 on Nov 28, 2010 13:59:15 GMT -5
Truthfully, I don't really like the smell. I kind of consider it something like lighter fluid... Well, that just might be naphtha...and that's good for the lacquer over time... HTC1 |
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