Guitar Repairs.

[CypSIdders]

I own and play a couple of run of the mill guitars.
However a rather unique guitar has been given to me, a 12 string accoustic, it's about fifty years old and is a rather valuable item.
I played it today and it pumps out an amazing sound.
The guitar does have a few issues though, if these issues are affecting the sound and tone them it would sound incredible if they were sorted.

The main issue is the soundboard has sunk, between the sound hole and the neck, as far as I can tell it has ladder bracing, there is no diagonal or longitudinal bracing. I'm fully aware that this will, more than likely, require a neck reset and some additional bracing.

I've had a quick google and I can't find much on prices for this sort of work.
My questions are these, does anyone have a rough idea how much this type of repair would cost?
Secondly, can anyone recommend am reliable, luthier who could do this sort of work, in the UK?

[CypSIdders]

Bump, anyone?

[CypSIdders]

Thanks for the replies, I'm based in the Welsh borders about 30 miles from Hereford.
I would be prepared to travel but not to the SE, Scotland is a possibilty as I have relatives in SW Scotland.

[CypSIdders]

Jediworrier said:

Hey op just got off the phone to the chap.

A few things he said....

I wouldn't attempt to dismantle a 50yr old guitar.

I've seen older guitars repaired, successfully.

Jediworrier said:

I'll bet the bridge has pulled up.

It hasn't, that's a realtively easy fix anyway.

Jediworrier said:

Could try adjusting the truss rod but probably not a good idea..

If all that was needed was a truss rod adjustment and fret levelling I'd do it myself.

Jediworrier said:

Try de-stringing it and put it in a dehumidified area (he did say good luck with that one).

Again if that's all it needed I wouldn't be asking the question.

Jediworrier said:

Cost.... ooooh!

Not interested

Jediworrier said:

btw, he did ask why it was valuable?

Make!

[CypSIdders]

gmaz said:

If you're prepared to come as far as north bristol, this guy is good.

What guy?

[CypSIdders]

oddball1313 said:

I’d speak to Rob Williams - has a fantastic reputation an isn’t too far from you.

https://robwilliamsguitars.co.uk/

Have emailed him a few days ago but not had a reply.
Looking on his website, he doesn't mention accoustic guitars though.

[CypSIdders]

JIMMYJ4ZZ said:

If the soundboard has sunk after the neck, is there any visible damage that would have caused it? (I.e. a foot). If not, it has warped - there is likely to only be one brace there.

If I'm reading the problems right, surely it's a turn it upside down, carefully remove the back panel (with a Stanley knife or suchlike) and then either rebrace or fix.

Yes, you may change the tone, but if you aren't adding materially more bracing, it should be too different from how it left the factory...

If its truely warped and not just given up the ghost through tension, mild warping and a broken brace, and you can't reshape it, then you may be doing more harm than good trying to fix it. But I doubt it would be sounding great anyway.

Also, I didn't think there were many big brands still using ladder in the 70's. Sounds like an interesting guitar!

ETA: I'm sorry, OP, I haven't actually answered your questions!

Edited by JIMMYJ4ZZ on Tuesday 5th May 23:41

There is nothing to suggest that the guitar has been damaged by dropiing it or something hitting it.
My thought is that the tension of the 12 strings are causing the problems, on what is a 50 year old instrument.
I am not a stranger to guitar building, I'm currenttly making a LP type guitar, however I'm in no way qualified to even attempt repairs to this type of guitar, hence me wanting recommedations for a luthier.
For the time being I'm going to release the string tension and see what happens over the next few weeks.
I know that the issues with the guitar can be fixed, I follow a few luthiers on Youtube and have seen them resolve exactly the same problems on similar instruments, hence me saying it will probably need a neck reset. Unfortunately these people are in the US and Canada.

As for the make of the guitar, I will reveal what it is, but for various reasons I feel I cannot do so at the moment, all I will say is, it is an instrument a lot of people would simply like to play, just to see what all the fuss is about.

I'm not a guitar collector, I know nothing about collectable guitars, guitars are built to be played, IMO.
I have seen this guitar being played, I've accompanied it, I've sung along to it, and I've played it many times myself. I would simply like it to be in the best playable condition it can be.

[CypSIdders]

Thanks for the suggestion. however after a fair bit of googling, I think my first port of call, when the time comes, will be this guy for an initial assessment:-

http://www.rogerwilliamsguitars.com/

He's based in Lichfield, I visit there regularly.

I will post pictures and reveal the guitar at some point, however, you'll have to take my word for it, that to do so at the moment is really not appropriate.

As I said previously, my thoughts are that the string tension is pulling the headstock up, which in turn is pushing the other end of the fretboard down into the sound board. The bridge is not being pulled off the soundboard, it is still firmly in place.

I released all the string tension yesterday, I'll leave it like this for a couple of months to see if anything moves at all.

[CypSIdders]

Rh14n said:

If you haven't already got yourself sorted I would thoroughly recommend Harry Miller near Mold in North Wales to you - he did a fabulous job on my 1970s Guild and is brilliant. (Could your 12-string perhaps be a Guild? If so, he used to work for them). He was ill earlier in the year before lockdown so stopped working for a while. I'm hoping he's going to be back up and running soon as I'd like him to do some work on my Martin. Give him a shout - lovely chap with lots of lovely stories http://www.harrymillerguitars.co.uk/

Thanks for the info, much appreciated and Mold is not a million miles from me!

I was thinking of updating this thread anyway, so here we go.
I've had the guitar sitting, in it's case, with no string tension at all, for over a month now and it's looking pretty good.
The sound board looks a lot flatter than it did.

No it is not a 12 string Guild, it is in fact a mid seventies, 12 string, Zemaitis, standard.
I have had the guitar appraised, but only via some photographs, it would certainly be worth the outlay to repair/restore it.
I'm not in the UK at the moment and won't be returning until things get back to something resembling normality.
Which means I doubt I'll be able to do anything about this for at least the next 6 months.