A damp rag wipes it away. Visit our corporate site. Braces may have cracked or come loose. As the glue softened, Christine slowly worked the removal knife under the bridge from a variety of angles. Whatever is the case, it’s something that can be fixed, though it may not be cheap. Bridge and bracing joints, particularly on older guitars built with older glues may fail due to heat and humidity. Guitar World is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Anyhow, I'm biased: I don’t like the idea of guitars in dumpsters. Leaving a guitar in a hot environment can cause glue to melt or dry the glue out. The grooved soundhole clamp cauls work great for clamping pyramid bridges like this one. Save on Over 900 Items. This is pretty common; bridges pull up for lots of reasons. Dry glue becomes brittle and the high tension of the strings breaks the glue seal. Now Christine's back in business — and she’s learned a thing or two about guitar repair, to boot! This bridge came off easily, bringing a few splinters of wood up with it but nothing too bad. With the bridge off, you can see what the issue was. Note that there's no glue coverage at the edges. The goal is to find the perfect balance—to build a guitar that’s light enough to sound good, and heavy enough to withstand strong tension. A poor quality instrument may have the bridge glued to an already-finished top, creating a poor bond. Thank you for signing up to Guitar World. How to Straighen a Guitar Neck Without a Truss Rod, Copyright 2020 Leaf Group Ltd. All Rights Reserved. It’s tilting forward to such a degree that I can slip a piece of paper under the back edge. Living In Virginia, Eric Linkenhoker has written professionally since 2011. Christine used a brush to apply plenty of glue to the bridge and the guitar top. With all surfaces clean, she used a micro chisel as a toothing file to give the glue a little more to bite into (below). Leaving a guitar in a hot environment can cause glue to melt or dry the glue out. I can buy a new guitar for $200! We’d love to stay in touch, sign up for the Guitar World team to contact you with great news, content and offers. Bath But it doesn’t fight that battle alone. It happens all the time..." At United Lutherie, the shop I share with my pal Gene, a repair like this starts at $75 and goes up from there depending on what other issues are present. At this point, I had a “Fix it or pitch it?” talk with Christine. She recently bought this acoustic for playing around the house. The bridge plate may be defective. Christine works the front desk at StewMac. A top that pulls up (this is called “bellying” by the way, and a little bit of it is normal) is a sign that the whole system may be at risk. Some vintage, lightly braced or just plain cheap guitars will live longer when fitted with light strings. Please refresh the page and try again. She used the two E string bridge pins to position the bridge, then pressed down firmly to squeeze out as much glue as possible. I might have used hot hide glue, but chose Titebond for its lengthy working time: on Christine’s first time out, no sense making her race against time. The glue dries while pressure is applied on top of the bridge to close the gap, but re-gluing is a temporary fix. Tuning down your strings was a smart idea. If it stays silent, you might not notice until too late, after further symptoms of a more terminal nature manifests themselves. Prepping: "Why should I pay $100 to fix this? Heat applied to the bridge loosens the remaining bond. Like the bridge, the bracing also serves the function of distributing string vibrations across the top. In addition, the top of the guitar behind the bridge is rising a little. Gluing: Periodically reheat the caul (or use two, heating one while using the other) and keep it moving. Internal causes such as bad or broken braces distort the guitar top and cause bridge lifting. His expertise lies in automotive work, stringed instruments and home improvement. With some scraping and warm water, this remaining glue wiped off the bottom of the bridge. Broken or loose braces weaken the top, causing the top to shift and separate from the bridge. To fight back manufacturers rely on a system of supports, which we’ll get to in a moment, to help the top withstand the force of the strings. It’s such a basic job that we decided it'd be fun to have Christine do the work herself, while I supervised. Both archtops and resonator guitars, it should be noted, use tailpieces designed to help keep the tension of heavy strings from pulling directly on the top. In the meantime I’ve tuned my strings down a whole tone —two frets—to reduce the tension on the bridge.-Charles L, Brooklyn, NY. Bridge re-glues are bread and butter jobs, and we see a ton of them. This bridge came off easily, bringing a few splinters of wood up with it but nothing too bad. Don't make a new nut just to fix a low slot—fill it! Most high end guitars are made to withstand a lifetime’s worth of tension typically engendered by medium (.012-.056) strings, but their warrantees become voice if heavy (.014 - .058) strings are used instead. The manufacturer simply didn't use enough glue to hold the bridge on in the first place. But sometimes customers have a tough time swallowing the fact that the repair could cost more than half the guitar’s purchase price: "Why should I pay $100 to fix this? We can't know this bridge’s story without taking it off to look. Our problem is a result of the fact that guitars are built right on this edge. Braces may have cracked or come loose. Receive news and offers from our other brands? Christine opted to fix it, then her curiosity kicked in: she wanted to watch the repair. It’s a big block of glued-on wood that helps reinforce the guitar top and diffuse the force of the strings, as well as distribute the string vibrations to the top. DON'T MISS A BEAT, sign up for StewMac news, Black Friday Sale! Everything looked great! A lifting bridge sometimes stresses the guitar top and damages the wood. To create a more permanent bond between the guitar top and bridge, reset the bridge. When I came in the next morning I removed the clamps and cleaned up any dried glue with a warm damp rag. Steel strings pull up against the top of the guitar with 125 to 175 pounds of tension, depending on the gauge. She recently bought this acoustic for playing around the house. It’s such a basic job that we decided it'd be fun to have Christine do the work herself, while I supervised.

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