Loose brace?

[Wes Ramsey]

I'm not a luthier by any standard. I enjoy working with flat wood, but lately have been working mostly at the lathe. In my other spare time I play acoustic guitar and mandolin with the church praise band. I noticed a couple of months ago that the action on my trusty Yamaha APX-4X I bought in 1996 was unusually high. I checked the neck and it is pretty straight - using the low E as a straight edge capoed on the 1st fret and held down on the last fret, and it touches from the 14th fret on up. Not perfect, but good enough for me. The nut hasn't changed since I bought it. I sanded down the saddle a bit and that helped, but the body under the bridge seems to be quite a bit more rounded than I remember. I first assumed that one of the braces had popped loose, but it isn't buzzing or rattling. I pulled the strings last night and felt around the braces as best I could and didn't feel anything obviously wrong or loose.

So my question is, is this what I can expect from my guitar as it gets older? If a brace has popped loose I can try to find someone to fix it, but if not is there anything that can be done to keep it playable? I'm saving up for a new mandolin this year, but I was hoping to also find a guitar tech to level/replace the frets, replace the nut and saddle with bone and adjust the action. But if the body is going to keep pulling up and raising the action I might retire it and start looking for a replacement.

I know its a lot to ask for a diagnosis without actually seeing it, but I'd sure appreciate some thoughts from my fellow creekers. Just breaks my heart to think about retiring Etta, so thanks in advance!

[Shawn Pixley]

It is really difficult to properly diagnose something like this over the internet. I am not familiar with Yamaha accoustics at all. Is it a set neck or a bolt on? Can you look across the top and describe the nature of the top plane?

I have an older handmade brazilian guitar that I played for years and years (and I wasn't the first owner). It sounds really good. Over the last ten years the top has developed a belly between the bridge and the tail block and the action got higher. I have had several luthiers look at it and the concensus is that there are no loose braces nor other elements damaged. The guitar simply through playing it a lot, has had the string pressure deform the top and lift the action. This may be because the braces were very light to begin with. This contributes to its great sound but creates a situation where the constant vibration and stress wear the wood. You see this as an accoustic opens up after being played a while after it was made.

I put lighter strings on that guitar and play it less by getting another accoustic.

Advice for you- it seems as though the neck is a bolt-on rather than dovetailed. You may be able to shim the neck and go to lighter strings. This may sound callous, but fixing it might cost more than new guitar.

[Wes Ramsey]

Thanks for the response Shawn! That sounds a lot like what is going on with mine. Holding the guitar at eye level and looking across the top it looks like the top is bowed up a bit so that it is convex instead of flat. With the strings de-tuned it goes back to almost perfectly flat. I guess the strings are doing their job of trying their best to pull the body up to the head. I was thinking a brace was loose because of how fast it happened, but to be honest I haven't played it much over the last year since I picked up the mandolin so it could have been more gradual than I realize. It could also partly be me noticing the high action for the first time since I am now used to the low action of the mandolin.

I don't think the neck is a bolt-on, at least not like some of the electrics I've had. The fretboard goes all the way up to the sound hole and appears to be glued. Dunno if it is dovetailed, but I don't see any way to shim it without steaming it off.

I think I'm gonna go ahead and take it to a local guitar tech to have the action setup correctly and hope the top is done moving. I could do it, but don't have the tools or time. Since the braces seem okay I don't know that there's anything anyone can do about the top, so I'll just play it until it isn't playable anymore. Hopefully I'll get another 18 years out of it!

[Jim Creech]

Sounds like string tension is finally overcoming the bracing. Not at all unusual. Is the bridge still well glued on? If the bridge is starting to lift that will cause the condition you have described. As for "flat top", very few guitars have a flat top. A slight radius is normally built into the top. You also may be due for a neck reset. In either case an experienced luthier can repair. Where are you located?

[Wes Ramsey]

Sounds like string tension is finally overcoming the bracing. Not at all unusual. Is the bridge still well glued on? If the bridge is starting to lift that will cause the condition you have described. As for "flat top", very few guitars have a flat top. A slight radius is normally built into the top. You also may be due for a neck reset. In either case an experienced luthier can repair. Where are you located?

Thanks Jim. I'm in Mountain Home, AR - just south of the MO border. I've heard that there are a couple of luthiers around here, but don't have any contact info. If you know of any I'd sure appreciate the lead.