Martin neck bow

malcolmkindness · November 2021

bugileman said:

Jeez the hostile responses were totally unnecessary! Just a guy asking for advice, who clearly doesn't have much experience.

I don't think there was any hostility towards the OP, just very different opinions on what his correct course of action should be. I for one, thought he was offered some very foolish advice and said so.
As he didn't have much experience, I'm glad he brought the guitar back to the shop, I'm just curious to know if the issue was ever resolved or if he was offered a replacement.

AlbertC · November 2021

AlbertC said:

Gosh, I missed that this thread had carried on collecting posts including a bit of handbags.

To update it the situation, being under warranty I decided to take it back to the shop (I happened to be headed that way on another matter so it made sense). I left it with them for a couple of hours and came back but I wasn't at all happy that after the adjustment they made that the action was as good as it was before - the neck still didn't look right to me. Something else they actually mentioned was that the fingerboard seemed to had swollen slightly so it was a little bit proud of the neck on both sides.
They said they would send the guitar back to Martin and have it sorted out - put in a drying room. It's still with Martin at the moment. Martin have apparently reported back the guitar has - I think it was -11% humidity. I have no idea what a normal % would be so I don't know if that's really bad or what.
I didn't think I had a humid house and I've certainly never had another guitar suffering with a similar problem in 15 years here.

@malcolmkindness - I'd forgotten all about this thread...again!

So after a few weeks, the shop called me to say the guitar was back from Martin having been in their drying room. I'm glad to say it's back to being in the same perfect shape as when I bought it originally. Sounds and plays great so a good outcome in the end. I was without the guitar for a while but not the end of the world as I have others.
Whatever anyone else's opinion, I'm certain that for me, returning it to the shop to deal with was the right thing to do.

Mellish · November 2021

Good to know

. Now keep the RH 45/55% and you'll have no trouble

malcolmkindness · November 2021

Great, I'm certain that was the correct course of action, glad it worked out OK.

BigPaulie · November 2021

Something doesn't quite add up for me here.

Action going from factory spec to over 5mm in such a short time while in a room with other guitars that didn't budge seems very unusual to me. In fact, I've never heard of such a thing EVER. Has anyone else encountered a similar problem?

I find the solution of merely popping the guitar in a drying room just as strange. So strange, in fact, that I'm inclined to be sceptical of their description of the repair and/or the original fault.

I mean, what is unique about this guitar that it should behave in such a strange fashion, and what's to stop it happening again?

Lewy · November 2021

BigPaulie said:

Something doesn't quite add up for me here.

Action going from factory spec to over 5mm in such a short time while in a room with other guitars that didn't budge seems very unusual to me. In fact, I've never heard of such a thing EVER. Has anyone else encountered a similar problem?

I find the solution of merely popping the guitar in a drying room just as strange. So strange, in fact, that I'm inclined to be sceptical of their description of the repair and/or the original fault.

I mean, what is unique about this guitar that it should behave in such a strange fashion, and what's to stop it happening again?

Over-humidification can have a huge effect on action (and tone), and the variation in how much it affect different guitars can also be huge so there's nothing about this that feels fishy to me. I've got guitars that are greatly affected, and some that I play to my kids at bath-time that don't move at all. It's just a product of general build and materials.

As for what's to stop it happening again - probably nothing. Let it get over-humidified again and the problem will likely come back. So don't do that is the answer.

Generally speaking, a lightly braced guitar will be more susceptible, but a lightly braced guitar will be more desirable in almost every other respect to most players. So that's the trade off.

hollywoodrox · November 2021

Have we not just had a thread on here where the shop said a user invalidated his warranty by changing the strings and adjusting the neck relief? If it was a lower end guitar I might agree but being a total klutz myself and Martin being a quite expensive prestigious guitar I would be tempted to send it back or ask a local luthier if one available

idiotwindow · November 2021

hollywoodrox said:

Have we not just had a thread on here where the shop said a user invalidated his warranty by changing the strings and adjusting the neck relief?

No, I don't think so. I believe that in the thread you are referring to, the shop (and Yamaha) said that the buyer no longer had the right to return the guitar for a refund under the distance selling regulations because it was no longer in the original condition. A harsh interpretation of DSR laws but I suspect legally correct. There was no question of the warranty having been invalidated by such action.

Cirrus · November 2021

Give the guitar a bath.

Tannin · December 2021

Lewy said:

Over-humidification can have a huge effect on action (and tone), and the variation in how much it affect different guitars can also be huge so there's nothing about this that feels fishy to me. I've got guitars that are greatly affected, and some that I play to my kids at bath-time that don't move at all. It's just a product of general build and materials.

As for what's to stop it happening again - probably nothing. Let it get over-humidified again and the problem will likely come back. So don't do that is the answer.

Generally speaking, a lightly braced guitar will be more susceptible, but a lightly braced guitar will be more desirable in almost every other respect to most players. So that's the trade off.

Yes. I agree fully with the first part, and partially with the second part.

Martin guitars are well-known, one might almost say notorious, for neck-angle problems. I think it is fair to assign part of the responsibility for this to a light build, but only part. A lot of Taylor models (just to name one example, there are others) are every bit as lightly built and responsive as a Martin, but they don't seem to have anything like the same need for adjustments and expensive neck resets.

Also, I wouldn't be so quick to claim that a lightly braced guitar "will be more desirable in almost every other respect". A more solid instrument has several advantages beyond the obvious one that it tends to last well and not need repairing all the time; among these, it has more natural compression and in consequence is more playable (depending on the player's technique and chosen genre), and it copes much better with amplification if you play live.

(Disclaimer: I have seven guitars. Two are very lightly braced, two are quite solidly built, and the other three are somewhere in between. I love them all. I can play anything on any one of them, but in general I tend to reach for one that is going to work the best for the particular style of music I'm about to play. Horses for courses.)

sev112 · December 2021

I had 2 guitars this summer/autumn that really jumped to a much higher action, difficult playability and dead tone. dehumidifying the rooms has made a huge difference and they are now bright and lovely.
of the others:
my 35 year old cheap Fender F3 made no difference (it has very low action) and my 40 year old classical also made no difference.

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