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May 2008
Posts: 4
Location: Boston | I've picked up an old Applause AA14-4 in need of repair. Can anyone offer some insight on the following:
The bridge is lifting big time and warping the top. Easy repair, but tell me, please, was this model made to be used with nylon strings? Someone cranked on these steel strings and the bridge is whack.
Aluminum neck is funky and fret dots are empty. Any problem with taking dark paint off the fretboard to expose the aluminum (and buff it shiny, maybe). What does one do if frets wear down? Any suggestions on what to fill the dots with?
Any truss rod on this thing?
Thanks to all in advance for your tips!
J-bone :confused: |
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Joined:
May 2008
Posts: 4
Location: Boston | looks good |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12761
Location: Boise, Idaho | I don't know the model numbers on the Applauses, but I think all the nylon string guitars had the rectangular, block-like bridges that you typically see on classical guitars.
The dots on the neck are meant to be empty. I'd fill in the black paint paint rather than take it off. |
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May 2008
Posts: 4
Location: Boston | Thanks for the note, Mark. But empty dots? Doesn't that present a playing problem, getting hung up on a dot? Is there a reason or is it just an idiosyncrasy? |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12761
Location: Boise, Idaho | I've had a Matrix for 30 years with the aluminum fretboard and empty dots and haven't ever noticed a playing problem. That's the way they were supposed to be. The dots are not deep enough to effect playing for me. |
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Joined:
March 2008
Posts: 2683
Location: Hot Springs, S.D. | It sounds to me like you kinda wasted your money. (Sorry) There isn't much you can do if the neck needs adjustment. These guitars have no truss rod. We used to put them in an arbor press at the factory, and that would straighten them for a while, but they seem to have a "memory", and eventually they will re-warp. The fret board is one piece, so there's really nothing you can do if the frets wear down. As far as the bridge goes, a tailpiece will eliminate that problem for good, and even if the top is lifting, eventually it will come back down. The dots are empty. They shouldn't bother your playing at all. You might have to put a new neck on, and it wouldn't be worth the money. If you can get it back into playable condition without spending too much, you'd probably be better off pawning it and using the money to buy something better. Or better yet, find a kid who can't afford a guitar and donate it. |
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Joined:
May 2008
Posts: 4
Location: Boston | Thanks, CanterburyStrings.
Luckily, I paid all of $30 for the guitar and probably could have talked them down since they'd not mentioned the bridge problem before. The tailpiece idea I hadn't thought of; pretty good. Will the fan bracing stand up to a tailpiece?
The guitar may become a donation or see use on the annual kayak trip. It can always double as a paddle if not as firewood. |
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Joined:
November 2002
Posts: 3665
Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | As is common advice, regarding old Matrix necks; learn to play slide. Unless you know a machinist, with more time than business, to re-mill the fretboard, between the "fretwires". |
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Applause AA14-4 bridge repair- Nylon strings?
