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December 2003
Posts: 1071
Location: Carle Place, NY | I remember some time ago there was a post with a photo of a 1537 Elite where a previous owner had placed a screw through the floating fingerboard extension at the tapered end and into the top of the guitar. Now I know why that was done, even though it was quite crude.
I live in the metro NYC area and I keep my 1537 on a guitar hanger in the basement. During the summer the fingerboard extension slightly touches the soundboard producing a buzz. I fixed this with a small piece of thin cardboard placed under the extension. Now in the winter, the end of fingerboard extension is about 2mm above the soundboard causing the high E string to fret out at the 9th fret. I put a 1/4" square piece of thin brass, bent in the middle, over that section of saddle where the string goes over it and raised the action enough to cure the problem.
Has anyone else had these problems with the floating fingerboards on a 1537 or Adamas?
Are there better ways to fix these problems that appear to be caused by changes in humidity? |
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April 2004
Posts: 13303
Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | Slightly off topic Mitch.
About a month ago when put together a list of all the 1537 owners and their serial numbers. Was your name on that list? Maybe time to bump it again because I know Mike just acquired one that wasn't on the original list...now you might make the 2nd not to be included.
Back on topic. I own the 1537 that you are referring to that had the screw removed and was fixed beautifully by Tony Calman. I haven't seen any problems like you are mentioning with any of my floating fretboard O's....but the humidty in Colorado is fairly constant in the 35 -45% range. |
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Posts: 1071
Location: Carle Place, NY | I was pretty sure that I was on the list. I just checked again and I am on the list. |
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Posts: 271
Location: Ft. Lauderdale, Florida | Did they have any other "flyover" finger boards on any other "O's" in the past 40 yrs... I remember reading in THE BIG O BOOK that the idea was from the 1800's (?) and that Charley copied, it...
I think Mcpherson makes a big deal out of it today on his guitars... Along with his offcenter soundhole...
Ab |
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Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Mitch,
I have never had that problem with any of my 1537s. My first line of action would be to store the guitat in a less variable humidity environment. Next, I might try a truss adjustment. After that, I might try shimming.
My tendency would be to attempt to remedy the problem with the "adjustment " built into the guitar's design, as opposed to jerryrigged solutions
Having said that, now let tell you about how I've kept my old jeep wrangler running all these years.... |
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December 2003
Posts: 1071
Location: Carle Place, NY | Jeff:
Thanks for the advice. Yeah, I could keep the guitar in it's case, but I have all of my guitars stored on wall hangers and only the 1537 seem especially sensitive to the humidity. My most recent solution, although jerry-rigged, works very well and is not really noticeable. Shims won't help because the action is a bit under 4/32" (12th fret at low E string) and I don't want to raise it on the unaffected strings.
I was really just curious if any other 1537 owner has had this problem.
In any event, the guitar looks and sounds so nice that I'll just consider it to be a bit "tempermental" and do my twice a year adjustments. It's also interesting that my 1619 Custom Legend hangs right next to the 1537 and is minimally, if at all, effected by the humidity. |
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Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Mitch,
If it's working for you, cool. My suspcion was that your truss rod might be a bit too tight. I was curious if the brass "shim" brightened your high E or otherwise affected the tone.
My 1537's seem go through life largely uneffected by season changes and they stay in tune forever.
How long has your guitar lived on that wall?. My Jumbo Guild always took some time to acclimatize to new locales. After a few months or a year it would stablize. |
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Posts: 265
Location: Warrenton, Virginia | mitch
I live in northern VA....humidity is something I must watch constantly.....during the winter...I keep a humidifier going (not all the time) but on the real dry days.....I also keep my guitars in their cases......that is the best way to control humidity....in a small space.
I agree with jeff...trust the design of the guitar.....work with shimming...or truss///
I have had to send my elite back to have the neck reset...due to the climate ....
they did it great.....but now I am experiencing some of the stuff you are....it is due to the wet/dry air.....again; Jeff is correct.....play with the guitar via shimming or truss...becaus you will be facing the opposit issue when you have heavy humidity in Jersey this spring/summer.
r/
Sam |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Sam,
Do you know the Cheatwood family in Warrenton? |
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April 2004
Posts: 265
Location: Warrenton, Virginia | Mitch
unless you can control the weather (humidity) in the room where you have your guitars on the wall...I would advise keeping them in the case....easier to control the weather....more managable
r/
sam |
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December 2003
Posts: 1071
Location: Carle Place, NY | Jeff & Slap:
Thanks again for the advice. I've had the 1537 for about 10 months, so maybe it hasn't fully acclimated to it's new environment. The brass "shim" over the saddle does not really change the tone. The high E and B strings on the guitar were always very bright. I haven't tried adjusting the K-bar, but I don't think that loosening it up a bit will really effect the fingerboard extension. Actually, I'm satisfied with the way my relatively simple fixes have worked.
BTW-How much did the factory charge for the neck re-set? |
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Floating Fingerboard Fixes on Elite 1537
