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Joined:
August 2006
Posts: 3145
Location: Marlton, NJ | Any recommendations from you Academey experts on what kind of strings to use that would bring out the best in it?
I just found it at the front door - it was boxed with basically newspaper and other assorted disposables surrounding it... looks pretty much unscathed. I'll post a couple of pics when it's cleaned and strung. I can't wait to hear what it sounds like. |
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Joined:
January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | light guage steel or silk&still. |
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Joined:
November 2002
Posts: 3603
Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | Cool. I just received a KA-17. I think it needs a tweak to the neck-set, then I'll follow your advice. |
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Joined:
August 2006
Posts: 3145
Location: Marlton, NJ | Well... I attempted to put strings on it and I think mine also needs a tweak. The first couple of frets are unplayable, and it buzzes up the next few frets. I added a shim... same thing. It looks like the soundboard is a bit sunken. I'm not sure I can fix that on here... heat gun?
Any other suggestions? |
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Joined:
November 2002
Posts: 3603
Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | OK, how worn are the 1st-three frewires? And, define "unplayable".
The angle of the bridge is tilted forward? Pretty common, with old guitars. As for a heatgun, technically, it would work, with the plastic top. I wouldn't do it, though. Best bet is get the neck leveled, and work on the set-angle. Does yours have the adjustable saddle, also?
I posted some photos of mine, for reference, in the For Sale forum. There is a close-up of the bridge in the Members Gallery.
The tapered shim I just put on mine was under 1/32", at the top, to zero, at the bottom, running about 3/4 the length of the heel/body joint. Raised the saddle about 1/16", as a result.
Had to restore the female woodscrew threads in the neck, also. Boring out, & using machine bolt inserts was definitely "Plan B"!
Hope this helps. Free advice is worth every penny! |
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Joined:
August 2006
Posts: 3145
Location: Marlton, NJ | The fretwires look ok. By unplayable, I mean that if you fret the 1st, 2nd, 3rd frets - the strings rest on the fretboard - buzzes the next few frets and then sounds ok above that.
I didn't have too much time to dig any deeper. I'll do that this weekend. I'm going to replace the nut - that looks pretty bad.
I was only kidding about the heat gun. I'll check out the pics in your gallery.
And thanks for the advice! |
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Joined:
November 2002
Posts: 3603
Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | I've used heat guns. Check out the "Pandora" photos in the BFLG gallery. Not pretty.
Sounds like your fretwires may be pretty worn. Have they been releveled? |
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Joined:
August 2006
Posts: 3145
Location: Marlton, NJ | The tops of the frets are pretty flat so they probably have been levelled.
I used a heat gun earlier today to remove a bridge from a piece of soundboard. It worked pretty well. |
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