Reviving an old cheapish acoustic

[mctoot]

A visit to the London Acoustic show and watching Ralph McTell on the beeb news this morning have inspired me to get all acoustic'd up again*...

Thing is, I only have a old late 1980s Yamaha (an FG400A, I think), which has remained more or less unplayed for years. Compared to some of the lovely instruments I played last week at the show, the action is pretty high, but the tone is not bad. Before I go aout and buy a more up to date guitar is there owt I can do to make it more playable? Cut the bridge down? Obviously a spit wash and fret polish and a new set of ropes, but what else...?

I really know nothing about acoustics...









*OK maybe Ralph had less to do with it

[Kebabkid]

PM'd you

[zenzeypher]

How's the neck at the moment?

I would start at the nut make sure that's up to par, then play with the bridge I usually replace them with a nice bone substitute then sand down to the required height...string up and check action then sand some more.

I usually make sure Ive got the guitar roughly setup how I like it before sanding the bridge - making sure I have the relief in the neck I want first ~ but mostly other disagree and have the neck flat.

Are the frets flat? if so they will need a crown and polish but if theyre a little dented it's fine - I like mine a little dented.

Acoustics I usually string with .11s with a lowish action, low enough to play easily but not enough to effect the sustain/resonance.

It's more a case of having a constructive fiddle about, you can't go too far wrong and if you fluff the bridge you can easily find a replacement...If youre new to it buy one or two cheap bridges from you music shop first and play with those they should only be a few quid each if that.

[mctoot]

How's the neck at the moment?

I would start at the nut make sure that's up to par, then play with the bridge I usually replace them with a nice bone substitute then sand down to the required height...string up and check action then sand some more.

I usually make sure Ive got the guitar roughly setup how I like it before sanding the bridge - making sure I have the relief in the neck I want first ~ but mostly other disagree and have the neck flat.

Are the frets flat? if so they will need a crown and polish but if theyre a little dented it's fine - I like mine a little dented.

Acoustics I usually string with .11s with a lowish action, low enough to play easily but not enough to effect the sustain/resonance.

It's more a case of having a constructive fiddle about, you can't go too far wrong and if you fluff the bridge you can easily find a replacement...If youre new to it buy one or two cheap bridges from you music shop first and play with those they should only be a few quid each if that.

Thanks for this - very useful. I think the neck is OK and the frets just need a bit of a rub with some wire wool. I'll have a look at doing some of the things you mention.

Cos - thanks for the PM - replied!

[evilmags]

Twelve or even thirteen will make it sound a lot better. Truss rod adjustment will probably be needed to bring the action back down.

[MartinHK]

Thanks for this - very useful. I think the neck is OK and the frets just need a bit of a rub with some wire wool. I'll have a look at doing some of the things you mention.

Cos - thanks for the PM - replied!

An old trick... the wood in any instrument matures over time as the wood dries/seasons. The longer you can continue this process, the better the eventual sound. Once every six months, I spray a good quality beeswax based polish into the appeture (sound hole) to re-hydrate the wood. Let's face it, when you do the outside, all you're doing is polishing the shelac and making it shiney. I do this to both my 10 year old Taylor 514CE and my much more expensive Terada T18 (which is over 40 years old). The tone continues to improve with both. Secondly, the 'ropes' as you put it. I have to disagree with the other poster here. I think 11s are too light. I use D;Addario phospher bronze 12s. It does (to a degree) depend on your playing style but if you do any amount of finger style, the 12s will make a huge difference. Don't go beyond a 12 though.

[evilmags]

13s are actually better sounding if a bit tough on the fingers. 11s only really work on small bodid, lightly braced guitar and tens are a total waste of time. If you use a lot iof alt tuning 13s are going to give a punchier bass response.

Also worth considering what type of string. 80/20s are a lot brighter than phosphor bronze.

[ICBM]

No, it totally depends on the guitar. My Gibson Dove (full size dreadnought) sounds just as good - or maybe slightly better - with 11s on as it does with 12s, and there are many smaller or lighter-built guitars that sound very nice with 10s. 13s or even sometimes 12s can be counterproductive and make the guitar sound too stiff as well as being hard to play. Equally there are some guitars that need 13s or even heavier to get them sounding good... there is no right or wrong gauge really. I used to think that heavier strings always sounded better, until I heard for myself that they don't - particularly as with slightly lighter strings you can have the action higher (which also often improves tone) without make the guitar feel hard to play.

In my experience older Yamahas often suffer from the top bellying up over the years which will mean the action is often high even with the neck straight and the bridge saddle as low as it will go (without shaving the wooden bridge itself or resetting the neck) - in this case light strings will let you get the guitar playable and sounding good, and reduce the tension on the top which otherwise makes the problem worse.

[evilmags]

None of mine seem to sound right with below 12s on them, although Gypsy Jazz guitars sound fine with much lighter than that on it. That said I use a lot of alt tuning when playing accoustic so the heavier gauges come into their own there. Top bellying is a common problem. Neck resets are bloody expensive and nerve racking procedures. But basically the more wood in the guitar the more string weight needed to drive it.

[mctoot]

In my experience older Yamahas often suffer from the top bellying up over the years which will mean the action is often high even with the neck straight and the bridge saddle as low as it will go (without shaving the wooden bridge itself or resetting the neck)

Interesting. This might be the case. I'm not sure if I will be able to photograph it in a way that would help a diagnosis, but I might have a go...

I use a lot of alt tuning when playing accoustic so the heavier gauges come into their own there.

I struggle to sound anything other than shoite in standard tuning. Alt tuning is as useful to me as being able to book a minicab in Esperanto.

I'm going to have a bit of a play with it and see if I can get it more user friendly, but I have more or less decided that I need a better quality acoustic in my life so I'm getting the GAS juices bubbling...

...yes, yes, I know. This is what it was all about in the first place. My old university friend Yamaha FG400A might be up on the classifieds for a few shillings...