I have bought 3 new guitars since last October. Each time, I have taken the new guitar to my (the closest) luthier for a setup and each time she has shaken her head and said that the neck is messed up and I should return it. Now, these aren't cheap guitars; 2 were Takamines (1 G series and 1 an EF341SC), and one is a mid range Maton. All were bought brand new.
What are the odds that all these guitars have bad necks? Is there something wrong with the guitars or the luthier?
It does seem a bit strange that all those guitars had bad necks, but I'm not a luthier so what would I know. Could you get a second opinion from another luthier?
Well - she's the only game in town right now. Guess I'll see what she can do and go from there.
Thanks!
Ya bad guitars happan... the odds of three in a row seems strange though. As for as "messed up"? Whats that mean? Something major like a twist in it, or is it just a high frett or two, or a little bow.
Paul B
Three guitars in a row with bad necks?? If you're shopping at flea markets and yard sales, maybe, but if you're buying new instruments from the same source, I'd say the odds are nil.
Over many years, three different "luthiers" wrote off my favorite guitar's neck, which had a little more bow in it than it should have had. ("It might do for blues," one of them told me.) Recently I took the truss-rod nut off, applied a little oil to the threads, and the neck straightened up nicely when rod was tightened. It really pays to learn to set up your own instruments. It's not hard, it can save you money, and it keeps you away from would-be repair people who don't know a truss rod from a turnip.
"You can't write a chord ugly enough to say what you want to say sometimes, so you have to rely on a giraffe filled with whipped cream." - Frank Zappa
