zikman Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 (edited) Yes i know the guitar is relative new (about 1 year and a half) I always keeps my guitars at controlled humidity and room around 50%. The bridge has started obviously to lift from one side ...and i didn't notice it since it is a new instrument, I decided with my luthier of course to remove the bridge this is the permanent damage that has been made to the top. I can cleary see inside the instrument that there is no damage or something. I cannot understand why this happened to an instrument like this! I have many many gibsons acoustics...but this is the first time that i am experiencing this! any advice? Edited January 18 by zikman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silversurfer Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 2 minutes ago, zikman said: Yes i know the guitar is relative new (about 1 year and a half) I always keeps my guitars at controlled humidity and room around 50%. The bridge has started obviously to lift from one side ...and i didn't notice it since it is a new instrument, I decided with my luthier of course to remove the bridge and here are the results this is the permanent damage that has been made to the top. I can cleary see inside the instrument that there is no damage or something. I cannot understand why this happened to an instrument like this! I have many many gibsons acoustics...but this is the first time that i am experiencing this! any advice? Hard to tell from the photos but looks like some finish was removed when removing and regluing the bridge? Or is that just dried glue? Have you tried cleaning the area? If it really bothers you, it can be touched up but I wouldn’t bother. Bridge reglues, neck resets, refrets, nut replacement… it’s all part of guitar ownership. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zikman Posted January 18 Author Share Posted January 18 (edited) Thx for the answer! This sign is BEFORE removing the bridge... It is done by the tension of the lifted bridge! Unfortunately i cannot forum won't allow any more images to see the top without the bridge Edited January 18 by zikman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zikman Posted January 18 Author Share Posted January 18 (edited) i tried to make a collage to check all photos together https://ibb.co/7pgT8wL Edited January 18 by zikman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuestionMark Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 (edited) My 2006 Gibson CS 1964 J45’s bridge started to lift during a gig so was playing at. I had bought the guitar new and took good care of it. This was after owning it about 9 years. I took it to an authorized Gibson Repairperson who agreed I had taken good care of it and he called Gibson and they agreed to fix it under warrantee. They felt they must not have adequately glued the bridge down when they made the guitar. It’s given no problems since and Gibson and their repairman were great about covering the repair under warrantee. Just my experience. QM aka “ Jazzman” Jeff Edited January 18 by QuestionMark 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimt Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 Looks normal to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 If you just paste a copy of the image link that you can get with your mouse right click, there is no size limit. Looks like that bridge lifting did some finish and wood damage. I've never seen that. They usually lift up on the ends. I wonder if the Thermally Aged process can contribute to this? I have a couple Gibsons with that process and I learned on the first one to kick up the humidification. I used to keep my guitar room around 45% and it started to show a finish split. I kicked it up to 50% and the issue went away. I've always babied new guitars for the first few years until the wood gets accustomed to being a guitar. I may have to give these aged ones a little more attention in the winter months for a few more years or keep them in the case during the winter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWG4927 Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 Bad luthier. Bad luthier! Bad bridge removal 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buc McMaster Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 It's not obvious in the photos that the bridge was lifting, appearing more like some separation of the finish in front of the bridge. It seems quite odd that pieces of the top would come up with the bridge if the removal process was done properly. I've witnessed dozens of bridge removals on various makes and models of guitars and have never seen a top be damaged like that. In the first photo of the collage there is no evidence of top damage other than the apparent lifting of finish. But then in the photo in the center the top damage is obvious. What exactly was the sequence of events here? Is your tech Gibson authorized? If not I wouldn't expect any relief from Gibson on this issue. Either way, I do hope you get it sussed out to your satisfaction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimt Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 (edited) 18 minutes ago, Buc McMaster said: It's not obvious in the photos that the bridge was lifting, appearing more like some separation of the finish in front of the bridge. It seems quite odd that pieces of the top would come up with the bridge if the removal process was done properly. I've witnessed dozens of bridge removals on various makes and models of guitars and have never seen a top be damaged like that. In the first photo of the collage there is no evidence of top damage other than the apparent lifting of finish. But then in the photo in the center the top damage is obvious. What exactly was the sequence of events here? Is your tech Gibson authorized? If not I wouldn't expect any relief from Gibson on this issue. Either way, I do hope you get it sussed out to your satisfaction. I have seen the finish lift at the front of the bridge on newer Gibson acoustics from the 90s back at that time era but there were other factors of drying out and the tops changing shape that created the issue , also the saddle being way to high creating a lean forward . not sure why this 45 took a crap. Maybe the lack of screws didnt help matters Edited January 19 by slimt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 (edited) I was surprised at the bridge plate. When compared to the one on my Historic '42 SJ Banner (shown), it looks like it was subjected to some heat and oozed glue out of the locating hole and sides. I have a Nick Lucas that I sent back to Montana to have the bridge plate replaced and they did a great job but about a year later the bridge started to lift. I attributed to the bridge plate replacement. I had my luthier redo the bridge. He said he was a nervous wreck worrying about messing up the finish. He did a perfect job, only charged $65. Edited January 19 by Dave F Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zikman Posted January 19 Author Share Posted January 19 thx for all the answers..! just to clarify things.. the first photos of the collage...the bridge is lifted and the tension created a wave at the finish-top showing at my finger. from the outside side of the bridge the top developed a small belly. i have to say that previous December when the guitar was 3 months old i saw the bridge was being lifted at one side only so i decided to to remove it and reglue it with hot hide glue at my luthier. It was pretty stable all these months so i ignored it...and now it developed this lifting without noticing for second time. So my luthier had to remove it again ...Removing it again it created this chop at the top. now i have to reduce the belly and then reglue it again I am wondering what impact will have all these at sound and structure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buc McMaster Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 So the bridge has been removed and re-glued twice, and apparently neither glue job held up for long. Looks like glue was not fully released at the corner when the bridge was pulled, taking a few chunks of the top with it. If true, this indicates the tech was not as careful as he/she should have been. Might be time to find a new tech............ I suppose the holes and divots in the top could be filled somehow........someone with serious skills could probably make the top structurally sound but cosmetically it will bear the scars of this adventure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 Before we moved to San Antonio - my LG1 needed a fret job and I wanted advice on replacing the plastic bridge, and if so - then the bridge plate. Several recommendations from guitar shop staff led to a good guy who did a good job on the frets, but suggested leaving the bridge alone - "If it's not broken, don't fix it." His shop was in a Shed in his back yard. He had guitars he was building in various stages of completion. But I wouldnt say he was an actual 'luthier'. I think there's a world of difference between some tasks and others. Fret leveling, tweaking a truss rod, even re-gluing braces. But replacing/resetting a bridge /bridge plate - I think would require more vetting of the 'luthier'. I reattached the bridge on my wife's old Harmony. Not pretty, but it's still firmly attached 20 years later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zikman Posted January 19 Author Share Posted January 19 I think this is the only little chunk …however I don’t have a full photo with bridge removed to see if there are more chunks at the wood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWG4927 Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 11 hours ago, Buc McMaster said: Looks like glue was not fully released at the corner when the bridge was pulled, taking a few chunks of the top with it. If true, this indicates +1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boyd Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 I can't make much sense of these photos, sorry. But, FWIW, I have a 2020 60's original J-50 that I bought in 2021 in 'like new" condition. About a year ago, the bridge began to lift on one side. This guitar has the new version of the adjustable bridge/saddle, so it's securely bolted in place and isn't going anywhere. Haven't done anything about it yet since it doesn't seem to affect the sound or playability, but one day will deal with it. Your experience makes me wonder if the cure would be worse than the disease though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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