69 Gibson J-45 Questions

[joeb]

Thanks for the feedback on my previous post.

 

The action is too high and needs to come down. The truss rod has never been adjusted and the neck seems pretty straight. The neck is a little thin and has a natural indentation in the back of neck around the 2nd fret. Those two things make me hesitant to turn the truss.

 

It has the Adj bridge and rosewood saddle. The saddle seems like it should come down more but won't. (It's will go up) After all it is supposed to be adjustable. Any tricks or tips?

 

Lastly, I am looking to replace the original bridge pins with some Colosi bone pins. I will probably have to sand down some 2As to fit. One issue is the original pins are there and work, but they are a bit twisted, bent and warped from 40 years of use. Anyone seen this with bridge pins?

 

My concern is what that has done to the pin holes and if replacement pins will sit right. I tried some other bone pins, but they seem to turn in the hole and lean right.

 

Going to keep it original. Bringing it to my guitar guy tomorrow. Any advice to go in with?

[zombywoof]

Years ago I picked up an old Guild in a pawn shop and the bridge pins were cracked and splayed to the point I had to go into the guitar and snip the ends off to get them out. So yeah, it does happen.

 

Don't have a clue about your saddle adjustment. Maybe the saddle is not in full contact with the bridge or something. Ksdaddy might be able to help you out on that one.

 

I doubt anything was done to the pin holes in the bridge. The continued pulling and replacing of the pins can cause some wear in the holes causing the pins to not seat as tightly as they once did. If you can't find ones that fit I would agree that buying a slightly oversized set and sanding them down would be the answer.

 

Not sure what your concerns are regarding adjusting the neck. The necks on Gibsons made starting in 1965, when they installed automatic neck machines, are about as skinny as you are going to find on an acoustic but I assume there is no danger from adjusting the truss rod. I am not sure what you mean by a natural indentation on the back of the neck. I got 'em on the backs of the necks of my guitars but they ain't natural - come from years of propping the guitars up against amps, chairs and what have you - a habit I have learned to overcome.