YerDugliness Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 It was fully expected. I was tuning the low E string when all of a sudden there was a "pop" sound, sure enough the bridge has separated from the body on the bass side. I'll take it to the local Gibson dealer and see if they can help me any.....if not, I'll make the decision whether or not to deal with Gibson on the repair or take it to the luthier I use for most all of my mods/repairs. It will depend in large part on what type of glue the luthier will use to reglue the bridge to the soundboard. I'd rather have hide glue used as it crystallizes when it dries....we'll see. I doubt that Gibson will use hide glue, more likely cyanoacrylate (super glue). Oh, well, as I said it was fully expected so it wasn't a severe blow, but I'm still a bit about it. Dugly ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claimed4all Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 I beleive all Masterbilts were Hide-Glued together. So if Gibson repaired it to original construction, then it would be Hide-Glued. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 I feel for you. I keep watching mine, waiting for the enivitable. Already there's a SLIGHT lift between the bridge and soundboard on the pin side. I probably don't play mine as much as you play yours, so the bridge hasn't undergone enough stress YET. If and when mine pops, I'm going to look into having the bridge screwed to the top (and covering the heads with pearl dots), like they do on the Gibson bridges. I hope yours is fixed soon, and to your satisfaction. Red 333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YerDugliness Posted April 7, 2009 Author Share Posted April 7, 2009 I beleive all Masterbilts were Hide-Glued together. So if Gibson repaired it to original construction' date=' then it would be Hide-Glued.[/quote'] Hi, C4A--welcome to the forum. If you've not been lurking around this forum much, you might not have heard about this model and the well-known lifting-bridge issue. Seems they almost all do it, as evidenced by this taken from Red333's reply below: I feel for you. I keep watching mine' date=' waiting for the enivitable.....Red 333[/quote'] I keep mine well humidified, the general humidity level here about 50 miles from the Gulf of Mexico is around 40%. When we have a front move through with dry air behind it I put it in the case with the humidifier. That seems to put the air at about 55% for the most part, I've seen it as high as 59% once. You know, though, I'd rather have the guit develop the problem than not have the guit at all.....I'll deal with it. As for Epi's practice, I believe the body is assembled with hide glue, not sure about the bridge. I've heard that the issue arises from the practice of finishing the soundboard before the bridge is mounted, but that's just hearsay and should be "...taken with a grain of salt". At any rate, we all know about Gibson's success rate with production on this model, so I'm not sure that's a very good reason to believe they would do any better with the repair . But, hey, I have my AJ , I'm alright :) , life is good :D/ !! Dugly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claimed4all Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 I have heard about the bridge lifting issue, did not know it was so widespread. Is it just on the AJ or all of the Masterbilts? I have just acquired a DR-500M, by the serial number I would say a 2007 edition (since those are the first numbers). Should I be worried? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YerDugliness Posted April 7, 2009 Author Share Posted April 7, 2009 Is it just on the AJ or all of the Masterbilts? Should I be worried? Seems to be very common on this one model, so I wouldn't worry about your DR model. IIRC there's not much mention on the forum regarding DR or EF models' bridges separating from the soundboard. Congrats on your Masterbilt.....expect them to get more scarce. Gibson is reported to be phasing out the AJ masterbilts, even the 14-fret body styles, as well as sunburst finishes. Dugly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ship of fools Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 That still sucks Dugly, I think you might want to at least notify Epiphone ( Gibson ) and see if they might have your Luthier take care of it and it's funny that I was thinking about the one I gave away and called to see if he is having a problem with his and off to the repair shop it is going too, his is startting to lift on the low E side, but for some reason the the back side, well at least the kid will have his fixed so it never comes off again, mine is going to do it for free for the kid.ship Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YerDugliness Posted April 7, 2009 Author Share Posted April 7, 2009 That still sucks Dugly' date=' I think you might want to at least notify Epiphone ( Gibson ) and see if they might have your Luthier take care of it and it's funny that I was thinking about the one I gave away and called to see if he is having a problem with his and off to the repair shop it is going too, his is startting to lift on the low E side, but for some reason the the back side, well at least the kid will have his fixed so it never comes off again, mine is going to do it for free for the kid.ship[/quote'] Hey, Ship, good to hear from ya, buddy! Mine is lifting on the back side, too....the side nearest the bottom of the guitar. I'd be interested in hearing from others as to whether theirs lifted from the front (the side nearest the sound hole) or the back of the bridge. I'm undecided what to do with it regarding notifying Gibson. I'd be almost certain that if I have my luthier repair the defect, Gibson will void the warranty and I held out for so long for a new guitar specifically for the warranty. I just want it fixed right and right now I'm not too confident in Gibson. Of course, I've been wanting to do some other things to this one that would void the warranty, too......a pickup with an end-pin style jack, a strap button on the heel of the neck.....if I just gave up on Gibson's warranty, I could get all those things done. Decisions, decisions.......hmmmmmmm . P.S.--absolutely adore your avatar, Ship!!! Dugly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedarTopFan Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 It was fully expected. I was tuning the low E string when all of a sudden there was a "pop" sound' date=' sure enough the bridge has separated from the body on the bass side. I'll take it to the local Gibson dealer and see if they can help me any.....if not, I'll make the decision whether or not to deal with Gibson on the repair or take it to the luthier I use for most all of my mods/repairs. It will depend in large part on what type of glue the luthier will use to reglue the bridge to the soundboard. I'd rather have hide glue used as it crystallizes when it dries....we'll see. I doubt that Gibson will use hide glue, more likely cyanoacrylate (super glue). Oh, well, as I said it was fully expected so it wasn't a severe blow, but I'm still a bit about it. Dugly Dugly.... Been there, done that...unfortunetly. I know just how you feel. All I can say is, if you take it to the shop where you got it, I hope it goes better for you than my experience. But...once I contacted the Gibson folks it was all good from then on. They sent it back and its perfect again now. An interesting thing. I told the guy I spoke with (with Gibson) that I had been playing it hard, and all the time, since I bought it, it was that good. Well, on the warrantee repair sheet I got with the repaired guitar the guy who did the work noted that the condition when he got it was "VERY used"! Ha ha! That after only 11 months of playing. These AJ500's are just spectacular guitars. Why in the world would they discontinue the Masterbilts??? I cant understand it. Good luck with your bridge. And by the way...I have started using a humidifier during the cold dry months. I have been advised that that will prevent the lifting bridge. CTF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ship of fools Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 Actually Dougly those things you mentioned do NOT void the warranty, except if you have a problem related to those things, it is very common for those modifications to be done to most guits and under their warranty it wouldn't necessarily void the total warranty, like if the truss rod sprang a leak ( kidding here guys ) or something stupid along those lines.The kid I gave the guitar to was worried that he did something wrong as he has been trying a lot of open tunings and I explained that his is not the only guitar to be going through this right now, and as I mentioned I have someone who will fix it for good and for free. As for the avatar that pretty well sums up my life and kinda reminds me of when I was younger, peace out everybody.Ship Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bloozeguy Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 Dugly, I know how long you had to wait for your 12fretter and I really feel for you! Fortunately (for me), it has to be sympathy rather than empathy so far, anyway. I've had mine for about twice as long as you have and have not had this problem (thank ya, Lord!). I may be in a more humid climate (DC environs). Checking regularly to make sure the bridge is behaving. I am also probably not playing as hard as often as others have reported here. Very little flat-picking with it and only a couple tunes hitting all that hard in the course of an evening. And I should practice more, too, but maybe it's saving the guitar from the need for such repairs. All the best on getting this seen to, man! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byrds1965 Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Mine is lifting on the back side' date=' too....the side nearest the bottom of the guitar. I'd be interested in hearing from others as to whether theirs lifted from the front (the side nearest the sound hole) or the back of the bridge. Dugly Just told my long AJ500ME story on another posting here. I bought a 2006 AJ500ME in burst. In less than 6 months the back split wide open all the way down. Started in one spot skipped over and went the rest of the way down. Kept in a humidified room with my Gibson's and when not in a good blow molded case with the gray humidifier the guitar came with. The label even has ink runs from the water dripping from the thing. Had in the case for maybe a month decided to play it one day got it out and a huge open crack all the way down the back. Almost did a Pete Townshend with the thing. Also noticed the top behind the bridge now had a huge hump and the guitar buzzed all the time. I use only 12 guage strings and do on all the rest of my acoustics too so WTF? Ordered on-line so took to a friend who does these kind of in depth repairs. Just got it back couple of weeks ago now. He managed to get the back to seal back up and threw some braces, so it will not open again. The top lift was a bridge saddle that was too high and putting too much pull on the top, so he put in the proper saddle. He told me the string height at the 12th fret was way too high. He had to re-glue a top brace causing the buzzing from when the top lifted breaking loose in a spot and vibrating along with the top now. He told me when I picked it up that the build quailty was good but the light thin wood that helps contrubute to the tone of the guitar was in his words "suspect". He did the guitar between his paying jobs as a favor to me as we have been friends over 20 years. As an offset to the cracked back he knows I hate he buffed the whole thing out to a beautiful high gloss. It is now I hope as solid as it sounds and the nice gloss makes me overlook the fact I know the back is cracked. From reading some of these postings here I don't think there will be many AJ500s that stand the test of time and most will end up being disposed of as they fall apart, the cost not making them worth fixing. I hope mine now lasts as I sold off my DR500M to help finance the AJ500ME. I regreted it the minute the AJ cracked. Now not as much. I have a feeling I will be tracking down a DR500M in the future though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ship of fools Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 Hey Dugly did you get the bridge fixed yet, got the kids guitar back yesterday and it was a great job done.Also had the saddle re-slotted and new saddle made along with a new nut with just a slightly wider spacing. The kid couldn't have been any happier then when I first gave him the guitar. In another couple of years I think he'll be teaching his teacher some new things, his progression is unbelievable.Ship Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avidkut Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 And by the way...I have started using a humidifier during the cold dry months. I have been advised that that will prevent the lifting bridge. CTF I just noticed a crack on the back of my DR500M It might be from lack of proper humidification. I do have an in-case humidifier but no hygrometer Coincidentally though I noticed this crack the morning after I did my first string-change on the guitar and (having changed from lights to mediums) also had to give the truss-rod an ever-so-slight adjustment (another first for me.) I was concerned that the crack might somehow be related but the consensus seems to be that it probably isn't given the location of the crack. I hadn't been playing the guitar for a while due to a broken string so it could have happened anytime over the last few months. I don't have access to a camera at the moment but I found a photo of a DR-500 on-line and made a mark to indicate the location of the crack. Would something like this be covered under the warranty? Thx. DK [img']http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj5/avidkut/GR08010630-bodyback-crack.jpg[/img] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ship of fools Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 No unfortunately this kind of crack is not covered under anybodies warranty and because of where it is its at the very least a very easy repair for any shop ( say at most $60.00 ) to have it cleated, better to do it sooner than later as the crack may travel even more. And its better for the crack to be at the back then the front, good luck.Ship Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyroadman Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 avidkut - Sorry to hear about the crack - made me check mine this morning. Have you contacted Gibson/Epiphone?? They hold the warranty and the rights to such decisions......... Regards, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byrds1965 Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 No unfortunately this kind of crack is not covered under anybodies warranty and because of where it is its at the very least a very easy repair for any shop ( say at most $60.00 ) to have it cleated' date=' better to do it sooner than later as the crack may travel even more. And its better for the crack to be at the back then the front, good luck.Ship[/quote'] In theory it is an easy repair. How far is the crack and did it spread open yet? Mine cracked all the way top to bottom. Started in one place and continued in another. Spread about 1/8". Mine was in a humidified room and had the gray humidifier that came with it in the guitar also. The label still has the water marks from the thing dripping. The guy who repaired mine does this for a living. He had it in his shop for nearly a year. He could never get the crack to close up again and do the right repair. Finally he gave up took it home and left it in his basement. He told me he checked on it one last time before calling me to ask what I wanted to do with the thing and it was closed up again. I'm guessing whatever the humidity in his basement must have been the same as the plant in China where they are built. He was then able to do the proper repairs to it. I agree Epiphone is either using lower grade woods in these things or building them so fast they are not letting the wood cure for the proper time, so you don't really know until down the road when the wood really starts to cure/age whether they are going to be stable ok crack. The Masterbuilts are great sounding guitars no doubt, but time will tell whether you got a good one or one that is going to have issues as it ages. I would have rather of paid an extra few hundred and gotten good pressure tested and aged woods and enjoyed my guitar minus any surprises in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avidkut Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 avidkut - Sorry to hear about the crack - made me check mine this morning. Have you contacted Gibson/Epiphone?? They hold the warranty and the rights to such decisions......... Regards' date=' [/quote'] I haven't yet because until I read this thread it didn't even occur to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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