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Old 10-14-2009, 08:06 AM
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devellis devellis is offline
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Just to prioritize some of the excellent suggestions, I'd be most concerned about bad neck alignment or a failing top.

For the former, sighting down the fingerboard to see where your line of sight falls on the bridge is a good quick check. (First, make sure that the instrument is tuned up to pitch. Slack strings can hide a multitude of issues.) Ideally, when you line up the two ends of the fingerboard in your line of sight, the top edge of the bridge should be visible beyond them, in the same line of sight. If your line of sight falls just a bit below the top edge, probably not too big a deal. If it's well below the top edge, the neck will need a reset. It's also worth checking the saddle height to see if the action has already been lowered by shaving the saddle. A neck reset is roughly a few hundred dollars, depending on the guitar.

For the top, look at the bridge area, glancing along the guitar top from the side. A slight bit of raising behind and dipping in front of the bridge is normal but it should be very subtle. If it's pronounced, that could be a problem. Braces could be loose or some larger structural issue might be at play. Not only is this a structural issue (i.e., the strength of the sound box may be compromised) but it will mess up the guitar's action. The remedy might be minor but it could also be pretty substantial. Not a good gamble to take, in my estimation.

Either of those two issues will potentially involve a fairly extensive amount of work to correct. Most other things are also worth checking but may be acceptable if the price is right and you don't mind the time and cost of a good setup (which is often a good investment even if there are no obvious issues). Dressing frets, getting the relief and action optimized, and other such adjustments are important but shouldn't be too costly or involved. Figure the added expense in when assessing value, but none of this should break the bank (or the deal) on an otherwise sturdy and desirable instrument. Just my point of view, of course.
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