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Old 10-13-2015, 02:53 PM
JeremiahB. JeremiahB. is offline
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Default Bridge remove and re-glue: should repair be easily visible or noticeable?

I just traded one of my guitars for a Cordoba Acero D10, sight unseen. When I received the guitar, I noticed there was a slight lift on the bass side of the bridge - a Post It note will slide about a 1/4" under the back of the bridge in spots. Even though I'm not the original owner, the guitar was purchased new less than a month ago and Cordoba has agreed to repair it under warranty. I could send it back to Cordoba, but I run the risk of them choosing to replace it rather than repair, and I don't want that to happen. This guitar has most beautiful quilted bear claw Engelmann top I've ever seen.

I can have the repair done locally under warranty, but the only place that is an authorized Cordoba repair center is Guitar Center and to be honest, I'm not sure I would take a guitar there for a re-string. I spoke to the repair person at GC, who seemed to be confident he could do the repair with no issues. He did say he would be using Titebond, which doesn't thrill me, but I've built 3 acoustics myself using Titebond and they turned out fine. The only thing that concerns me, is both he and my regular guitar tech told me that a bridge remove and re-glue is a repair that will always be noticeable. The degree of visibility depends on the quality of the repair and person doing the repair. Is this true? I would think this would be a repair that could be done and cleaned up nicely.
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Old 10-13-2015, 03:09 PM
davenumber2 davenumber2 is offline
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Default Bridge remove and re-glue: should repair be easily visible or noticeable?

If you've built 3 acoustics why not just do the repair yourself? Sounds like you have the skills.
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Old 10-13-2015, 03:24 PM
Guitars+gems Guitars+gems is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JeremiahB. View Post
I just traded one of my guitars for a Cordoba Acero D10, sight unseen. When I received the guitar, I noticed there was a slight lift on the bass side of the bridge - a Post It note will slide about a 1/4" under the back of the bridge in spots.
Quote:
Even though I'm not the original owner, the guitar was purchased new less than a month ago and Cordoba has agreed to repair it under warranty. I could send it back to Cordoba, but I run the risk of them choosing to replace it rather than repair, and I don't want that to happen. This guitar has most beautiful quilted bear claw Engelmann top I've ever seen.
I can have the repair done locally under warranty, but the only place that is an authorized Cordoba repair center is Guitar Center and to be honest, I'm not sure I would take a guitar there for a re-string. I spoke to the repair person at GC, who seemed to be confident he could do the repair with no issues. He did say he would be using Titebond, which doesn't thrill me, but I've built 3 acoustics myself using Titebond and they turned out fine. The only thing that concerns me, is both he and my regular guitar tech told me that a bridge remove and re-glue is a repair that will always be noticeable. The degree of visibility depends on the quality of the repair and person doing the repair. Is this true? I would think this would be a repair that could be done and cleaned up nicely.
Can't you specify to Cordoba that you want to keep that particular guitar, so insist on the repair instead of replacement?
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Old 10-13-2015, 04:37 PM
JeremiahB. JeremiahB. is offline
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Originally Posted by davenumber2 View Post
If you've built 3 acoustics why not just do the repair yourself? Sounds like you have the skills.
I could but really don't have the time and would rather have the work done by an authorized repair shop to keep the warranty intact. I may need it later.
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Old 10-13-2015, 04:39 PM
JeremiahB. JeremiahB. is offline
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Originally Posted by Guitars+gems View Post
Can't you specify to Cordoba that you want to keep that particular guitar, so insist on the repair instead of replacement?
I could but would rather avoid the hassle of having to pay to ship it to California and the 4 - 6 week wait involved.
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Old 10-13-2015, 04:48 PM
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rick-slo rick-slo is offline
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Could be visually undetectable. Example of a reglued bridge from Frank Ford's website.

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Old 10-13-2015, 04:53 PM
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Should be virtually invisible.
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Old 10-13-2015, 05:19 PM
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Methos1979 Methos1979 is offline
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I just bought a guitar off a buddy that had the bridge re-glued at some point in it's life. I noticed it when I was looking it over. It wasn't obvious at first but then something caught my eye and I thought it had been done. I asked my buddy (who had bought the guitar used) and he said he was not aware if it had been done and had never notice it and he IS a guitar tech that works on a lot of guitars, although I do not know if he's ever done a bridge repair. In my defense, I am a professional quality inspector that is used to picking up very small details!

I eventually took the guitar to a local renowned and authorized Martin/Taylor/Collings repair tech and one of the first things out of his mouth was, "Well, the bridge was re-glued at some point..." This made me feel good that I had noticed it. He said it wasn't super obvious to the casual observer or untrained eye, but he also said that is was a particularly well-done re-glue either. I get the feeling that when he does one, it would much harder to see it for a guy like me. But he also said the bridge was fine and the re-glue job was adequate to hold.

So, I guess the answer is if it's done by someone really good, it will likely be unnoticaeable to most people. I tend to agree with your not wanting to have GC do it though...
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Old 10-13-2015, 05:36 PM
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A properly executed bridge re-glue by a competent repair technician should be completely undetectable.

I had to have a completely new bridge made for one of my guitars, to replace one that cracked. That was done by a good luthier, and you'd never know the bridge had been replaced.

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Old 10-13-2015, 05:38 PM
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I had a bridge crack on a D-28. Martin sent a new bridge to the local authorized tech. He did a great job putting the new one on. So good the work was hardly noticeable and not an issue when I later sold the guitar.
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  #11  
Old 10-13-2015, 07:03 PM
samcatluth samcatluth is offline
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Default bridge reglue

If the tech said a bridge re-glue will always be noticeable, he is trying to cover up his own incompetence. A well done re-glue will not be noticeable. Jeff B
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Old 10-13-2015, 08:01 PM
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Only visible if the top has aged and the bridge had to be shifted for intonation. Of course, you could use a slightly oversized bridge to cover discolored wood, making the job look factory. If just reglued in the same location, you shouldn't be able to tell.
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Old 10-14-2015, 07:45 AM
JeremiahB. JeremiahB. is offline
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Thank you to all of those who responded to the question asked. Maybe I will just send it to Cordoba and specify that I want it repaired, not replaced.
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Old 10-14-2015, 07:48 AM
Tom West Tom West is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by davenumber2 View Post
If you've built 3 acoustics why not just do the repair yourself? Sounds like you have the skills.
Same question came into my mind.
Tom
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Old 10-14-2015, 07:49 AM
JeremiahB. JeremiahB. is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom West View Post
Same question came into my mind.
Tom
See post #4.

Last edited by JeremiahB.; 10-14-2015 at 07:54 AM.
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