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Epiphone FT-160 12 string with bolt-on neck - need advice


OldGuitarPlayer

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This guitar is for sale but unfortunately the seller is about 250 miles away so I cannot try it out in person.

 

Epi

 

I emailed the seller about the action and he says it's "half an inch at the 12th fret" :eek:

He seems to think this is good...:lol:

 

Anyhow I can probably get this for about $200 shipped but I want to know more about the bolt on neck. I have read that these can be removed and shimmed to give the correct neck angle. Has anyone here had experience with doing this? Should I bother to give it a shot? What do you luthier fella's think?

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The only necks that I know of that can be removed and shimmed are Taylors "NT" necks (only later models). A traditional bolt on is still a set neck - the fretboard extension is probably glued on, two bolts instead of glue hold the neck into the body. To change the angle you remove it and floss the cheeks of the heel - you just don't have to futz around with the dovetail to hold it tight. Not a do it yourself project, but not quite as hard as a dovetail.

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Thanks for the input guys! Seems like I shouldn't bother with this one. The seller did say that the "neck block was fine" but still I don't want to take the chance on something I cannot see for myself. Ultimately I am looking to buy a "beater" of somekind. I was thinking maybe a vintage 12 string would be nice but judging from the responses so far this looks like a bad deal.

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This may sound like a "cock & bull" story, but I swear it's the truth. Back in 1968, while in the Army in Germany, I bought a Framus "Texan" 12-string. Solid spruce top with rosewood sides and back. The b&s were probably laminated....not sure. I paid exactly $92 for it at the Robinson Barracks Army PX in Stuttgart, Germany.The Framus guitars had bolt on necks. Four long bolts through a chrome plated steel plate, up through an internal neck block and into recessed nuts built into the neck. Kinda like the way Fender electrics are built.

 

When it was about 8 years old (1976) that neck block cracked and needed to be replaced. I found a music store on the east side of town that actually replaced that cracked neck block and put that guitar back into brand new condition. They did a beautiful job and charged me a whopping $25!! Now, this was back in 1976.....but still.......an amazing deal I thought! Ain't gonna get something like that done these days for anything even resembling that kind of deal. I've often wondered if they actually replaced that cracked neck block (they said they did) or if they just removed it, glued it back togther, and reinstalled it. Still.......I feel I got a fantastic repair job done for cheap.

 

I kept that guitar for about 6 more years, never had another problem with it, and sold it for more than I paid for it to a friend of mine. Don't know if he still has it or not. Haven't seen him in years. For all I know, it could've exploded and blown his pecker off years ago.

 

Wasn't trying to hijack your thread, OGP. It's just that whenever someone mentions 12-strings and neck problems, I think about that old Framus I had and how cheaply I got it fixed back then.

 

Those were the days, my friend...we thought they'd never end............

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These are bolt on necks like an Electric, Telecaster, etc. Actually 4 woods screws through a plate on the back of the guitar and into the neck.

 

 

Indeed there are. My old Eko Ranger uses that method - very easy to shim and adjust (although I've never had to do it in all its 30 year life).

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$20?? How do you figure just $20? Those tuners alone are worth, what?...a buck apiece? That's $12 right there. And the saddle's worth about $8.......so, that $12 plus $8 equals....let's see.....nought 'n' nought is nought.......carry the one....and ..Oh yeah.......that's right......$20!!

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$20?? How do you figure just $20? Those tuners alone are worth, what?...a buck apiece? That's $12 right there. And the saddle's worth about $8.......so, that $12 plus $8 equals....let's see.....nought 'n' nought is nought.......carry the one....and ..Oh yeah.......that's right......$20!!

 

You sussed it out perfectly... :thu:

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