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My old Yamaha FG340


chiro972

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Hey, I have a late 70's Yamaha FG340 that is simply beautiful and the nicest sounding guitar I have ever played, but the action is way high and the saddle on the bridge is already as low as it can be.

 

Is there any way to fix this other than having the neck reset? The techs won't even touch it since they say the guitar isn't worth what it would cost to have it done.

 

I just wish I could have it as a nice backup or for my daughter to play. I guess I could try learning slide, but I would rather have it playable for regular playing.

 

Thanks!

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Have you had a real luthier take a look at it? Is the truss rod at its limit? Is there a lot of relief in the neck?

 

When I bought my FG 340 it was a mess. But after the tender ministrations of Steve Pierce, (a maker of fine guitars, mandolins,

banjos and dobros by the way) that old guitar is now perfect.

 

He replaced 8 frets, installed a bone nut and saddle, leveled the frets, adjusted the truss rod and the action went from over 1/4" to 3/32". The tone and playability are so great I wouldn't sell if for $1,000.00. So when someone tells you it isn't worth putting the money into it, is that because of its original cost or because of what they think its potential is?

 

Don't give up too easily on that old gal!

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Just curious, but is the bridge starting to lift up or is the top becoming bowed behind the bridge?

 

You also mentioned a neck reset. Is the neck starting to separate from the body or does the upper part of the fretboard appear to be "sinking" toward the soundhole?

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There seems to be a little bulging behind the bridge, but it doesn't seem much worse than my other acoustic. Maybe just a little. The bridge saddle is already too low, the strings do not have much bend in them going into the peg holes. In fact, the B string rattles a bit due to it not making good pressure against the saddle.

 

No cracks or anything like that in the neck. The guitar is in really good shape, it just sat in the case at normal tuning for a long time with very little play time.

 

I do really love the tone and looks of this guitar. I guess I just need to find the right luthier.

 

Anyone have any recommendations for the Eastern North Carolina region??

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I have the Yamaha FG-300A and i've had it for a while now since 1994....Yamaha's are good..they last long...mine still sounds great..it actually sounds better than my bro's new Carlo Robelli guitar..hehehehehe...

 

and wow your's was from the 70's?? thats awesome...!!!!

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i have an old yamaha (fg-110) that i've owned since the mid 70's. The action had always been incredibly high on the guitar since new, and as a result, i rarely if ever played it. I took it to a shop (probably some time in the late 70's) to see if they could lower the action & they basically didn't want to monkey around with it, since it's a low end guitar.

I have gotten back in to playing only within the last year & purchased a new acoustic (an Alverez) which i have been playing almost exclusively until recently...

...since i had the yam just sitting around, I decided to perform a little "luthery" of my own. I figured that if i broke it, I would just toss it, since I had another acoustic to play. I cranked the truss rod about 3/4 of a turn & the action dropped down considerably. I also threw away the old plastic bridge piece & replaced it with a $5 bone bridge.

What a difference! I wish I would have done this to the guitar 30 years ago.

Lately iv'e been fingerpicking alot & have been picking up the old yam. It's size really lends itself well to this.

Anyway, I've been reading alot on this site how bulletproof the old FG's are, and wanted to add my .02

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Originally posted by thatsbunk

...since i had the yam just sitting around, I decided to perform a little "luthery" of my own. I figured that if i broke it, I would just toss it, since I had another acoustic to play. I cranked the truss rod about 3/4 of a turn & the action dropped down considerably. I also threw away the old plastic bridge piece & replaced it with a $5 bone bridge.

What a difference! I wish I would have done this to the guitar 30 years ago.

You are lucky, 3/4 of a turn is enough to do serious damage if that's not the problem.

 

It seems no one wants to work on low ends, and I haven't found someone out east I trust my good stuff to. Since you are in Smithfield I'll guess it's been getting slowly worse since spring. Our humidity has been killer out here this year. I'm not a luthier but have done some minor set up. I might be able to help you zero in on the problem if you are interested. (I'm usually in Greenville, Fountain or at the Beach near by).

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chiro972 said:

 

 

Yeah, I bought it in about 1977 or 78.


Looks to me to have a solid top and laminate back and sides. does anyone know if this is right?

 

 

In fact the top is not solid; the FG-340 is all laminate.

 

It really has an amazing tone, doesn't it?

 

Please get your 340 looked at by a real pro. And if it costs you $200.00 to make it right, could you have bought a guitar that sounded even half as good for that amount?

 

Also, I tune down a full note - D-G-C-F-A-D in order to reduce the tension on the neck. You might want to do the same.

 

It is possible that a bridge doctor might help your Yammy or perhaps the bridge could be planed.

 

Let us know how it goes.

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  • 10 months later...
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Hello, Take off the strings, the saddle and the bridgepins, get a hair drier and about 45 lbs of weights. Place the weights on the bridge (guitar laying face up) then, put the drier into the soundhohe and turn it on high, heat up the guitar for about 10 minutes untill you can really smell the wood, the glue will start to soften and the belly will go down. Let it cool and harden for 24 hours. Repeat if nessecary. Arch

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Hello, Take off the strings, the saddle and the bridgepins, get a hair drier and about 45 lbs of weights. Place the weights on the bridge (guitar laying face up) then, put the drier into the soundhohe and turn it on high, heat up the guitar for about 10 minutes untill you can really smell the wood, the glue will start to soften and the belly will go down. Let it cool and harden for 24 hours. Repeat if nessecary. Arch

 

I'd be scared to death to try that, but if it works, WOW! :eek:

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Hello, Take off the strings, the saddle and the bridgepins, get a hair drier and about 45 lbs of weights. Place the weights on the bridge (guitar laying face up) then, put the drier into the soundhohe and turn it on high, heat up the guitar for about 10 minutes untill you can really smell the wood, the glue will start to soften and the belly will go down. Let it cool and harden for 24 hours. Repeat if nessecary. Arch

 

 

Yeah, that sounds pretty freaky. He doesn't say if you should leave the weights on overnight, or take them off when you turn off the dryer.

 

If I were you, I would take great care to make sure this guitar gets proper repairs.

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  • 3 weeks later...
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Hmmm...I found this thread while just searching for "Yamaha" since I now own a 1978 FG-331. I paid $160 for the guitar and paid almost $200 more for a setup and to have a new bone nut and saddle made and the frets leveled. I would not give up this baby for anything as it has really nice action now and beautiful sound. I used to have an FG-350W and it had a solid top with mahogany back & sides....I paid $180 for it used in 1984 and sold it 20 yrs later for $400...sigh...I needed the money at the time :(

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Is there any way to fix this other than having the neck reset? The techs won't even touch it since they say the guitar isn't worth what it would cost to have it done.

 

 

Its worth it. Get it looked at by a luthier, as opposed to just a "tech", which I'm assuming means the guy that sets up your guitars.

 

Ellen

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Yes, I have to agree with you about having a luthier look at your guitar. I recently picked up a 30 yr old FG331 that thank goodness it didn't need a neck reset. She has a few "battle scares but overall in very good shape. I brought it to a local luthier/repair man and had a bone nut and saddle installed and the frets leveled. Now it plays and sounds awesome. It has a smaller body so it is not very loud which suits my weak vocals just fine :)

 

Here are some pics:

yamaha%20fg331c.jpg

yamaha%20fg331b.jpg

yamaha%20fg331a.jpg

:wave: OGP

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Instead of putting weights on it why not stand on the bridge and jump up and down until the action goes down??? Also, the trussrod is not there for correcting the problem you have and turning it may well kill the guitar....

 

But seriously, have a good luthier assess the problem.... I have an old Yamaha that had the same issues as yours and it would not be worth a $400. kneck re-set. I have a good luthier here in Massachusetts who was able to do a "minor neck reset" which involves removing the body binding, etc...it only cost me $125. and turned out perfect with plenty of saddle height and low action. He has done this to numerous old Yamahas with nice results.

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Yes, I have to agree with you about having a luthier look at your guitar. I recently picked up a 30 yr old FG331 that thank goodness it didn't need a neck reset. She has a few "battle scares but overall in very good shape. I brought it to a local luthier/repair man and had a bone nut and saddle installed and the frets leveled. Now it plays and sounds awesome. It has a smaller body so it is not very loud which suits my weak vocals just fine
:)

Here are some pics:

yamaha%20fg331c.jpg
yamaha%20fg331b.jpg
yamaha%20fg331a.jpg
:wave:
OGP

 

Despite the fact that this is an insanely old thread, there is new material, so I guess I'll jump back in.

 

That Yamaha FG-331 you have is a great little guitar. I played one recently and was amazed by the tone and volume that little thing put out.

You might want to try putting some brass bridge pins on it and see what happens; old Yamaha FGs respond well to the brass pins.

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Yes...I have heard about the different types bridge pins (brass etc) that can be used to enhance the tone and I think I might just do what you suggest.

 

Yes...the FG331 is a great little guitar and really comfy to play and with the bone nut and saddle it sounds pretty good. Yamaha really had that laminate thing down pretty good. I am sure switching over to brass bridge pins will be an even greater improvement. The nice thing about this guitar is the nut width is one and three quarter inches which makes it nice for fingerpicking.

 

Now...the Yamaha FG331 combined with my newly aquired almost mint 1989 Sigma DM-2 dread style gives me two pretty sturdy and reliable acoustic guitars that are good for gigs or open stages yet didn't cost me very much.

Now I just need to amplify them...mmmmm :)

 

Thanks for the tip

 

OGP

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Yes...I have heard about the different types bridge pins (brass etc) that can be used to enhance the tone and I think I might just do what you suggest.


Yes...the FG331 is a great little guitar and really comfy to play and with the bone nut and saddle it sounds pretty good. Yamaha really had that laminate thing down pretty good. I am sure switching over to brass bridge pins will be an even greater improvement. The nice thing about this guitar is the nut width is one and three quarter inches which makes it nice for fingerpicking.


Now...the Yamaha FG331 combined with my newly aquired almost mint 1989 Sigma DM-2 dread style gives me two pretty sturdy and reliable acoustic guitars that are good for gigs or open stages yet didn't cost me very much.

Now I just need to amplify them...mmmmm
:)

Thanks for the tip


OGP

 

The K&K Pure Western Mini is a great natural sounding under-bridge-plate transducer (UBT) pickup that is very highly regarded on this forum. I have one in my Parkwood and as soon as some money issues settle down I will be putting one in either my FG-340 or my FG-365S.

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  • 5 months later...
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Hey while just finding this yamaha fg340 thread on the net I decided to register to answer this post. So hello all!

 

I have the same guitar Yamaha fg340 with that similar condition, slightly higher action and a saddle that is bottomed out so much that the strings come out of the peg holes and rub the rosewood bridge and barely touch the saddle. Now the guitar sounds amazing tone wise! agreed heres what I did to improve what was there.

 

Keeping in mind I used basic common sense and precautions:

 

1/Took off strings

 

2/Put masking tape all over the guitar body and especially right up to the bridge

 

3/Used a dremel(not a planer cause I didn't want to put extensive downward pressure on the top of guitar) with a fair sized (cone shaped) toolbit and cut down into the bridge about 1/8 of an inch. The reason is to create a witness mark of how low I want the overal height of the bridge to be.

 

4/Next you could use either a random orbital sander with 80 grit sandpaper or a belt sander if your careful. Or you could just use a block and hand sand it to that witness mark keeping all the sanding consistant and flat.

 

5/Now you should have enough wood cleared on that bridge for the saddle to be lowered to your ideal action and also there should be enough meat to hold that saddle in the long narrow pocket.

 

Hopefully this works heres what it looks like now I just have to countersink the holes again.

resized_image.jpg

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