Members blue rondo Posted May 11, 2009 Members Share Posted May 11, 2009 I'm a novice regarding guitars. I picked up a vintage Cortez J-6500 guitar at a local yard sale over the weekend. The previous owner said he purchased the guitar in the early 1970's when he was a college student and rarely played it. The guitar is in excellent condition except for one thing - it looks as though the stress of having strings attached for all of those years has caused the body area behind the bridge to raise up, as the bridge itself has lifted slightly at the rear corners and tilted forward. I assume this isn't by design, but rather a stress related issue. The guitar still plays well and sounds good to me. Is there anything that can be done to return the body to its original shape without a major overhaul? There are no guitar builders/repair people in this area that I know of. Any suggestions? . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rawkst3ady Posted May 11, 2009 Members Share Posted May 11, 2009 I believe that you'd going to have to send it to a proper repair man, probably your local music store. But of course, a picture speaks a thousand words, so put up some pics and the more experienced members can give you a better advise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted May 11, 2009 Members Share Posted May 11, 2009 First, congratulations. Cortez guitars are now known as "Cort." They're the second largest maker of guitars in the world after Samick.Second, the condition you describe is called "belly bulge" and it happens largely for the reasons you guessed. However, dryness is also a contributing factor. Go to The Annex, click on "Tech Stuff" and then on "Is My Guitar Sick" for more information. Get the guitar humidified and then you'll be able to see how bad the problem truly is. (But no, it won't go away--sorry.) At that point, you'll have three choices: Live with it assuming the bridge tilt isn't so severe that you have no "break angle" (the angle the strings make when they bend over the saddle--ideally 45 degrees) left. Have it fixed. This will not be cheap but it may not be as expensive as you might think. My 1974 vintage Sakura 12-string has the problem and a good local shop gave me a quote of around $75. Install a JLD Bridge System. Some folks hate them and some folks swear by them. Your mileage will probably vary. Should cost around $50 plus your time if you're handy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brokepick Posted May 11, 2009 Members Share Posted May 11, 2009 You got it at a yard sale? Probably got a bargain, even if the guitar has some issues. Definitely take it to a good tech, and get his/her opinion. Those old guitars can be good ones sometimes. It might be worth spending a little money on. If you don't want to say, that's quite alright, but I'm curious how much it cost you, if you don't mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarist21 Posted May 11, 2009 Members Share Posted May 11, 2009 First of all, congrats on a really cool find. Second, if I was in your shoes, I would get it at least looked at by a qualified guitar tech (provided I wanted this instrument to last) then get his or her recommendation on how to proceed. A second set of eyes can see things the first set misses, especially if, like me, the first set misses stuff a lot. There are no guitar builders/repair people in this area that I know of. If you're comfortable disclosing your approximate location here, there might be some people from Harmony Central in your area with recommendations. Otherwise, try to get in touch with local musicians and see who fixes their instruments when they break. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tat790711@gmail.com Posted May 18, 2020 Members Share Posted May 18, 2020 Bruh you struck gold.That was an amazing find the cortez J6500 was made in japan and was a martin D-45 copy it was such a good copy that Martin sued the company over it. it is a very rare and highly collectible. it has great tone great action as well ive seen the same guitar sell online from as low as $500 and as high as $1,500 depending on condition of course i had one that i unfortunately sold for way less then it was worth way before i knew anything about it. i hope i can find another one day that i can afford. if you have any work done to it have it done by someone that specializes in refurbishing vintage and antic instruments. i would also make sure they have all the info and history of this guitar before they make any alterations to it. man im really jealous. congrats on the find hope all goes well with it . Enjoy!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted May 19, 2020 Members Share Posted May 19, 2020 14 hours ago, tat790711@gmail.com said: congrats on the find hope all goes well with it . Enjoy!!!! Hi and welcome to the Forums. You do realize you're replying to someone who posted exactly once eleven years ago and hasn't been heard from since, right? The odds of blue rondo replying--or even reading your post--are pretty much nil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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