Members SpoonyJank Posted May 3, 2009 Members Share Posted May 3, 2009 So I'm babysitting this guitar for a broke person and I happen to be not so much broke and he left this guitar over here. Not that I'd take advantage of anyone, but after playing it, I wouldn't mind having it. I went through 3 pages of google and didn't really find any info on that or ebay. It's a P37. It's a dread. Looks pretty cheap judging by the ornamentation. It's painted black with decal inlays and all that classy stuff. I haven't measured it but the fretboard is really wide, the neck is really skinny and D shaped. I think it has a shorter scale length too... and the finish looks thin. It seems old because the saddle barely pokes out and the action is still rather high but then the soundboard doesn't belly out. The bridge is raised all around the saddle though, so it could just be a strange bridge setup. It is rather loud. It says "quality handcrafted guitars" under the company name in the soundhole, not sure if I believe it, but the totally different neck, action and volume level than what I'm used to, makes it pretty fun to play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DonK Posted May 3, 2009 Members Share Posted May 3, 2009 Well, this came up at the top of the page when I googled Palmer guitar. They don't list a P37, but they have a PS38 that looks remarkably similar to what you describe: http://www.palmerguitarsusa.com/Folk.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Melodeous Posted May 3, 2009 Members Share Posted May 3, 2009 The logo illustrated on the site shows the company was established in 1925. At least that's what I make out. This is the first I've heard of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LaurentB Posted May 3, 2009 Members Share Posted May 3, 2009 It wouldn't be one made by our own dear Gary Palmer, would it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SpoonyJank Posted May 3, 2009 Author Members Share Posted May 3, 2009 It could easily be like that "p38" but it has 14 frets clear and no cutaway. I'm pretty sure the 37 in P37 means 37" (or some decimal) scale length, yet it has a full dred body. No palm tree like that logo though. Probably just a discontinued or limited model. The company seems to have a lot of different scale lengths. It looks cheaper the more I examine it... super easy to play though. the truss adjustment bolt is far enough back from the sound hole that I could only reach it with the longer end of the crappy allen wrench I found, and then the tiny end I had left couldn't really leverage. I'll have a few more of those (better ones) once I clean my place though. The saddle barely pops out from the bridge but the bridge has this weird curve that makes the string angle like normal to the pins. Just poked my hand in and its not even X-braced. I'm sorta confused. It's different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LaurentB Posted May 3, 2009 Members Share Posted May 3, 2009 (...) Just poked my hand in and its not even X-braced. I'm sorta confused. It's different. So it's ladder braced then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SpoonyJank Posted May 3, 2009 Author Members Share Posted May 3, 2009 So it's ladder braced then? it has 3 lateral braces after the soundhole, 1 before, so I guess so. the saddle makes it so the truss is the only set up option. The action is high right now for me, so I hope a decent allen wrench will turn it and its not an old peice'o'poo worn out latter brace deal. when I looked for a "belly" it could have just been straight tilted over I guess and not looked the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LaurentB Posted May 3, 2009 Members Share Posted May 3, 2009 it has 3 lateral braces after the soundhole, 1 before, so I guess so. the saddle makes it so the truss is the only set up option. The action is high right now for me, so I hope a decent allen wrench will turn it and its not an old peice'o'poo worn out latter brace deal. when I looked for a "belly" it could have just been straight tilted over I guess and not looked the same. Ok. The truss rod makes some difference, but only up to a point, as you probably know. I don't understand your last sentence about the bellying, by the way (I'm sorry, I'm Dutch, so I may not get all that you're saying).So does it have a belly or not? I have an old Landola which actually needs a neck reset. I lowered the saddle so far that it plays and intonates nicely again. But I sanded the bridge down to be able to do that, and as a result not much volume comes out of it anymore. The height of the saddle functions as a lever, and not enough leverage is left, apparently.I think I will try the neck reset myself one day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SpoonyJank Posted May 3, 2009 Author Members Share Posted May 3, 2009 I have a hunch its a cheapo guitar and probably not worth a neck reset. Can't tell if it has a bolt on neck. my other guitars all have more warped soundboards though. The saddle is sort of cradled in wood by the bridge, the angle could be better, but I'm surprised there is any angle considering the saddle only pops out like a millimeter. The bridge curves down towards the pins to provide the angle. It probably has been set up in the past by someone who wanted an acoustic guitar to play like an electric, then it got reversed it later by way of the truss rod. Anyways, it sucks to not have a camera to show stuff or even a way to measure stuff I'm describing. I'll have to obtain a few small things to set it up. like a saddle and an allen wrench that doesn't suck. Probably whatever caliper or shim they use to do real setups as well. Maybe latter frames just have tilted bridges after a while. I don't really know. The bridge is rather thick. If you lower the bridge, do you just sand it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LaurentB Posted May 3, 2009 Members Share Posted May 3, 2009 I have a hunch its a cheapo guitar and probably not worth a neck reset. Can't tell if it has a bolt on neck. my other guitars all have more warped soundboards though. The saddle is sort of cradled in wood by the bridge, the angle could be better, but I'm surprised there is any angle considering the saddle only pops out like a millimeter. The bridge curves down towards the pins to provide the angle. It probably has been set up in the past by someone who wanted an acoustic guitar to play like an electric, then it got reversed it later by way of the truss rod.Anyways, it sucks to not have a camera to show stuff or even a way to measure stuff I'm describing. I'll have to obtain a few small things to set it up. like a saddle and an allen wrench that doesn't suck. Probably whatever caliper or shim they use to do real setups as well. Maybe latter frames just have tilted bridges after a while. I don't really know. The bridge is rather thick. If you lower the bridge, do you just sand it? Well, sanding the bridge isn't really a standard procedure, haha. Only, to be able to get the (in my case adjustable) saddle low enough without the strings hitting the bridge I had to sand it down. This Landola is an old, but not particularly valuable guitar, so I decided to try that (and it had been severly damaged to begin with, I bought it like that just to have a go at trying to repair it) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members boxorox Posted May 3, 2009 Members Share Posted May 3, 2009 I recall reading about one on a thread Gary was a part of. Much ribbing going on. Consensus was that it was pretty much a junker. Now, if you can get it to play and intonate well, I'm a big fan of junkers. I'm intrigued by the ladder bracing too. Very unique sound to that. In/re the bridge, I have an old Carlos that I've been considering doing that to. It's not worth a real neck reset, and the bridge is really high. Not the saddle. The bridge is fat and quite substantial. I could take it down by at least 1mm without it being as thin as a standard Martin bridge. I'd suggest you could use it as a project guitar and try a reset yourself, but since it's not really yours, that'd be out of the question. Tempting, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DonK Posted May 3, 2009 Members Share Posted May 3, 2009 I remember seeing a trick Dan Erlewine suggested for beater guitars that need a neck reset. It basically involves sawing a kerf in the heel and then using a deck screw to compress the the neck heel and close the kerf. He had pics of how he'd done it to several cheapo guitars, and while not pretty, it was effective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gary Palmer Posted May 3, 2009 Members Share Posted May 3, 2009 It wouldn't be one made by our own dear Gary Palmer, would it? LOL no, we don't have a site or advertise, but have never used transfer/decal inlays and only use solid timber construction. Their "Palmer" signature logo is very similar to my own, but why on earth they used the palm tree logo is beyond me, as it bears very little relation to the history behind my surname. -------- OP, A picture of the guitar in question would be interesting. -------- Box, I recall the ribbing thread well and we definitely have no connection to Esteban, but do have links with Stonebridge and Stanfords. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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