I find that the shaped fret files leave a lot of machine tears that have to be sanded out to polish. The plated abrasive one don't. But they don't last long.
First guitar I bought for my son was a spruce top Seagul dread. Loudest guitar i have ever heard, literally drown out others if played together. Thing that really brought back memories is the truss rod noise it would make when cold while equalizing temps when it was cold outside.
Thank you for including the touch up job on the first Seagull! I opened a guitar repair shop about a year ago and touch up work like that is still the bane of my existence, so seeing a pro trying something, saying "nope, let's try something different" and then reaching a point of saying "I won't be able to make it disappear completely, but here's the best that can be done" is refreshing and reassuring to me because sometimes I spend way more time than I should trying to make a scar disappear when it's just not going to happen without a complete refinish.
I love that bridge pin hack! I only play cheap acoustics (mainly a bassist), and that's been a recurrent problem. What a simple fix! And yeah, HAPPY CANADA DAY to Ted and all my Canuk friends in the Great White North!
Thanks for the comment about intonation, "...it's playing sharp which means we should move the bridge back to lengthen the strings...". I've had a bear of a time getting the intonation right on my Firefly strat. I eventually gave up on it and was just playing it as-is. The G, B, and high-E were fine but I could not get the low-E, A, and D to intonate. For some reason that comment you made clicked in my brain. 5 minutes later and the guitar I have have been playing for 8 months is now perfectly intonated! Now gonna have to run downstairs and check my Squier Tele cause I'm sure I was having the same issue with it.
By the way, your channel is my new favorite channel. I absolutely adore it. And I love the tangent you go on, like the one about epigraphy, or Different types of adhesive used for different purposes, obtain from natural materials, by Native Americans. Keep up the great work!
Wow Ted, is it something I been smoking, or did you just ramp up everything about this video, by like 300%? The history part on the brands, the in-depth pedagogic level on a multitude of foundation topics, e g fret dressing/recrowning, relief/intonation/setup, saddle/pin/nut, and surface touch-ups (and possibly more). It's like a super beginner-friendly and a masterclass at once. And, you made both those beauties friggin sing at the end! The proverbial hat's off, brother! Also - please consider letting the gang in, if there is something more serious going on, than a very early midlife crisis. Although I can offer little more than my prayers, I would more than happy to try to help out.
Excellent advice on sanding the bridge pin. Also, I have curled the ball end into a large "C" so the ball would ride up the slot on the pin. Your solution is smarter. It eliminates the problem without having to teach the customer anything new. Again, bravo. Keep on!
I learn so much watching these videos. 5:30 This opened my eyes, I'd failed to understand* that a vibrating string needs space to vibrate. It's so simple, and I understand better now. Thank you. edit: * I originally typed "grok", but wondered if anyone would understand.
Thank you so much for your superb videos. I'm teaching instrument repair in a college in Dublin, Ireland and your ideas are really helpful. While I trained as a Luthier in Spain I am unqualified in repair work and you have got me out of tight spots.
I always liked Seagull guitars. Warm sounding, durable, great value for the money. I really like the headstock design, efficient and no nonsense. Great video! New subscriber here. Thank you!
Hello, been waiting. I needed to do work on my 72 POS Epiphone and your tutorials were the veritable Godsend I needed. She's a good-tempered girl now and I have been giving her a workout. Because of circumstances I needed to bead a couple of ball ends onto string ends, and I rotated my ebony bridge pins 180 degrees to have the unslotted part on the string ends. Works pretty damn well for me.
I seem to remember a Dan Erlewine video where the fretboard of a guitar--I want to say it was Albert King's Flying V?--was a few mils short from decades of nut replacements, and Dan had to rebuild the missing portion with superglue and rosewood dust. It was a space perhaps the width of two or three sheets of paper, but apparently it was significant enough to make the intonation wonky.
I had seen a driftwood guitar video on adding slots to the bridge pin holes as well as not using the slotted pins at all. The logic being that the contact of the ball end is split between the sound board and pin in a ratio that is skewed more than you want to the pin. With unslotted, more is on the sound board, and thus more vibration is transferred. This does make sense, however - the pin is also lodged to the sound board. I think this is why ebony vs plastic vs graphtech pins can have such a massive difference in tone. I wonder if it is rendered more moot with a lack of slots and am curious what your opinion on that might be
When I bought my Goodall RSC1368 back in the late '90's the shop had a Goodall with a cedar top that just sounded incredible. It had a high end color that was heavily. I got the RSC1368 because its construction was more traditional and I was concerned about the strength of that cedar top. It's now 25 year later and the RSC1368 had mellowed in a very pleasing way visually and tonally. I don't regret not getting the cedar top instrument.
I'm in the camp of "preloading" the neck (for lack of a better term) with physical relief via selective fret dressing (4th fret to 9th fret, a few thousandths only) and with upper fret fall away.
Seagull is to acoustic what Reverend is to electric; they play and sound really good. They're affordable and you can't beat them if you're a working guitarist. My brother has a Seagull from the 1990's and it just keeps on going.
thank you for puting me onto Lee valley, ive found alot of tools on that website that you can not find anywhere else, alot of japenese knives and wood working tools.
I just bought a Seagull 12 string after the refretting video, based on your endorsement and my experience selling them two decades ago. Best purchase I've made in years.
Beautiful stuff. As a lefty I recommend picking up an upside down fiddle every now and then. I play differently and think differently when I borrow a righty from my daughter lol
Love these videos I have tried for at least 25 years to play guitar and let me tell you I just can't do it I've been playing smoke on the water iron man and the intro to stairway the whole time but I can enjoy watching guitars get fixed that much I've got down
I'm a big fan of Seagull guitars. When I set out to buy a new acoustic guitar in 2022, I tried just about every sub-1000$ guitar that the local Long & McQuade store had on hand, and nothing came even close to the Seagull S6. The one I initially tried was an S6 Slim with the narrower neck which I did like, but it had a ding in the finish. They had an S6 Original still in its box in the backstore area, we opened it up and it felt and sounded even better than the Slim. A couple years later I am still in love with this guitar which IMO sounds pretty close to a J45 for a fraction of the price.
I bought a Segul S6 folk with the ceder top and no pick guard from cash converters back in high school. It has Been coast to coast in Canada with me and shows the play wear. probably the best $80 buck ive ever spent.
I have a Seagull acoustic, Natural Expressions, with extra wide nut (1.8"). That matches my Godin Multiac nylon. And I have a La Patrie classical made by Godin (2" nut). Also the Seagull Merlin 3-string "strummable dulcimer". Love them all. The one thing missing from the Seagull guitar is a pick guard. Not a big issue since I tend to not use a pick a lot but sometimes I like to.
My Brother a Bassist loves the chambered body basses that Godain makes, he has a 4 string chamber body Bass from the early 2010's when the brand switched from a previous model to the one now with the thumb rest and has some ability to computer. He traded a 12 string Bass he has from Yamaha for the instrument.
Amazing bear claw and flame on that Sitka top. I have had this almost identical guitar for years. Excellent, focused sound with tons of overtones and sustain. Love me a Seagull!
I have a 1996 s6 I bought brand new a Mountain Music in Hamilton (which has recently closed, Scott and Craig retired), they were big proponents of Seagull there. Mine was about $300, and has its share of dings now, but has a gorgeous cedar top that has become even better with age. I wouldn't trade that guitar for anything.
You say "I've changed my mind, guitars don't need as much relief as people say," but what I hear is "I've gotten so skilled that I can setup with less relief." I think that's time and experience more than absolute truth. I can do a setup on my own guitars, but I'm sure I'd need a bit more relief.
The one thing that keeps me from getting one, is the way they've changed attaching the neck to body. The older models are fine, but not the newer ones. Good luck with a neck reset, when it's needed. But they are good sounding guitars
My first acoustic was a seagull. It got ruined it when I experimented with heavy gage strings and it sheared the soundboard on either side of the hole essentially pulling the neck into the body. 😢
After using a crowning file for a few projects, I’m going back to my safe edge flat file for fret crowning; I can see exactly where I am and where I need to remove more or less material to maintain the shape.
I have a Taylor 410 and the top Is nearly warm through in 2 places, a the sound hole is extensively warm, it has been played hard, but it sounds great, I always say buy a guitar that looks like it has been played.
lovely vid mate, funny that i've never liked seagull sound..too "crispy ovation" like if i can describe...but loved my first norman and had tried a red art et lutherie wich was amazing..build by the same company
Seagull Guitars are fantastic value for money. A working pal used to really make his sing, but now he has a pedestrian Martin that he bangs on here in Seattle on his gigs.
The fingerboard with the 'seagull' inlay at fret 12, has a separate piece of wood glued to the treble, and bass sides of the fingerboard, as in place of fingerboard bindings. Is it a production thing, like the center of the board is slotted for frets, then the edges get a clean piece to coverup the fret slots?
" Seagull, you fly, across the horizon into the early morning sun/ Nobody tells you where you are going, nobody knows where you're from......" Bad Company
I realize I need info about the fret wear. If there are such dimples/grooves and if you recrown them, it takes metal off the frets, doesn't it? I know, I'm a bit duh...but I thought they'd need to be replaced when they have grooves like that...🤔 Thanks for any reply!
I think Seagull has discontinued the one I have. The Coastline Grand parlor guitar. I like it because of the tone is excellent for such a small instrument.
I really wish I could get you to work on my Simon & Patrick and my brother's old Alvarez. I've already messed up the S&P by putting in a bridge doctor off-center, and it didn't help anyway. The Alvarez needs a whole new bridge because it uses individual saddles that Alvarez doesn't make anymore, and it has big holes in the sides where my brother took out the electronics it came with. It would be a great candidate for putting in a Hyvibe but I don't have the workshop or tge money to have someone else do it.
Speaking of soft cedar tops...ever taken a good close look at Monte Montgomery's 1987 Yairi DY62C? You can find a few good pics online. I saw him and that guitar last year in Tulsa, OK. I can't believe it's still holding together after all the miles he's put on it - not to mention the "string rips" he used to employ at the end of the shows from time to time.
When my Uncle Tom passed away in 2017 I inherited his Martin D28 from 1973 and his mandolin also a Martin with it's tiny fingerboard. I also inherited his Seagull 12-string which I never really played since my wife has a Taylor 12-string as well which I used once for a recording. 12-string instruments are weird since I only use them for recordings and afterwards they sit on a wall or in it's case until needed, in which by itself is rare. Still there nice to have one. But two? My wife's Taylor is a jumbo body and Uncle Tom's is a dreadnought with a cedar top. Since cedar only is for non-aging instruments (I believe) you have to think, is this the sound I want forever or do I want a spruce top to become a better sounding instrument if I wait for 10 to 20 years from latter down the road if I wait?
I own a seagull (that looks almost exactly like that first one!) and played it for years, then I built my own guitar so it would be intonated correctly....
I bought a Seagull in the late 80's. Sounded great until about mid-1994. That's when the scarf joint at the headstock let go. Then it became wall art after I bashed it against my radiator 7 or 8 times. Will never buy another one.
My week doesn’t feel complete until I hear “well hey there gang” ….
My week doesn’t feel complete until I can watch a giant Nordic wordsmith pontificate.
Best gang ever!
Exactly!
hahahahah same
Same here.😊
"Polishing, polishing, polishing..." always puts smile on my face! 😊
"I can only make noise."
*proceeds to play something beautiful*
When StewMac decides to open up its Canadian Division, I can see Ted as the next Dan Erlewine on "How To"..
I find that the shaped fret files leave a lot of machine tears that have to be sanded out to polish. The plated abrasive one don't. But they don't last long.
That tapered sanding of the bridge pin is a gem of a tip. I occasionally find myself pushing that pin back in while restringing.
First guitar I bought for my son was a spruce top Seagul dread. Loudest guitar i have ever heard, literally drown out others if played together. Thing that really brought back memories is the truss rod noise it would make when cold while equalizing temps when it was cold outside.
Best way to wrap up a weekend is to spend it watching a great repair on here with Ted
Thank you for including the touch up job on the first Seagull! I opened a guitar repair shop about a year ago and touch up work like that is still the bane of my existence, so seeing a pro trying something, saying "nope, let's try something different" and then reaching a point of saying "I won't be able to make it disappear completely, but here's the best that can be done" is refreshing and reassuring to me because sometimes I spend way more time than I should trying to make a scar disappear when it's just not going to happen without a complete refinish.
I love that bridge pin hack! I only play cheap acoustics (mainly a bassist), and that's been a recurrent problem. What a simple fix!
And yeah, HAPPY CANADA DAY to Ted and all my Canuk friends in the Great White North!
I’ve owned a Seagull for several years. Passed it on to my grandson when he started lessons.
Thanks for your regular posts. I always look forward to them.
My seagull does the bridge pin thing too and I also have a ton of honest wear on my sound hole/top. Glad I'm not alone.
Thanks for the comment about intonation, "...it's playing sharp which means we should move the bridge back to lengthen the strings...".
I've had a bear of a time getting the intonation right on my Firefly strat. I eventually gave up on it and was just playing it as-is. The G, B, and high-E were fine but I could not get the low-E, A, and D to intonate. For some reason that comment you made clicked in my brain. 5 minutes later and the guitar I have have been playing for 8 months is now perfectly intonated!
Now gonna have to run downstairs and check my Squier Tele cause I'm sure I was having the same issue with it.
The nut might be after market but Seagull uses Tusq nuts and saddles on their guitars. So it also might be original.
By the way, your channel is my new favorite channel. I absolutely adore it. And I love the tangent you go on, like the one about epigraphy, or Different types of adhesive used for different purposes, obtain from natural materials, by Native Americans.
Keep up the great work!
Wow Ted, is it something I been smoking, or did you just ramp up everything about this video, by like 300%? The history part on the brands, the in-depth pedagogic level on a multitude of foundation topics, e g fret dressing/recrowning, relief/intonation/setup, saddle/pin/nut, and surface touch-ups (and possibly more). It's like a super beginner-friendly and a masterclass at once. And, you made both those beauties friggin sing at the end! The proverbial hat's off, brother!
Also - please consider letting the gang in, if there is something more serious going on, than a very early midlife crisis. Although I can offer little more than my prayers, I would more than happy to try to help out.
Honestly I didn't notice any significant improvement over past videos. He makes consistently high quality videos.
Excellent advice on sanding the bridge pin. Also, I have curled the ball end into a large "C" so the ball would ride up the slot on the pin. Your solution is smarter. It eliminates the problem without having to teach the customer anything new. Again, bravo. Keep on!
I learn so much watching these videos. 5:30 This opened my eyes, I'd failed to understand* that a vibrating string needs space to vibrate. It's so simple, and I understand better now. Thank you. edit: * I originally typed "grok", but wondered if anyone would understand.
Some of us are old enough to have grown up on Heinlein 👍. Do kids still read that kind of thing?
Yep...grok.
Appreciate the informative edit, friend! 👍
@@MrDblStop, That depends on whether they need to eat dead companions in order to grok them.......😮
I grok that.
Thank you so much for your superb videos. I'm teaching instrument repair in a college in Dublin, Ireland and your ideas are really helpful. While I trained as a Luthier in Spain I am unqualified in repair work and you have got me out of tight spots.
So glad you put these videos out,I look forward to watching every week.To be honest this is my favorite channel in You Tube land. Thanks again.
my beloved old art and luthier folk cedar is in similarly tatty shape - sign of a loved instrument
I always liked Seagull guitars. Warm sounding, durable, great value for the money. I really like the headstock design, efficient and no nonsense.
Great video! New subscriber here. Thank you!
My S6+CW is still my favorite acoustic.
Cedar top...just a very soulful guitar...very dark.
Hello, been waiting. I needed to do work on my 72 POS Epiphone and your tutorials were the veritable Godsend I needed. She's a good-tempered girl now and I have been giving her a workout. Because of circumstances I needed to bead a couple of ball ends onto string ends, and I rotated my ebony bridge pins 180 degrees to have the unslotted part on the string ends. Works pretty damn well for me.
They should get Stephaun to sell these Seagull gutars
"A flock of Seagulls" drew a genuine out-loud snort of laughter from me.
Whereas I ran so far away from that line, lol
I seem to remember a Dan Erlewine video where the fretboard of a guitar--I want to say it was Albert King's Flying V?--was a few mils short from decades of nut replacements, and Dan had to rebuild the missing portion with superglue and rosewood dust. It was a space perhaps the width of two or three sheets of paper, but apparently it was significant enough to make the intonation wonky.
I had seen a driftwood guitar video on adding slots to the bridge pin holes as well as not using the slotted pins at all. The logic being that the contact of the ball end is split between the sound board and pin in a ratio that is skewed more than you want to the pin. With unslotted, more is on the sound board, and thus more vibration is transferred. This does make sense, however - the pin is also lodged to the sound board. I think this is why ebony vs plastic vs graphtech pins can have such a massive difference in tone.
I wonder if it is rendered more moot with a lack of slots and am curious what your opinion on that might be
Thank you sir for carrying us along for the ride. Hope you have a good week.
Love the tip on the bridge pin taper! Thanks Ted
That rh cutaway Seagull has a beautiful voice and wonderful clarity.
When I bought my Goodall RSC1368 back in the late '90's the shop had a Goodall with a cedar top that just sounded incredible. It had a high end color that was heavily. I got the RSC1368 because its construction was more traditional and I was concerned about the strength of that cedar top. It's now 25 year later and the RSC1368 had mellowed in a very pleasing way visually and tonally. I don't regret not getting the cedar top instrument.
I'm in the camp of "preloading" the neck (for lack of a better term) with physical relief via selective fret dressing (4th fret to 9th fret, a few thousandths only) and with upper fret fall away.
I love these guitars I use to sell them in Hamilton. A little store where I use to teach guitar when I was off the road.
Seagull is to acoustic what Reverend is to electric; they play and sound really good. They're affordable and you can't beat them if you're a working guitarist. My brother has a Seagull from the 1990's and it just keeps on going.
“Come in… Waves..”! Haha!! Seagull.. wav.. … I’ll see myself out.
One wonders why all of these companies and builders don’t sharpen their bridge pins!
I've been following for a bit and enjoy seeing the crack repairs because, after all, penetration is paramount.
Nice work, and great sounding guitars!
Wonder if that's a bolt on neck that seagull also epoxied? Seems to be a thing with them.
"fairly aggressive strum-er" Godzilla? 😇 I have a Seagull and love it. Thanks Ted.
thank you for puting me onto Lee valley, ive found alot of tools on that website that you can not find anywhere else, alot of japenese knives and wood working tools.
I just bought a Seagull 12 string after the refretting video, based on your endorsement and my experience selling them two decades ago.
Best purchase I've made in years.
Beautiful work on beautiful sounding guitars. Thanks.
Love my seagull "s6 original". It sounds great and it's basically indestructible. Got it from guitar center in the 2000s I think
Beautiful stuff. As a lefty I recommend picking up an upside down fiddle every now and then. I play differently and think differently when I borrow a righty from my daughter lol
Love these videos I have tried for at least 25 years to play guitar and let me tell you I just can't do it I've been playing smoke on the water iron man and the intro to stairway the whole time but I can enjoy watching guitars get fixed that much I've got down
I'm a big fan of Seagull guitars. When I set out to buy a new acoustic guitar in 2022, I tried just about every sub-1000$ guitar that the local Long & McQuade store had on hand, and nothing came even close to the Seagull S6. The one I initially tried was an S6 Slim with the narrower neck which I did like, but it had a ding in the finish. They had an S6 Original still in its box in the backstore area, we opened it up and it felt and sounded even better than the Slim. A couple years later I am still in love with this guitar which IMO sounds pretty close to a J45 for a fraction of the price.
I bought a Segul S6 folk with the ceder top and no pick guard from cash converters back in high school. It has Been coast to coast in Canada with me and shows the play wear. probably the best $80 buck ive ever spent.
I have a Seagull acoustic, Natural Expressions, with extra wide nut (1.8"). That matches my Godin Multiac nylon. And I have a La Patrie classical made by Godin (2" nut). Also the Seagull Merlin 3-string "strummable dulcimer". Love them all. The one thing missing from the Seagull guitar is a pick guard. Not a big issue since I tend to not use a pick a lot but sometimes I like to.
nice work ted!
Hi Ted! Big fan from Alberta. Happy Canada day!
Bought a LYS guitar around 1980...loved it!!
Liking the Korg TM-60 tuner Ted uses ... it has everything ya want and nothing ya dont ...simple but accurate ... love that approach !
My Brother a Bassist loves the chambered body basses that Godain makes, he has a 4 string chamber body Bass from the early 2010's when the brand switched from a previous model to the one now with the thumb rest and has some ability to computer. He traded a 12 string Bass he has from Yamaha for the instrument.
I needed this, thanks Ted.
Amazing bear claw and flame on that Sitka top. I have had this almost identical guitar for years. Excellent, focused sound with tons of overtones and sustain. Love me a Seagull!
Those both sound great! Seagull really does have some nice guitars, heck pretty much everything Godin makes is good.
I have a 1996 s6 I bought brand new a Mountain Music in Hamilton (which has recently closed, Scott and Craig retired), they were big proponents of Seagull there. Mine was about $300, and has its share of dings now, but has a gorgeous cedar top that has become even better with age. I wouldn't trade that guitar for anything.
Thank you, Ted.
Always awesome work... Thanks!
Wow, I never knew that Seagull guitars were so well built. Don’t see them much down here (nj), but once again I learned something new. Thanks 🙏
I have had bridge pins get pulled out during re-stringing. Next time I will know what to do!
You say "I've changed my mind, guitars don't need as much relief as people say," but what I hear is "I've gotten so skilled that I can setup with less relief." I think that's time and experience more than absolute truth. I can do a setup on my own guitars, but I'm sure I'd need a bit more relief.
The one thing that keeps me from getting one, is the way they've changed attaching the neck to body. The older models are fine, but not the newer ones. Good luck with a neck reset, when it's needed. But they are good sounding guitars
My first acoustic was a seagull. It got ruined it when I experimented with heavy gage strings and it sheared the soundboard on either side of the hole essentially pulling the neck into the body. 😢
I owned either a Seagull or Art & Luthier back in the mid 1990s and I remember it was a lovely instrument but was really neck heavy.
After using a crowning file for a few projects, I’m going back to my safe edge flat file for fret crowning; I can see exactly where I am and where I need to remove more or less material to maintain the shape.
Thank you Ted 👍🎸❤🔥
I have a Taylor 410 and the top Is nearly warm through in 2 places, a the sound hole is extensively warm, it has been played hard, but it sounds great, I always say buy a guitar that looks like it has been played.
Please excuse bloody autocorrect
Thank you.
lovely vid mate, funny that i've never liked seagull sound..too "crispy ovation" like if i can describe...but loved my first norman and had tried a red art et lutherie wich was amazing..build by the same company
Is it Sunday *ALREADY?!?* I almost missed a Ted video! Now to settle down with a refreshing beverage and enjoy.
Thanks, Ted!!
Seagull Guitars are fantastic value for money. A working pal used to really make his sing, but now he has a pedestrian Martin that he bangs on here in Seattle on his gigs.
Thanks! 😎
I have a Minstrel (Pre-Seagull) and a 12 and 6 Seagull. I love em.
The fingerboard with the 'seagull' inlay at fret 12, has a separate piece of wood glued to the treble, and bass sides of the fingerboard, as in place of fingerboard bindings. Is it a production thing, like the center of the board is slotted for frets, then the edges get a clean piece to coverup the fret slots?
love seagulls. have a mosaic from before the epoxy use. my #2 guitar. it would be #1 but its not my preferred for fingerstyle that im really into atm
" Seagull, you fly, across the horizon into the early morning sun/ Nobody tells you where you are going, nobody knows where you're from......" Bad Company
Fantastic. Thanks!
I had a twelve string Lys, gave it to my son, great instruments. I wore out the sound hole edge, on my J-50, finger ⛏️ ing with national steel picks,
I like your Videos very much!
Another great episode!
Good job man
I realize I need info about the fret wear. If there are such dimples/grooves and if you recrown them, it takes metal off the frets, doesn't it?
I know, I'm a bit duh...but I thought they'd need to be replaced when they have grooves like that...🤔
Thanks for any reply!
With the truss rod that easy to access, what would that mean for a neck reset? Would it be more difficult to remove the neck?
! glad to see the Ronsonol Bottle is back
8:10 I have an acoustic guitar that has just this problem. Guess what I'll be trying.
Thanks Ted
Because of my timezone I'm asleep on initial upload but this is my Monday morning "go to" when having my wake up coffee 👍
Same, cheers Ryan!
Hahahah the name of this guitar makes me laugh. The majestic dump duck😂😂😂
I think Seagull has discontinued the one I have. The Coastline Grand parlor guitar. I like it because of the tone is excellent for such a small instrument.
Happy Canada Day!
Who remembers "Jonathon Livingston Seagull"?
My dad's favorite book. I preferred "Illusions" by the same author.
I really wish I could get you to work on my Simon & Patrick and my brother's old Alvarez. I've already messed up the S&P by putting in a bridge doctor off-center, and it didn't help anyway. The Alvarez needs a whole new bridge because it uses individual saddles that Alvarez doesn't make anymore, and it has big holes in the sides where my brother took out the electronics it came with. It would be a great candidate for putting in a Hyvibe but I don't have the workshop or tge money to have someone else do it.
Speaking of soft cedar tops...ever taken a good close look at Monte Montgomery's 1987 Yairi DY62C? You can find a few good pics online. I saw him and that guitar last year in Tulsa, OK. I can't believe it's still holding together after all the miles he's put on it - not to mention the "string rips" he used to employ at the end of the shows from time to time.
When my Uncle Tom passed away in 2017 I inherited his Martin D28 from 1973 and his mandolin also a Martin with it's tiny fingerboard. I also inherited his Seagull 12-string which I never really played since my wife has a Taylor 12-string as well which I used once for a recording. 12-string instruments are weird since I only use them for recordings and afterwards they sit on a wall or in it's case until needed, in which by itself is rare. Still there nice to have one. But two? My wife's Taylor is a jumbo body and Uncle Tom's is a dreadnought with a cedar top. Since cedar only is for non-aging instruments (I believe) you have to think, is this the sound I want forever or do I want a spruce top to become a better sounding instrument if I wait for 10 to 20 years from latter down the road if I wait?
I own a seagull (that looks almost exactly like that first one!) and played it for years, then I built my own guitar so it would be intonated correctly....
I bought a Seagull in the late 80's. Sounded great until about mid-1994. That's when the scarf joint at the headstock let go. Then it became wall art after I bashed it against my radiator 7 or 8 times. Will never buy another one.