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Alvarez 12 String Repair
http://www-.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10102&t=11237		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  Chansen [ Fri Mar 09, 2007 7:19 pm ]
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It all started when my wife thought four guitars for a mediocre player (actually she thinks I'm good but doesn't know any better) was too many. So I decided to part with one of my "babies" and sold it to a woman through craigslist. But what did I find just 12 hours later as I made it to my desk at work? This "rough around the edges" 12 string of course. A coworker gave it to me because he didn't want to fix it up and apparently I'm destined to keep building my collection.
Concerns:
1. Fairly large dings and scratches on top (b/s decent)
2. Bridge has lifted a bit and seems to have warped the top some
3. I guess it was in a home that was burned. Would excessive (but indirect)  heat/fire cause glues to weaken?
4. Frets seem very very worn down
5. Nut doesn't seem damaged, but maybe worn pretty bad.

Any suggestions for where to start would be great. I removed the tuners but the saddle was already missing. I'd love to make this thing look like new.
Author:  Bruce Dickey [ Sat Mar 10, 2007 1:17 am ]
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Chansen, nice old box. A lot of these old Alvarez guitars were imported by St. Louis Music and are really good looking, but inexpensive. If this is a plywood top, then it's relatively low-resale value, precludes spending much money on it.

However, they can be good sounding instruments even with plywood materials. Start with that bridge, heat it and remove it using a thin palette knife or such. Rework the spot and bridge and glue it back on. Grab a new set of mini-tuners, shape a saddle, get some pins and strings and you are in business.

Good luck with the project, looks to be fun and rewarding, nothing like a twelve string. My son has a big jumbo Alvarez twelve string solid spruce top and maple. Bruce
Author:  Bruce Dickey [ Sat Mar 10, 2007 1:23 am ]
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Chansen, hit enter twice after loading a pic, that makes your pictures go vertical instead of horizontal.

Text follows the width of the thread.

I measured and you have a 49 inch line going there.
Author:  Chansen [ Sat Mar 10, 2007 5:39 am ]
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I realized after I posted that I should have hit enter between the pics. Oops. Thanks for the tips. Is there much I can do about the scratches and dings without costing a lot but making it look a little nicer?
Author:  D.L.Huskey [ Sat Mar 10, 2007 6:17 am ]
Post subject: 
Chansen,
Those dips and dings just show that the ole boy
has been played and not just sat around in the case.

Yours looks good compared to the one I have.
(Sorry don't know how to post a pic)

It looks like someone has added a couple of screws to the bridge so it may not be so much trouble to remove. It also used to have an adjustable saddle where the slot is.
If you can't find the adjustable saddle you may have to
fill the old slot and re-cut a new one or just replace
it with a new bridge.

The one I have has a solid spruce top, mahogany b&s and is a fairly good sounding guitar. It does need a neck reset which I will attempt someday.
Author:  Chansen [ Sat Mar 10, 2007 8:39 am ]
Post subject: 
Thanks D.L.-
I didn't even notice those screw holes (if thats what they are) until I
posted the pics. Thanks for the tips about the saddle... it was an adjustable?
Hmm - I thought I was going to be able to do like Bruce said and just
shape a new one after reseting the bridge.
We'll see. I wanted to do some repairs on this before I started my first
build, but I think I might not do quite as much repair work to this thing
anymore.
Author:  Bruce Dickey [ Sat Mar 10, 2007 11:04 am ]
Post subject: 
My wife's Alvarez six string is 25 years old, has the adjustable bridge, and a plywood top. She treasures it just as it is. I'm itching to yank the metal out of that bridge and fill and recut. But, since she's happy, I'll probably leave it just as her Dad gave it to her.
Author:  Chansen [ Sat Mar 10, 2007 11:32 am ]
Post subject: 
So if I were to fill and re-route the saddle slot, would I make it the same thickness of a 6-string saddle? This one seems pretty wide. I just thought is was because it was a 12 string. Maybe I'll go take a look at some guitars at Guitar Center to see.
Author:  Bruce Dickey [ Sun Mar 11, 2007 6:43 am ]
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You could fill the whole thing, but it might look funny. Others have filled completely with wood, then come back to route for a bone saddle standard size. Your call really.
Author:  Dennis E. [ Sun Mar 11, 2007 12:26 pm ]
Post subject: 
None of us is so mediocre that we cannot badly play just one more guitar. I'm a prime example of that principle, as my growing herd of orphaned instruments will attest.

As long as the dings and scratches are only cosmetic I'd probably just leave them be. But I would carefully check to make sure the bonks didn't damage or loosen any braces. An inspection mirror and a flashlight can tell you a lot. A thin feeler guage is useful to probe for braces that may be peeling loose.

After dealing with any bracing problems I'd reset the bridge.

If there's still a bulging top at this stage, I'd seriously consider installing a JLD Bridge Doctor.

These are the steps I took to rehab my grandson's old Yamaha 12. It sounds as though you may also need to refret. I'd probably replace the bridge and save the old one in case it someday mattered to someone.

A lot of people would say it's not good economics to put so much time and money into these old things. But if it all had to make economic sense, most of us wouldn't bother with any form of luthiery.

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