33 Martin 0-17

[Len Biglin]

Hi guys , I have 1933 Martin 0-17 on the bench , the owner has just bought it . It seems to have been sprayed with a satin lacquer which shows a shadow of a trapeze tailpiece , and corresponding notches in bridge which have been filled . The neck has apparently been reset (of course) , and perhaps overset . The saddle is loose and leaning forward . My theory is that it developed a high action at some time , and rather than a reset , it has had a trapeze fitted as it may have had a belly . Someone sprayed a satin coat over everything including the tailpiece ,then later it has received a reset and the bridge repaired and tailpiece removed . It has bar frets which are still high enough thankfully , though they are low on the body , probably filed down before the reset . I just ask if anyone has seen a trapeze on a 0 , or a burst shading ? I have cleaned out the slot and glued the saddle in a vertical position .Also does my theory make sense ? It is a weightless and very loud guitar like the Gibsons of 1930's . Thanks Len .

[Frank Ford]

Shaded finishes are not particularly unusual for Martins of that period.   We do see lots of older instruments with scars from trapeze tailpieces installed by inept or ill-informed repairers.  Of course Martin didn't use tailpieces on flat top guitars!

[Mark McLean]

Cool guitar Len!  “Neck perhaps overset” looks right if the saddle needs to be that high.  And obviously that contributes to the saddle tipping forward.  You can add a shim to the side of the saddle to thicken it up in the slot and help it to resist tipping.  I would say that your theories sound about right.  This guitar would probably have some good stories to tell.  

[Len Biglin]

Thanks Frank , and Mark the action was a tiny bit high so I took 1/32" off the top of saddle , cleaned out the slot with a 0.085" nut file and glued the saddle back vertical with titebond . It has gone back to the owner in good shape , thanks .

[Nathan Laudenbach]

I'm curious about the saddle. Why glue it in (or shim it) instead of making a new one?

[Len Biglin]

The bridge slot was sloppy , so a new saddle wasn't the answer , glue filled the gaps in the slot .But as it happened I did replace the saddle later because it was a flat profile and low in the middle , it is hard to find a long enough bone saddle for these , I used Tusq .