'75 LoPrinzi repair questions

[Dave Richard]

Hi: a friend is the original owner of his '75 Loprinzi LR-20 dred: serial # indicates it was built before the AMF production began.  A nice guitar, needs much work.  First, it needs a neck reset: can anyone with with experience tell me what kind of neck joint was used, and what kind of glue?  Do they come off in a straightforward manner?  Secondly, the bridge is very thin(3/16ths) and the saddle is low(1/8th showing).  My friend is sure the bridge has not been shaved, and it looks as if the neck may have been underset when new(thinned fretboard extension).  The bridge is lifting, so it must come off to be reglued, but I have suggested a new, thicker bridge to go with the neck reset: comments?  Thanks.

[Dave Richard]

One more issue: the treble x-brace has separated from the top(showing the x-brace 'wrinkle' as Frank Ford describes it).  The glue showing inside the box appears to be white glue(Elmer's, or white aliphatic resin), so I know I'll have to do a good job cleaning out the old glue before attempting to reglue the brace.  Can anyone confirm the type of glue used?

[fred marcuson]

beware the neck joint !!

mine is of that era . needed a reset ....

found out the hard way it was a bolt on neck ...

remove finger board and check the top underneath to see what the joint is .

mine actually had a glued on cover on the head block with the serial #   hiding the bolt ...

[Dave Richard]

There does not appear to be a cover on this neck block.  The serial # is 2213, an early one- what's the # on your guitar, Fred?  While I'm guessing this one is a dovetail, there is a very crudely cut hole, thru the neck block and top, for the truss rod adjusting nut(it looks like the nut slides up through the top, when the neck is removed...but I'm not sure!).

[fred marcuson]

after i damaged my neck trying to remove it i contacted auggie .

according to him , the serial# doesn't mean squat as far as how one was built .

and only roughly wil give you the year it was built ...

according to him , some had dovetails , some were bolt on ..

and believe me , the cover on the neck block did not look like a cover at all .

when this happened i was working in a repair shop , my mentor had originally ordered this guitar for a customer of his .

when i broke the heel of the neck trying to remove it both of us went "WTF !!!"

believe me , the only way to tell is to remove the fingerboard and check to see if there is a dovetail under it .

i don't have the guitar in my home at this moment , but will get it today and take a look inside .

[Tim Mace]

do an x-ray

[John]

While installing a strap pin on a  Collings I found out (to my surprise) they secure their necks with a screw and then hide it. I was able to shorten the strap pin screw and it was all good. I use a stud finder now if I'm not sure.

[Kerry Krishna]

 John, Collings has never hidden the fact that they use a bolt on system, and in fact, go out of their way to let folks know it's NOT a Dovetail. That doesn't help what happened to you though, and you did exactly what you should have! On the Collings Website it gives exact directions and measurements  for placement of a strap pin.  

 I have a super powerful magnet that is wrapped in a thick piece of cotton that I use first on every guitar  whenever I am putting in strap pins. It still sticks right to the neck, through both the cotton and the wood... 

[Dave Richard]

I took the guitar to my local veterinary clinic yesterday, for an x-ray.  There are no bolts, it's just a dovetail(well, at least, there's no bolts...).

[fred marcuson]

:) well knowing that , it makes the job at hand a lot easier