Post by CTGull on Jan 24, 2020 5:32:21 GMT -5
With my search for "The One" in my current flock of guitars I've veered away from vintage Yamaha's and back to Seagull. I'm staying away from the boomy dread models. I have a few Folk size Seagulls from various lines, including this 2002 Artist Mahogany Folk. I found it on CraigsList over a year ago for $235 only 50 minutes from me. I wasn't looking for this model but I had to take look, it would be hard to pass up ans Artist model for that price. So I brought my favorite 1971 Yamaha FG-110 for comparison. It was near mint, originally owner by his neighbor, barely played so he bought it for his wife who never played it. His playing style required a dread so he had no use for it. It compared favorably, although I thought the vintage Yamaha was better. It needed cleaning up, new strings and the action was a bit high. I replaced the string and wasn't blown away. I had bought a ToneRite and put it on the guitar for 2 weeks and didn't notice any difference. So I put it away for over a year. With my search for "The One" this is first in line to check out. With cedar over mahogany I doubt it will be "The One" because of the 2 woods dark nature. But I figured I'd give it a shot.
So, that's what I've been working on this week. The first step was to replace the nut & saddle. The action was high and I knew it needed a neck reset, the saddle would need to be replaced anyway. I discovered the radius on the saddle was 7"!!!! Very odd!! I used unbleached bone so they would a bit darker in color (like the existing nut & saddle) vs. bright white. I'm hoping the tone isn't dark also. I left the saddle very high to be able to take off about .03" after the neck reset.
Then it was time for the neck reset. Last night I removed the neck. It was the first time I'd done that on a Seagull in a few years. It's a 2002 so it's a bolt on, but the fretboard is still glued to the top. I used my heat shield and 75W halogen light to loosen that.
Then I marked .03" on the heel with a piece of tape, filed the heel cap to that mark, and started pull sanding to change the neck angle. I got about half way last night. Maybe I'll be able to finish it tonight.
So, that's what I've been working on this week. The first step was to replace the nut & saddle. The action was high and I knew it needed a neck reset, the saddle would need to be replaced anyway. I discovered the radius on the saddle was 7"!!!! Very odd!! I used unbleached bone so they would a bit darker in color (like the existing nut & saddle) vs. bright white. I'm hoping the tone isn't dark also. I left the saddle very high to be able to take off about .03" after the neck reset.
Then it was time for the neck reset. Last night I removed the neck. It was the first time I'd done that on a Seagull in a few years. It's a 2002 so it's a bolt on, but the fretboard is still glued to the top. I used my heat shield and 75W halogen light to loosen that.
Then I marked .03" on the heel with a piece of tape, filed the heel cap to that mark, and started pull sanding to change the neck angle. I got about half way last night. Maybe I'll be able to finish it tonight.
