[Haunted Cereal]

the top of my acoustic is getting an arch around the bridge like the strings are pulling on it too hard. i wouldn't mind but its making the action higher. is there a way to fix this or lower my bridge somehow ?

[arnoroth661]

Thinner gauge strings, I'd say. I only use 10s on my acoustic.

[Haunted Cereal]

i use 10's as well and its a pretty short scale, hell i'm even tuned down a half step. i had 11's on it for awhile though. would unstringing it and leaving it in a humidified environment for awhile fix anything?

[dpm]

what model acoustic is it? To some degree it's normal to get a slight bulge behind the bridge. You're not stressing it much at all with your string choice and tuning, so don't worry about that. If the bulge is severe (I'd need to see very clear pics) there are a couple of possible scenarios.... it may have loose bracing internally, the bridge may be loose (have a look at the back of the bridge, is there a gap opening up?). Has it been subjected to extreme heat for anything longer than a couple of minutes? Left in your car during summer? Even a short bout of heat can soften the brace glue joints and cause the top to pull up with string pressure. Best thing is to take it to a competent tech who works with acoustics a lot.

[Chris]

I had this problem with a 12-string, and a luthier repaired/reinforced the bridge for me. It wasn't cheap - $200 or so.

[keithb]

All acoustic guitars seem to get a bit of a bump behind the bridge eventually - tough to say without seeing it if it's extreme enough to be concerned about. If you're worried, take it to a good luthier.

[Haunted Cereal]

i hasn't been in extreme heat and the bump is...well "little" is a relative term but it doesn't look like it should be there, a little less than a centimeter. enough to make the action uncomfortably high past the 12th fret. the bridge is a little off i guess but i think thats more just the way the bridge is carved. its an epiphone dr-??? they don't make it anymore at least with this headstock. its a mahogany body with i think a spruce top and a rosewood bridge and fretboard. i got it secondhand and the othe guy kept it strung up with 11's at full tension and left it on his wall without playing it for months at a time. the fretboard would have made you weep.

i don't have cash for a good examination which is why i'm asking here, but i will try to post pics later. a wee bit tricky without a camera you see.

[keithb]

I think dpm gave the best advice - look very closely at the bridge, and see if you can take a peek into the body as well (may not be possible w/o a mirror)

[BigM555]

+1 on dpm's advice.

Another point, what humidity is it kept at? Acoustics, especially solid wood (not laminates) are very susceptible to changes in humidity. Before taking it to a luthier you might want to humidify it properly (around 50% is generally the target).

When I bought my Taylor one of the first things I did was go out and get a digital hygrometer.

Taylor Notes