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I have a chance to pick up a pretty little Martin OM for my daughter at a price she can afford, but it needs something. The guitar is only abut ten years old and generally is in mint condition. It was a closet queen for most of its life. BUT, the action at the neck joint fret is obviously way too high. Height of strings at nut looks and feels about right. The neck itself shows no bowing and looks OK. SO, my question is, if the saddle or the bridge needs work, what's involved? Is the saddle itself glued in on Martins, or is it just pressure fit? If the bridge needs resetting,what's the best way to break the glue joint to remove it? Without removing the strings, what's the best way to determine if it is the neck that needs resetting? (The shop owner would probably let me bring in some measuring/evaluation tools, but the guitar's on consignment, so I can't really mess w/ it too much.)

Dave,

First caveat is I'm an amateur - there are professional repair guys (and gals) on the site who really know their stuff.

That being said, I'll give you my opinion anyway - I'll learn something from the subsequent corrections

Guitar setup is a tricky process with many variables. Kent Everett has a great CD, available through lmii.com which explains the setup process very clearly, in a repeatable way. That may or may not solve the problem of this guitar. You've said that the action at the nut and the saddle "seems right" and yet the action at the 12th fret (neck joint fret is way too high). Then you say there's no bowing in the neck. Seems to me that one of these statements isn't true - unless the body is collapsing between the neck and the soundhole (if so, not good - buy her another guitar). In order to get a better understanding of what's going on (which is very hard, maybe impossible, without looking at the guitar in person.

I think I'd recommend buying her a guitar that's right, from the start.

Barring that, can you make a deal to take the guitar to a reputable pro in your area, and subtract the cost of a proper setup from the price?? Worth a try.

As Corky says, why not take it to a professional? They shouldn't charge you to tell you what's wrong with it. They should also be willing tell you how they know what the guitar needs.

I'm surprised the shop owner doesn't answer these questions for you. Even as a consignment he has to represent the sale of the guitar.
If it is a drop in saddle it is not glued in. There are many methods to remove a bridge but unless it's coming off that's not the right approach.
First check the relief when strung to concert pitch. It should be roughly .006" to .015" for a standard acoustic setup (adjust the truss rod to get it close.) Then check the height of the strings off the 12th fret. A standard measurement here will be roughly 2/32" on the treble side and 3/32" bass side (while holding the string down at the first fret.) Once you've achieved that take a look at the saddle (which you may have shaved or shimmed to set the string height.) If you have more that 2/32" of saddle showing above the bridge Martin considers that acceptable. 4 or 5/32" is nice. If you have less than that the guitar is a candidate for a neck reset. If when the action is all set you sight the neck and see a hump at the body joint where the fingerboard tongue seems to scoop up, then you need a neck reset and maybe other work regardless of the action. Maybe the owner of the shop can help you with the diagnosis.

Without a hands on inspection the best you will get is an educated guess. To know if you are in neck set territory you need a few things . First see if they will let you take it to a tech . A $50 investment may save you considerable cost later . A reset can be from $350 to $500 depending where you are at.
Do not allow " shaving the bridge " unless you have more than 1/2 inch string height at the front of the bridge measured off the top to the bottom of the string. Look at the neck , to the untrained eye things may look good but they may not be . Hold the string down and the 1st and 13 fret . look between the top of the fret and bottom of the string at the 6th fret. You want to just see some clearance , we are taking .004 to .010. less than a business card , and more than a piece of paper.
Look at the saddle , is it leaning forward , the look at the sound hole from the side , does the rim look like it is warped ? If you are in reset territory you may use that as a bargaining chip . You want to have a nice 1/8 of saddle above the bridge . Eye ball down the frets and if you follow the edge of the fret board , you want to see that line follow to the corner of the bridge , a straight edge will just fall on the bridge. If the line is bellow the bridge you may have something to suspect.
Good luck , somethings they are just in need of a good set up and truss rod adjustment. A note : the truss rod is not there to adjust the action but to adjust the relief ( curvature ) of the neck.

_________________
John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

I just went through a whole ordeal getting a used Martin (through the mail, I'm isolated in Hawaii) and having to return it due to the issues being discussed here. As a quick geschtalt (sp.?) check, try playing quite firmly on the higher frets above the neck/body join - any buzzing? On the one I got, the strings played fine until I fretted above 12, then they would buzz against the frets higher up. This was a symptom of the convergence of the several problems this guitar had. If yours is like this, I'd bet you're in neck reset territory.

A couple other checks that don't need measuring: Sight down the neck from headstock towards bridge, following the edge of the fingerboard. Where does the line of the main shaft of the neck look to land on the bridge? It should aim just below the lip of the saddle. If it aims down into the wood of the bridge, you're again probably looking at a reset. This is accurately done with a long straightedge of course, but if it's severe it will be pretty obvious by eye.

Sighting that same line, if the shaft portion looks good, but then the fingerboard bends up where it goes over the body, this can be (probably is) a problem depending of the severity of the bend.

If any of the above seem to be happening, AND the saddle is low, well, that's about all folks, it's time to steam the neck off.

The above just my very newbie armchair $.02.

Weirdly, on the Martin I got, it was from a seemingly knowledgable and very reputable dealer who claimed the setup was perfect before he sent it, AND after he got it back! I'm sure he thinks I'm nuts. But the guitar was from Arizona, and I'm in Hawaii, so about the most extreme humidity difference there is. I didn't feel the humidity could make that much difference that fast, and neither did the certified Martin guy here, but, maybe? Anyway, this reminds me of a query I shold probably start another thread about

Peace,
Sanaka

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...imagine there were no hypothetical situations...