 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||
| Moderated by: Tony Provencher, Richard Hefner | Page:   1 2 3 4   |
|
|||||||||||||
| fullerton guitars | Rate Topic |
| Author | Post |
|---|
| Posted: Tue May 29th, 2007 05:57 am |
|
41st Post |
|
matics Approved
|
I'm hoping that this thread is still being visited. I purchased a Fullerton Elwood Pro auditorium guitar and am having trouble setting it up. I'm at a point where I think I just need to send it back. It is a beautiful guitar, however, I can't get the action where it needs to be. Out of the box, after tuning it, all the strings buzzed open. Not a good sign. Following some online guitar setup tutorials, I checked the neck relief and saw that it was pretymuch non-existant. I started by putting a shim under both the saddle and the nut and got the strings to stop buzzing open. I neck relief at the 6th fret (with capo on first and pressing at 12th) was well below .006. I attempted to loosen the truss rod (wierd that my Elwood came with a nut type wrench and the actual truss rod adjuster is a hex). I followed advice and loosened 1/8 - 1/4 turn and rechecked the relief. No change. I ended up loosening the trussrod all the way and still, I could not get the correct relief on the neck. Is this guitar beyond hope for a decent setup? I don't want to put too much money into it if it is a dud from the factory. Any advice would greatly be appreciated. PS - I also got a Fullerton Batsto and it plays wonderfully. The action is a bit on the high side and will likely require sanding of the saddle. Last edited on Tue May 29th, 2007 05:58 am by matics |
||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Posted: Tue May 29th, 2007 10:33 am |
|
42nd Post |
|
Richard Hefner Administrator 
|
Hi matics, I also got one of the Fullerton Elwood guitars and had what sounds like the same problem. I took it to a luthier and when I went back to pick it up he showed me something he said he'd never seen before. The fingerboard was radiused up past the 5th fret but was completely flat up until about the 5th fret. He said that the entire neck has to be radiused or there's no way to set it up correctly. It still has buzzes in various places and is pretty much unplayable although it's okay for just strumming basic 1st position chords. I didn't return mine -- too lazy -- but if you've got the same problem you might want to send it back while you can. 
____________________ Richard Hefner MP3 Page: http://www.ezfolk.com/audio/richardhefner Running Blog: http://old-runner.com |
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| Posted: Tue May 29th, 2007 03:42 pm |
|
43rd Post |
|
matics Approved
|
Richard Hefner wrote: I didn't return mine -- too lazy -- but if you've got the same problem you might want to send it back while you can. Thanks so much for sharing your experience. I had read about it earlier in the thread and was hoping that I would be lucky and get a good guitar. By visual inspection, I don't think I have the radiusing issue. I'm wondering if a new nut and new saddle would make it a playable guitar. Even so, I think that having a trussrod that doesn't appear to do anything for applying relief to the neck is not something I should have to accept. With respect to you keeping yours, I believe that Music123 has a 45 day satisfaction guarantee. Even if you've chosen to keep it, you should at least alert them to the issue and they will likely compensate you for the issues you're having. Also, I believe that the Elwood ended up selling for $99 just before it sold out (I got mine for $135). You should easily convince them to give you a credit at least to match the $99 if not more.
|
||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Posted: Wed May 30th, 2007 05:46 am |
|
44th Post |
|
Will Approved 
|
I must be extremely lucky, because every Fullerton guitar that I ordered has been a good player, including the latest one (the 8th one). Their Martin-style dreadnought guitar with a solid spruce top and mahogany back and sides is selling in a package that includes a vinyl padded gig bag, strap, and a digital tuner, for as low as $29.99. Yes, you read that price correctly. The blueburst finish model of this model is selling at that price. It also comes in solid black, redburst, and natural, at no higher than $59.99. This $30 closeout priced guitar plays and sounds like one that costs 10 times more. http://www.music123.com/Fullerton-Deluxe---Pack---Acoustic-Guitar-(Closeout)-i228755.music    
____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ A Bunch Of Coconuts http://abunchofcoconuts.com |
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| Posted: Sat Jun 2nd, 2007 08:37 pm |
|
45th Post |
|
fullertonboy Approved
|
Will wrote: I must be extremely lucky, because every Fullerton guitar that I ordered has been a good player, including the latest one (the 8th one). Their Martin-style dreadnought guitar with a solid spruce top and mahogany back and sides is selling in a package that includes a vinyl padded gig bag, strap, and a digital tuner, for as low as $29.99. Yes, you read that price correctly. The blueburst finish model of this model is selling at that price. It also comes in solid black, redburst, and natural, at no higher than $59.99. This $30 closeout priced guitar plays and sounds like one that costs 10 times more. Hey, you guys (less gals here than at a Star Trek convention, so it's just "guys"): I love the Fullerton sale as much as anyone, but I wouldn't buy these if I were you. I picked up a few and they all require shimming or replacing the saddle, and one has a low fret on string six, fret 13. Of the two I've been able to set up so far, only one has anything close to great sound. And one has a finish so thin I can see the pieces of wood making up the top! The gig bag and tuner look serviceable, but not great quality. Just passable for the price, IF you luck out and get one which doesn't require a lot of work. JMHO  Also, forgot to mention, the strings on two were rusty and old-feeling. Last edited on Sun Jun 3rd, 2007 06:53 pm by fullertonboy |
||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Posted: Sat Jun 2nd, 2007 11:46 pm |
|
46th Post |
|
fullcircle Approved
|
I was lucky with mine. I bought 3 and had to return 1. The money saved buy purchaseing at the closeout price, allowed me to make reasonable up grades to my greenwich and cumberland 12string. They're not bad for the price if you get a good one.
|
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| Posted: Sat Jun 2nd, 2007 11:48 pm |
|
47th Post |
|
matics Approved
|
fullertonboy wrote:Hey, you guys (less gals here than at a Star Trek convention, so it's just "guys"):Thanks for the second opinion. I was about to pick up one of these and since I'm a lefty, I can still get the Fullerton Steelman for $49.99 ($20 more than the kit guitar). I think I know which I'll be getting. If it is anything like the Batsto that I already have, then I'll be a happy camper. The Fullerton Elwood I got is going back on Monday, completely unservicable.
|
||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Posted: Sun Jun 3rd, 2007 02:49 am |
|
48th Post |
|
fullertonboy Approved
|
fullcircle wrote: I was lucky with mine. I bought 3 and had to return 1. The money saved buy purchaseing at the closeout price, allowed me to make reasonable up grades to my greenwich and cumberland 12string. They're not bad for the price if you get a good one. Hi, do you mean the Deluxe Pack, or the Fullertons in general? I agree about the Fullertons in general (that's why I am the fullertonboy), but the Deluxe Pack, from our admittedly small statistical sample, seems to be a risky proposition, if you ask me.
|
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| Posted: Sun Jun 3rd, 2007 02:57 am |
|
49th Post |
|
fullertonboy Approved
|
By the way, the Kingwood Jumbo 6 and Cumberland 12 are available again, the C12 for at least a week, apparently. From the reviews on the net these too can be a gamble -- but like Dirty Harry said, "DO YOU FEEL LUCKY, PUNK?? http://music123.com/Fullerton-Kingwood-Jumbo-----Acoustic-Guitar-i732867.music http://music123.com/Fullerton-Cumberland-12-string-----Acoustic-Guitar-i732858.music
|
||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Posted: Sun Jun 3rd, 2007 03:08 am |
|
50th Post |
|
fullcircle Approved
|
Don't need to push my luck! Happy with what I have.
|
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| Posted: Sun Jun 3rd, 2007 05:29 am |
|
51st Post |
|
Will Approved
|
In my opinion, I don't think it's realistic for anyone to expect these guitars to be perfect. What you're getting for the absurdly low clearance prices are good quality wood and decent workmanship at third world labor rates. I bought the Fullertons fully expecting to do some set up work, hopefully minor work. In my experience, almost no guitar, even a famous name brand, plays great right out of the box, with the exception of my Guild GAD-G212 twelve string. My Martin D15 Spruce & Rosewood Custom, Blueridge BR73, Seagull Grand, Seagull S12+, etc., all required the same or more amount of set-up work that I put into every Fullerton before I was satisfied with their playability. For the Fullerton guitars, in almost every case, I simply shimmed up the saddle with some old segments of low E guitar string (except for the Brigantine dreadnought, which required shaving the saddle by 1/16"). What I did NOT do is mess with the truss rod on any of the Fullertons. The primary way to adjust string action is to either trim (to lower action) or shim (to raise action) the bridge saddle; the truss rod's primary purpose is to keep the guitar neck straight against the pull of the strings, not to raise and lower the action. Overadjusting the truss rod will actually worsen the action because the neck will no longer be straight. Unless you marked the "home" position of the truss rod nut with a magic marker on the wooden frame inside the sound hole before you start turning the truss rod nut with the hex wrench, it will be difficult to restore the truss rod to its original position unless you take the guitar to a luthier. Changing to new strings and experimenting with solid brass bridge pins were the other enhancements I tried out on the Fullertons. In most cases, the brass bridge pins improved the tone. Last edited on Sun Jun 3rd, 2007 05:36 am by Will ____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ A Bunch Of Coconuts http://abunchofcoconuts.com |
||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Posted: Sun Jun 3rd, 2007 06:50 pm |
|
52nd Post |
|
fullertonboy Approved
|
Will wrote: In my opinion, I don't think it's realistic for anyone to expect these guitars to be perfect. What you're getting for the absurdly low clearance prices are good quality wood and decent workmanship at third world labor rates. I bought the Fullertons fully expecting to do some set up work, hopefully minor work. In my experience, almost no guitar, even a famous name brand, plays great right out of the box, with the exception of my Guild GAD-G212 twelve string. My Martin D15 Spruce & Rosewood Custom, Blueridge BR73, Seagull Grand, Seagull S12+, etc., all required the same or more amount of set-up work that I put into every Fullerton before I was satisfied with their playability. For the Fullerton guitars, in almost every case, I simply shimmed up the saddle with some old segments of low E guitar string (except for the Brigantine dreadnought, which required shaving the saddle by 1/16"). What I did NOT do is mess with the truss rod on any of the Fullertons. The primary way to adjust string action is to either trim (to lower action) or shim (to raise action) the bridge saddle; the truss rod's primary purpose is to keep the guitar neck straight against the pull of the strings, not to raise and lower the action. Overadjusting the truss rod will actually worsen the action because the neck will no longer be straight. Unless you marked the "home" position of the truss rod nut with a magic marker on the wooden frame inside the sound hole before you start turning the truss rod nut with the hex wrench, it will be difficult to restore the truss rod to its original position unless you take the guitar to a luthier.Not expecting perfection, but remember, these were originally sold as 100 buck (maybe more) starter kits; the condition these are in, fresh out-of-the box, are not really suitable for the intended clientele. Did anyone every try playing these before they shipped 'em? I wonder. Does anyone here know if a starter kit guitar is usually shipped in playable condition? My guess is yes. No argument about the truss rod, just that it's sometimes and quick-and-dirty fix, and I actually broke my pin-puller on my string winder trying to pull pins out of my Greenwich just before these Deluxes arrived (would you believe?, must be Murphy's law). I intend to do the saddle thang soon after I can get the pins out (I hear a shoelace noose is good; used pliers once and the pin broke), probably after I finish my luthiery Ph.D next year. Also, I think all the truss rod on mine were tightened to the max, so restting it to its initial position is no problem. Lastly, is it possible that the included DVD, which says it contains maintenance tips, has all the answers? My fault for not watching it first before diving in? Color me mucho embarassed, if. I'll let y'all know if I ever watch it. Last edited on Sun Jun 3rd, 2007 07:32 pm by fullertonboy |
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| Posted: Sun Jun 3rd, 2007 08:18 pm |
|
53rd Post |
|
fullcircle Approved
|
I have the cumberland 12, and the greenwhich - can't complain. I will be replaceing the saddles and pins on both to bone or tusc and wood pins . the guitars are good but they sound flat and muffled. I can also see where the strings are cutting and burying themselves into the cheap plastic saddles. these guitars have a good sound to offer-you just need to invest a few more dollars where it counts and have a good set up. I have installed a bridge doctor in the 12 string to protect the soundboard and prevent lifting of the bridge. I still keep it tuned down 1/2 step. I liked a woodsy sound. Standard is too high for my like'n. Those tops are probably still green and have some ageing to do-darkening of the top. I can wait. good luck.
|
||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Posted: Sun Jun 3rd, 2007 08:18 pm |
|
54th Post |
|
fullcircle Approved
|
I have the cumberland 12, and the greenwhich - can't complain. I will be replaceing the saddles and pins on both to bone or tusc and wood pins . the guitars are good but they sound flat and muffled. I can also see where the strings are cutting and burying themselves into the cheap plastic saddles. these guitars have a good sound to offer-you just need to invest a few more dollars where it counts and have a good set up. I have installed a bridge doctor in the 12 string to protect the soundboard and prevent lifting of the bridge. I still keep it tuned down 1/2 step. I liked a woodsy sound. Standard is too high for my like'n. Those tops are probably still green and have some ageing to do-darkening of the top. I can wait. good luck.
|
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| Posted: Thu Jun 14th, 2007 03:25 pm |
|
55th Post |
|
fullertonboy Approved
|
fullertonboy wrote: Will wrote:In my opinion, I don't think it's realistic for anyone to expect these guitars to be perfect. What you're getting for the absurdly low clearance prices are good quality wood and decent workmanship at third world labor rates. I bought the Fullertons fully expecting to do some set up work, hopefully minor work. In my experience, almost no guitar, even a famous name brand, plays great right out of the box, with the exception of my Guild GAD-G212 twelve string. My Martin D15 Spruce & Rosewood Custom, Blueridge BR73, Seagull Grand, Seagull S12+, etc., all required the same or more amount of set-up work that I put into every Fullerton before I was satisfied with their playability. For the Fullerton guitars, in almost every case, I simply shimmed up the saddle with some old segments of low E guitar string (except for the Brigantine dreadnought, which required shaving the saddle by 1/16"). What I did NOT do is mess with the truss rod on any of the Fullertons. The primary way to adjust string action is to either trim (to lower action) or shim (to raise action) the bridge saddle; the truss rod's primary purpose is to keep the guitar neck straight against the pull of the strings, not to raise and lower the action. Overadjusting the truss rod will actually worsen the action because the neck will no longer be straight. Unless you marked the "home" position of the truss rod nut with a magic marker on the wooden frame inside the sound hole before you start turning the truss rod nut with the hex wrench, it will be difficult to restore the truss rod to its original position unless you take the guitar to a luthier.Not expecting perfection, but remember, these were originally sold as 100 buck (maybe more) starter kits; the condition these are in, fresh out-of-the box, are Here's an update, for those who are interested (the sale seems almost over, so it may be a moot point, unless they clear out more of these). I've set up one of the ones I bought, and it actually sounds pretty good. Out-of-the box, the strings were laying on the fretboard. I tried to remove the saddle with various sets of pliers, but it was stuck so tight, I just kept breaking bits of it off. I was going to go nuclear, or something, but tried the pliers again and finally felt it give. After 3 or 4 extremely intense pulls, it finally came out. (My first bit of good news regarding these). An incredibly tight fit, I had started to wonder if it was glued in. The saddle turned out to be only about 1/2-5ths the height of a regular saddle blank, which explains the low, low unusable action. In fact, this seems to be a strange characteristic of many of the Fullerton line, as my Kingland Jumbo 6 had the same problem (fixed by shimming with a round toothpick, sounds and plays great now), and I read elsewhere on the net that someone had to shim their Cumberland 12 saddle so much it was tilting forward a little. After replacing the saddle with a regular height blank, I tuned it up, and it sounded pretty good. The action is fairly low with the regular height saddle installed (and there's room to make it lower, if you like), and even without shimming the low side a tad higher, as is standard, it still sounds pretty good. The strings do show some signs of being a little old (black segments), but it still sounds pretty good. On the one of these I have with a low fret, it also sounded pretty good, with a lot of potential, so there are indications that these guitars could sound good, if set up right. So, this one, at least, has become a pleasant surprise; I'll update y'all with my experience with the others soon. By the way, the DVD doesn't have a magic fixes or information about setting these guitars up, but it's still a nice beginner DVD, with a section on string changing. Last edited on Fri Jun 15th, 2007 04:00 pm by fullertonboy |
||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Posted: Sat Jul 7th, 2007 02:13 am |
|
56th Post |
|
gmorgan Approved
|
Interesting that we're now discussing action on these Fullertons -- my Crosswick needed a slight shaving of the saddle to set things right, yet now I find the action creeping back to near where it was on arrival. The neck remains straight, and the neck block seems firm, yet I think I can see a slight upward bulge of the top directly under the bridge. The bridge itself is still firmly fixed to the top. Cause for concern, or a somewhat common thing?
|
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| Posted: Mon Jul 9th, 2007 02:02 am |
|
57th Post |
|
fullertonboy Approved
|
gmorgan wrote: Interesting that we're now discussing action on these Fullertons -- my Crosswick needed a slight shaving of the saddle to set things right, yet now I find the action creeping back to near where it was on arrival. The neck remains straight, and the neck block seems firm, yet I think I can see a slight upward bulge of the top directly under the bridge. The bridge itself is still firmly fixed to the top. Cause for concern, or a somewhat common thing? I've got a Crosswick; it was OK action-wise and otherwise (well, the pickguard DID have two horizontal streaks) when I got it. I've had it in a case for 3 months. I hope I don't get any unpleasant surprises next time I look... Supposed to be a solid top, too. I wonder if it's thinner than usual, like some said about the FW35's.
|
||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Posted: Wed Jul 18th, 2007 01:39 am |
|
58th Post |
|
gmorgan Approved
|
fullertonboy wrote: gmorgan wrote:Interesting that we're now discussing action on these Fullertons -- my Crosswick needed a slight shaving of the saddle to set things right, yet now I find the action creeping back to near where it was on arrival. The neck remains straight, and the neck block seems firm, yet I think I can see a slight upward bulge of the top directly under the bridge. The bridge itself is still firmly fixed to the top. Cause for concern, or a somewhat common thing? Seems to be a rather thin top, but not FRAGILE thin -- that much I can tell. I wonder if the slight bulge is a humidity thing, or (yikes!!) perhaps the top has pulled away slightly from the braces underneath. There isn't anything structurally obvious...it's really a lovely instrument in many ways so I'm hoping this isn't anything too serious. I have a friend who builds guitars, so maybe I'll have him take a look and see what his opinion is.
|
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| Posted: Wed Jul 18th, 2007 05:22 am |
|
59th Post |
|
fullertonboy Approved
|
Will thinks you need a "Bridge Doctor."
|
||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Posted: Wed Jul 18th, 2007 01:22 pm |
|
60th Post |
|
Will Approved
|
gmorgan wrote: fullertonboy wrote: gmorgan wrote:Interesting that we're now discussing action on these Fullertons -- my Crosswick needed a slight shaving of the saddle to set things right, yet now I find the action creeping back to near where it was on arrival. The neck remains straight, and the neck block seems firm, yet I think I can see a slight upward bulge of the top directly under the bridge. The bridge itself is still firmly fixed to the top. Cause for concern, or a somewhat common thing?
12-string guitars are notorious for causing bowed guitar tops, especially an older guitar or one that has a thin top wood. The JLD "Bridge Doctor" is a device installed inside the body of the guitar that specifically counteracts the pull of the strings and allows a bowed guitar top to become flat again. At the same time, it transmits string vibrations from the top to the sides of the guitar, resulting in a fuller tone. Breedlove Guitar installs a bridge doctor (a variant called the "bridge system") into all of their guitars. I bought a few of these from bridge system kits from Steward McDonald, because I own 4 twelve-strings, but I haven't installed them yet , because I would need to drill through the guitar top and countersink the mounting screw (("if it ain't broke, don't fix it.") http://www.jldguitar.net/warped_tops/fixtop.html  Bowed guitar top, before bridge doctor adjustment:  Flattened guitar top after bridge doctor adjustment: 
____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ A Bunch Of Coconuts http://abunchofcoconuts.com |
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| Current time is 06:53 pm | Page: 1 2 3 4 |
| ezFolk Forums > Guitar > General Guitar > fullerton guitars | Top |
