580 RSW A Red Label Yamaha Guitar Repair - Part 3 Putting The Neck Back On And Finishing Touches

[@leocrossfield]

Just perfect - I love that you show the nightmare and your frustrations and thinking rather than making a video of an easy job. Worth its weight in educational gold. Thanks so much for posting.

[@j.d.schultzsr.9215]

Always learning as he goes, the best parts of Jerry's narratives are "I don't know." Always having plans B-Z, he's humble and patient enough to proceed to near profection.

[@laddcraner4170]

I checked your website for the "Products I use" section, no links showed up, was a little bummed, but I thought I'd let you know... 10-16-22 And that's for the video, great job.

[@WryGrass100]

Please stop fretting about the trolls. If they were that sharp they'd have their own web sites with 83+K viewers. This was a super hard job. It happens to everybody, even trolls. I'm glad you had this one, because I have a Red Lable '76 or '77, and this job lets me know to baby it to maybe avoid its having this kind of problem. Just keep showing us these types of fixes.

[@rogerhowell3335]

I had an old Checkmate acoustic guitar here (made by Teisco in the early 70's) that had a similar problem. I cut off the fingerboard extension and all that, and tried several methods to soften the glue - - it was NOT hide glue, sort of white and hard. I chipped away a small flake or two (from an inside brace glue drip) and tried softening it in a dish with several different liquids to see what would be it's solubility - - I first tried water (hot and cold, so steam is not an option), then moved on to the other obvious chemicals that may soften this stuff , acetone, laquer thinner, naptha - - all to no effect!! Finally, in desperation I put a flake in some alcohol and that did it!! It turned a bit slick and waxy before falling apart after a minute or two, suggesting that the stuff is alcohol-soluble!! So in the end, after HOURS of adding 91% isopropyl to the dovetail joint with a medicine dropper several times, wiggling, twisting, and a good amount of cursing - - the joint started to move a bit. Finally, the next day after a repeat performance of the above procedure, I decided to score down the both sides of the neck down to the heel and soak in some alcohol to help loosen the joint more, which worked (the poly varnish was piled up very thick down the side of the neck, so in this case I don't care that much how it looks). Two days later, the neck came out. I'll add this - - the alcohol didn't seem to affect the varnish (poly) or the neck or block wood at all (but I caution using it on most finishes without testing it on an out-of-the-way spot first). And, if this had been anything but this old junky ladder-braced MIJ guitar I probably would have just given up, but I'm just saying that whatever kind of weird glue was used here was apparently alcohol-soluble. Hope this helps.

[@Setsofiah]

The reason I spend at least a couple of hours daily watching the old masters like Jerry and the Erlewines is that it's like Santa's bottomless gift sack - no end of valuable tips and tricks. Thanks, mate.

[@mitzioden4926]

I had to watch this repair of the Yamaha twice. You did a good job Jerry!

[@HayesTech]

Don't let the haters get to you. Everyone does things differently. There is a dowel going from the neck into the neck block ( in the piece that broke and was left in the guitar). That's why those budget Yamahas are so hard to do a neck reset, and so many luthiers won't even try to do a neck reset on them. I think you do outstanding work but I'm not a fan of cutting the fretboard. Again, that's just one man's opinion and my opinions don't mean squat...lol... The guitar sounds great.

[@kft590]

You answered my question right after I asked it.

[@charlesfick729]

Good sounding guitar, fun song….thanks for sharing the repair, and the song😊😊😊😊

[@philgallagher1]

As I said at the time, missing one chord isn't an issue! All the others were fine, so don't worry about the odd one! It's human nature to pick up one's own mistakes, but we all know what you went through to get that guitar fixed! It's remarkable that it plays at all! If it had been me, it would've been firewood on that first day trying to get the neck off!!! I watch a lot of guitar repair channels, it's fascinating to see how different people deal with the same problems. However, in all the many, many videos I've watched, I have NEVER seen a guitar fight back like this one! It's like it had a will of its own, and wasn't going to make ANYTHING easy for you! Congratulations for getting this one done (particularly when at the time you were fighting the finish on the old Gibson with your other hand!!) You Sir have the patience of a saint!!

[@jlondon53]

There's no better teacher than a mistake - whether your own or somebody else's. I've experience this very same guitar neck set first hand - Exactly! Thank God it was my own (first) guitar and not a customer. But what I did was to create a slight angle on the heel where it came apart. Then adjusted the upper half of the dove like a normal re-set. Of course I had to adjust the shape of the dowel as was necessary in video. The BIG thing was that changing the angle on the heel caused an irregularity at the glue joint which necessitated reshaping, sanding, and refinishing of neck. It was NUTs I tell ya! But it worked!

[@jthonn]

I hope my wife's yamaha doesn't need a neck reset, or a wreck reset. If Jerry has all this trouble, it will be 10 times the nightmare for me. Jerry, you did it again and you won, I hope to have some luck with mine.

[@c.p.1589]

Just slip the back/ heel joint and trim it bsck. . Way quicker and more stable.

[@jthonn]

@@c.p.1589 I hear ya, but I am hoping it doesn't need it. The guitar was built in '75 and has never even had a truss rod adjustment. The only reason I don't know yet what all it needs, is because I want to surprise my wife with it all set up and easy to play. Before we put it up the last time, which has been a few years, we had named the guitar the "egg slicer". The action was too high and the strings so tight to get it in tune. You can play it, but what a job, and painful, otherwise a beautiful instrument in perfect condition, and great sound. Sorry for the run on. I will be finding out real soon.

[@AcousticOne]

That was mighty fine! That old Yamaha never sounded or played better!

[@josephthunderhorse8793]

Ahhh ...it had that wonderful boomy bass that Yamahas are known for...great job my friend...l love your vids...your tactics ...and your playing...thanks

[@richardcooper4206]

I have a Yamaha FG160 which I bought in about 1975 for £50. Its a bit knocked about but sounds good. My pal bought a real red label FG 180 slightly before me and his sounds great. I had a proper set up a few years ago which cost me as much again but now it plays really well. I've got several other guitars including a Martin but this is still my favourite as we have so much history.

[@julianmetcalfe1070]

wow another great fix , beautiful new bridge, was in very sorry state ,the neck reset was very tough,the angle of the bridge saddle was strange,you did a top job there ,that little patch turned out perfect too ,i am sure that its sounds better than it ever did and will for many decades to come yet thanks for the master class JERRY

[@jimsanderson5213]

Hi Jerry...love all your videos and commiserate with you regarding your arthritis. I'm in Ontario Canada and have a passion for guitars and repairing them. Can't thank you enough for telling us about "Itchy Boots"! Such a sweetheart and such a travelogue! Cheers!

[@benkelly6225]

What a wonderful job you did on that old Yamaha. I have a FG 200 same vintage. I bought it in 1979 and it was a few years old when I bought it. I researched the serial number and it's about a 1974. I too have an intonation issue it is not quite right it's a little flat on the upper frets. So my guess they came from the factory like this. My neck fortunately is solid and I'm impressed that it was so difficult to remove and repair. My impression is that it was made well at the factory but they didn't pay attention to the intonation. Excellent work on this guitar I'm sure that it will be playing for a long time to come

[@rhettbickley9097]

Jerry, I am of course impressed with your luthiership. Your presence of mind in removing the doweled neck is typical. Your production qualities are equally impressive and I have a degree in Media and many years experience.

[@waynedavies3185]

You did a nice job repairing the Yamaha. Lately, I have also been quite busy, but will return to my old 12 string later this fall, and rest the neck properly. I also had to repair the brideg area as well, and haven't quite finished that area yet. Tension on the eyelets in the past, before I got this guitar, damaged the sound board under the bridge. I made the repair with a fresh new sound board, but haven't put all 12 holes into it yet. I'll do hat this fall as well. Thanks for the video, gave me lots of info to think about in finishing off the repair, and get it playable again, as well as in better playable condition. Happy 4th of July coming up. Stay well.

[@jonathanhandsmusic]

You did a great job on this one! I have a similar old Yamaha, and the action is a little high, but it still plays pretty well. I live with it, and use light silk and steel strings. I enjoyed the whole series of this old red label.

[@nanenlow1820]

with love, our friend, Jerry, you did look really tired last week. prevent trouble. hire some high school kids to work for ya a little. You can do that !

[@kfm908]

the change in the neck angle changed the intonation.It's good you made the bridge a little bigger

[@jeyapragashradhaakrishnan3443]

Hey Jerry, From your last video, I know you struggled to get the neck out, from what my understanding after I read about how they made these guitars back in the day, is they use some sort of epoxy like material to permanently bond the neck together, limiting the possibility for a neck removal. Which is why luthiers hate doing dovetail neck resets on these Yamaha. Despite this, the sound that is generated from these Red Labels is just incredible.

[@anthonywhite6530]

Nice singing

[@jeffgrier8488]

Nice work Jerry, i'm betting that the customer is happy!

[@hafengr]

Jerry, you are amazing my friend! That guitar look so good after all the work you put into it and sound is as nothing ever happened to it. I really enjoy watching your videos. God Bless!

[@waynedavies3185]

I'm about to do a neck reset on a Suzuki acoustic and I am not sure what kind of glue was used as well. I know the neck was reset awhile back and reglued on, but the angle was so bad that with a straight edge along the frets lands almost flat with the bridge area to the body. Some of the glue used was exposed enough that I took a small soldering iron and heated it up and tried to see of that glue would melt under heat in a very small area. Whatever was used as glue mainly flaked off not melt off so I think I am in for a chore in getting that neck off and away from the dove tail joint. It appears more like epoxy rather than glue that was used to glue it back on. If I get it off i'll be lucky so I can reset the neck to the correct angle to where it should be set. The past owner was abusive with this guitar but I'll do my best in restoring it. I may end up curing it like you were doing. hehehe.

[@bobl2995]

Thanks Jerry great video great song 🇬🇧

[@chris5355]

Great content, thanks.

[@stu-j]

The ramp on the fretboard extension would trigger my ocd so much.. its very noticeable on video and the action from the 12th looks massive

[@czgunner]

I've seen wedges used with great results.

[@milantoombs6696]

Came out very nice, sounds and looks great 👍🏻👍🏻

[@leonp5289]

Another outstanding job, Jerry !

[@markcasey3991]

Looks good and sounds great considering that guitar probably cost less than $200 new from the music store back in the early 70's. Thanks for letting us tag along on another tough repair series Jerry. It'll get'cha where you're goin' ;o)~

[@migalito1955]

I had a classical guitar I bought from my friend David in 72. It had a fabulous sound with a 1/4 sawn Spruce top with Rosewood sides and back plus very little ornamentation. I kick myself today for selling it. I sold it because I have small hands and the classical guitar had an exceptionally wide nut. David and I were talking about it recently and he said he paid $81 for it in 71. That might imply cheap, but in 73 minimum wage was just recently made $2 an hour so today it would easily be a $500 guitar and indeed it sounded worth $500.

[@costrio]

It sounded good and I liked the song too.

[@royyazzie6028]

She sounds migthy fine there 👍🎸😎🤏

[@drjcwardjr]

Looks and sounds great! 😎👍

[@daveogarf]

YAYYY, Emeri! (She makes things look great).

[@michaellandreth1392]

Jerry those slots have a hole. You simply put a bend in the string drop it straight down the hole. And the slot catches the string. Fender has a lot of these on their Kluson tuners.

[@zapa1pnt]

Not all slotted tuners have that. Especially, Yamahas , from the 70's.

[@michaelburkmier488]

Thanks for the video

[@plinkleton]

you gotta put the end of the string down in the hole in the middle of the slot , on open-top tuners . they work great !

[@leelossi1257]

nice job jerry!

[@GTweed0605]

I Have a 1969 Red Label Yamaha 12 string that I bought new while in High School, It has same issues. Needs a neck reset. Wish I was closer and I would bring it by. Maybe could ship from NC.

[@zapa1pnt]

You're out of luck, Gary. Jerry is not taking any shipped in instruments (for some time now). You would need to walk it in the door.

[@brianogrady7900]

Hi Jerry would you say Yamaha guitars are put together well 😂😂😂 great job. Best Wishes

[@josefeliciano9418]

Just wondering, have you ever glued something underneath the fretboard section you had removed to get that section sort of level with the rest of the fretboard? Most people don't use those frets but in the case that someone does, maybe that would help the action in that area

[@jthonn]

That is what you should always do, if it needs it. I have seen so many neck resets where they just glue it up and it ends up with what I call fall away. So don't wonder, you are correct.

[@EbonyPope]

@@jthonn Yup. A wedge is the usual thing to go for. I like Jerry but he's nowhere near as good as twoodfrd. Check out his channel if you don't know him. His voice is very soothing and he's an excellent repair guy.

[@jthonn]

@@EbonyPope Thanks I am a sub of twoodfrd (Ted) but he gets too soothing and puts me to sleep. Better than Jerry? It depends on perspective. I don't look at it like a competition.

[@niagaraschoolofmusic9398]

Love that song

[@BobHolland1949]

I have been thinking about sending Jerry my 1971 FG180 Red Label but he probably needs some time recovering from this one.

[@somearchitectTX]

Great video series, Jerry! I'm wondering about how much $$ your customer spent on all of this work. I'm irresistably drawn to old Yamaha guitars, but nearly all need a neck reset, which would typically cost more than the guitar is worth. You put a ton of time into this one, so I'm wondering what it all cost. Thanks!

[@paulblackley3546]

I would hope it was free

[@battlehrfred]

Hi Jerry. lovely work and excellent video as always Sir!! Just a quick QUESTION>>>> I need to glue a "Fleur de Lis" Green Aboline natural colour ,diminsions, 16x 10 mm on a wooden thrust Rod Cover what type of glue should i use to attach it?? would Regular clear krazy glue be ok ?? Ty for your input

[@bobnancymiller4931]

It wasn't really built with repair in mind in the first place ! : - ]

[@snookdock]

My mom and dad gave me some glue spreaders just like yours.

[@zapa1pnt]

Be very grateful. Not everyone gets them.

[@micmacnz]

That's a hell of a fall off... should be able to get a lovely action over the 1-14 frets.

[@jimf4492]

Hi Jerry, I really like the router base that you are using. Does the fellow that made yours (Willem?) sell them? I have a "Red Label" Yamaha that also needs a neck reset. Mine is a '69 or '70 vintage, so this video was timely for me. Thanks again. Jim

[@alanbeck5518]

I also have a ‘69 red label FG-140 . I would also need a thicker bridge fitted.

[@zapa1pnt]

Jim, check/fix the belly condition First. If you don't, you will end up with a neck angle which is Way Too high. BTDT.

[@jimf4492]

@@zapa1pnt Thanks. The top is actually very flat, and the braces all seem to be tight as well. The bridge seems to be a bit low, ~.250" thick, and the saddle is really low too. The nut end of the neck isn't terribly high when looking over the top, and after watching this video, I am having second thoughts... I might consider making a new bridge first, and see how the action is. Right now it's about .130" on the low E.

[@zapa1pnt]

@@jimf4492: If the height of the bass E is already .130, at the 12th fret, it's already high. Raising the saddle height will only make the action higher. The saddle and bridge were previously lowered, to compensate for high action. It sounds like a new bridge and saddle is correct, but Along with a neck reset. However, be sure to use a straight edge and check the neck relief, at the ~7th fret. Get that right before proceeding any further.

[@jimf4492]

@@zapa1pnt Of course, you're right... sometimes I must think about things backwards! The relief is about .012" at around the 7th fret, and truss rod works, so I'm not too worried about that, but the frets are getting really low. I have rebuilt a couple of electric guitars that were in pieces, and both needed new frets. That was a real treat to get right without any prior experience, but I learned some new skills. Both guitars turned out to be very playable. This will be the first acoustic I have tried to fix. It's not a highly-collectable one, so it's probably a good candidate for me to work on. Thanks for your answers and advice.

[@tdegneyegrass101251]

My mandolin as a sunk top making the bridge high it plays well and good action its been like this for ten years and no further movement would it be possible to remove the fret board and put a wedge putting the high end of the wedge at the nut end

[@Rileyinfo9]

You should add your reamer to the "Products I Use" page. I bought a violin one, but the tip is too big. Would be interested to know which one you use.

[@berniesnodgrass2349]

Wouldn't a thin shim cure the hump problem?

[@zapa1pnt]

If the End of the fretboard was too low, yes. In this case, no. The end was fine, but the 15th fret area was too high. If he were to raise the end, then it would be too high as well.

[@berniesnodgrass2349]

Don't think I agree with your assessment. He used a straightedge laying on the fretboard pointing at the bridge to get the neck angle did he not? Maybe Jerry could jump in here.

[@RByrne]

Hey, I've got a similar guitar, it was My dad's first guitar, and then .ine aswell. He passed away so it's kind of sentimental. It's beat to hell, and has a separation line on the heel/neck. Is it possible to glue it partially to make it more stable? Any tips for getting the glue in deeper? Thanks, love watching these videos.

[@j.c.linden]

Have you checked your page entitled " products I use" ? I see words but no links to Amazon to any of the things you mention.

[@ny7294]

Why not do a foreword overhang.. like you did the rearward overhang not long ago ?

[@ny7294]

As in the extra piece glued to the saddle for more intonation adjustment

[@robertharris3270]

I must keep missing the answer.... What is "your" favorite brand of hide glue?

[@michaeladams2644]

AS THE HEEL IS MADE UP AND LAMINATED COULD YOU HAVE JUST CUT OUT THE WHOLE HEEL PART BELOW MAIN NECK TO EASE NECK REMOVAL THEN JUST MADE UP THE HEEL AS A NEW BIT?

[@kft590]

Could you narrow the width of the Bridge Saddle a little to make it less close to the end of the Bridge? Not the Thickness E to E string width.

[@atato1331]

So you dint remove the remaining heel.

[@chuckbreeding6223]

seems to me a red label yammer wd have a red label what's the deal?

[@ctcards2636]

Duct tape can stop stupidity, its called using it on said person to stop potential stupidity :-P

[@artbylarry]

😁

[@saoirsepaddy]

Yamaha Fancy Bird House

[@Danny.B82]

😵‍💫😵‍💫

[@migalito1955]

How the heck you musicians remember the lyrics to all your songs has me baffled. The only easy part for me seems to be, "'hit the wrong chord."

[@micmacnz]

When I do that I shout Yay! Jazz... and no one's the wiser

[@joepug11]

A wedge shim should really of been used

[@rafaelcuadra5009]

Hit the wrong chord? I don't think so... Hitting on all eight!!!!!!!!!!

[@paulblackley3546]

I have never seen anything like that,.....wow, fancy making that public,....wouldnt trust him to paint my door.

[@michaeladams2644]

WHAT ON EARTH DOES A JOB LIKE THIS COST!!? GOT TO BE CHEAPER TO PUT THE MONEY INTO A NEW FG5!😅

[@jamesgero5730]

I work on guitars and I find you to be pretty hacked bud-- with all your years of experience-- I'm surprised how often you slop stuff together.

[@rusty728]

here it costs $500 -$800 to do that same job.... Now I see why.

[@Jacob-64]

Sorry .....but you butchered that nice old guitar

[@stevenmoore442]

what a comedy of errors. Professional NOT!

[@anidamanns7968]

terrible action. it needs a neck reset after you are done

[@charlesbranch4120]

👏👏👏👏👏👏