Complete beginner and guitar needs some fixing before i can get started, please help.

finglas

Hi everyone, I just posted in the introduction thread and now i am posting here in the hope you folks may be able to help me. 

I have never played the guitar (apart from a little time messing about as a kid) but I fancy trying it out and feel it would be a rewarding endeavour. Anyway, my dad has an old guitar that I was planning on using. And i do mean old. it's an acoustic Aria aw200 guitar, think it was made in 1988.  So, i knew i needed new strings for the guitar because the ones that were on it were snapped off, i bought these. I went to string the guitar and realised a part was missing. That part i now know is called the "top nut" i believe.

Issue is, i don't have the old top nut to measure up and go buy a new one. So, i am posting here in the hope someone may be able to give me some advice on what dimensions to take and what size of nut to look for. The neck itself is 44mm wide, the depth from the fret board to the neck is 6mm and the height from the end of the freat board towards the head of the guitar is roughly 5.5mm. Apologies if that is hard to follow, since i know very little i am struggling a bit to explain it. Where I am confused is the depth being 6mm. I will obviously need more than 6mm because the strings will then need to be held slightly above the board. So any advice on this would be great, perhaps where i could purchase this thing and what size i should be looking for ?

Finally, the other problem with the guitar is it's been stored in an old house for a while and so there is some dampness/mould on the fretboard, I am wondering if this is fixable and if so , what with ?

Thanks very much, id appreciate any help

Jamie
 

Funkfingers

I suggest that you have the guitar inspected by a reputable repairer. Excess moisture and mould can do horrible things to acoustic guitars. You would be wise to assess the extent (and the costs) of the refurbishing work required before committing to the expenditure. 

Ravenous

First of all make sure it's dry. As Funkfingers said, damp is a major problem - much worse than the nut.

Keep it in a dry place for a few weeks - but not direct sun or not in a warm place, just a dry room at normal temperature.

Once you are sure it's dry, sight along the neck by eye to see if it's twisted. A slight bend forwards or backwards is probably OK - this can usually be adjusted by the steel trussrod in the neck (it's probably in the soundhole for your guitar, but don't try adjusting that yet.)

I'd say once you're sure it's dry, provided the neck isn't twisted and there are no splits in the body, it's worth saving.  In that case take it to a repairer or a good music shop and be prepared to pay to get a new nut fitted, trussrod adjustments, and maybe other repairs.

(If once dry it's badly warped by the damp then it might not be worth saving.  That's why I recommend drying it at home first, if it's possibly damp right now.)

For a SUPER cheap temporary repair, just to get some strings on it (and only once it's dry of course) you can make a nut out of a small piece of wood.  I don't recommend this though as it'll be hard to judge the correct height above the frets first time.  Also a proper repairer is best, because the guitar might suddenly start developing problems when the strings are first tensioned...

finglas

Guys thanks very much for getting back to me. I really appreciate it. 

Today i had the guitar in at a shop amd they had a look at it. They sized up a nut but couldny fit it there and then so iv taken it away with me. I think they thought the guitar looked alright but as you have made me aware maybe there are a lot more problems.

Iv got it in a dry warmish room at the moment and so hopefully things start to take a turn for the better. 

Thanks again and ill keep you posted on whats happening. 

Jamie 

Corvus

A nut takes some fettling Jamie so expect to leave it at a place - the slots need individually filing and probably other shaping. But best done after its had a couple of weeks to settle in its new home. A setup should also include work on the bridge to get the best action (string height/playability) and intonation.

Bridgehouse

I'd try to find a local reputable tech - I note you're in Scotland - maybe @ICBM could suggest?

ICBM

Whereabouts in Scotland are you? If you're anywhere near me (south of Edinburgh, or one day a week in central Glasgow) I'd be happy to see if I've got an old nut which will fit - I keep anything that's reusable, exactly for guitars which don't really justify a new nut making and fitting, at least until the rest of it proves worth spending money on.

Bridgehouse

^ - Jamie, if you can get to visit @ICBM then do it! 

Alnico

Bridgehouse said:

^ - Jamie, if you can get to visit @ICBM then do it! 

+1.

ICBM

I also forgot to say - there's every chance that if it's not warped or otherwise beyond repair, that it could be quite a nice guitar. It's not an expensive model or valuable now, but it will be a reasonably good Japanese-made plywood acoustic and will have a bit of character to it even if it's not exactly a Martin. Arias usually have slim necks too, which although not currently fashionable, I prefer and will probably be an advantage if you're just starting.

Unfortunately it wasn't long after this one was made that Aria moved factories (countries, in fact) and the quality went rapidly down the pan, to the point that by the mid 90s they were really considered a junk brand.

finglas

Apologies for the late response here. Thanks very much to everyone for getting back to me, really appreciate it. My dad ended up getting a nut for it from a shop that they did size up but to me it looks a bit rough, the string grooves look pretty rough and its making the strings touch the metal bars (sorry dont even know the correct name for them) on the fret board near the head end, 1st fret area. But then 12th fret area it seems like almost 10-15mm from the fret board. I think I have bitten off more than i can chew haha!

ICBM, thanks very much for the offer of help. Where in Glasgow would you be ? I am a little outside Glasgow, but not too far, East Kilbride to be exact. Only takes me about 20 mins to get into central Glasgow. 

Thanks very much again everyone, appreciate the help.

Jamie

Ravenous

finglas said:

My dad ended up getting a nut for it from a shop that they did size up but to me it looks a bit rough, the string grooves look pretty rough and its making the strings touch the metal bars

Did they fit the nut and file the grooves?  If so, the strings are too low and it ain't good enough.  They shouldn't be touching the first fret.

If you popped in the nut yourselves at home, maybe the nut isn't high enough.  You can raise it very slightly by lifting it out and putting a doubled over strip of paper under it. That'll probably raise it a fraction of a millimetre.  Bit of a bodge but worth a go for now.

Should be possible to do all this without removing the strings - just slacken them off until you can carefully lift that nut (ouch).

finglas

Thanks ravenous. There isnt actually any strings on the guitar at the moment, but i was just placing it in the grove and pulling it a little and it looked to be touching the fret board at the first. I might just do as you say at the moment. Place the nut in wotb a bit of paper and, string it up and see how its looking.

The shop didnt fit the nut, they judt sold us it. They did sit it in place and claimed it would do the job but im not sure it will now!

Ill try setting it up anyway, dont suppose i can do too much harm! 

Jamie