Calling Pepe Vergara or any other knowledgeable luthier

[rquinones27]

I have a Tomas Lazaro (TL40) guitar with solid cedar top, solid mahogany back and sides and ebony fretboard. I'm no expert, but when I compare this guitar to my first ever guitar, a Cordoba 20, it seems to me that the fretboard is a little bit concave. Sometimes is hard to do barre chords because of this and I have to press hard on the strings. The sound is very powerful, but to me, it sounds like something vibrates when I play a bass note. Maybe is sympathetic vibration between strings. Is kind of hard to describe what I'm trying to say. Another thing I notice is that this guitar is very finicky depending on the temperature that is in. The sound changes a lot. Bear in mind that all these comparisons are between the only two guitars I own. I live in San Diego, so more or less, I have the same temperature you have in the L.A. area. I keep my guitars inside their case with a hygrometer and I try to keep the RH between 45-50%. Could there be something wrong with this guitar? Thank you in advance.

[Pepe Vergara]

Can you bring the guitar to this meeting on May 5, 2005:

http://www.californialuthiers.com/SIMSC_files/page0017.htm

You will have at least 20 luthiers looking at it.

[rquinones27]

Ideally, I would show up to this meeting with my guitar on hand. However, life gets in the way of fun!!! Honestly I don't think I will make it. Could string tension have anything to do with it? I am using D'addario high tension on this guitar as well as in my other guitar. Could a medium tension string make a difference? I know that trying it out would be the best way to find out, but I'm looking for clues or expert advice that you could supply without seeing the guitar. Thanks again.

[J]

String tension on any quality guitar shouldn't make that much of a difference in terms of the neck bending. Between normal and heavy the most you would need to do is take down the bridge a mm, but usually no adjustments need to be made. You can change the strings but your problem lies in something deeper. The sound and action changing in respects to temp change is a sign that the wood shrinking and expanding. This movement can cause glue joints to break and your action to change. This may cause braces to vibrate, unwanted buzz, and make your guitar harder to play.

I would say you need to take this guitar to a luthier to look at.

[rquinones27]

Thanks J, I intended to take it in to have it looked at. I just wanted to get some kind of confirmation that the guitar does needs to be seen by a knowledgeable person. Thanks again.

[Jubilee Valence]

Can you bring the guitar to this meeting on May 5, 2005:

http://www.californialuthiers.com/SIMSC_files/page0017.htm

You will have at least 20 luthiers looking at it. :arrow: "Arrieros somos, y en el camino andamos." :arrow: BURRO!!!!Pepe,in the rear of the building to the north, is "(Tony's) Jalpa Cafe"--the BEST Juev/Ranch ever!!(y con carne!!)--good breakfast place--if you get a chance, try it & say hi to Tony!......Hasta, Jubi

[Pepe Vergara]

Jub: I will. Happy Cinco de Mayo. Today, I will have my debut as mariachi singer :lol: So far, I only sang after 3 am of the next day after the Don Julio tequila worked out his way into the neurons :?

[rquinones27]

I figured I post and update on this topic. In my quest to solve this annoying problem, I figured I'd change the strings on this guitar to see what would happen. I had this guitar stringed with D'Addario J46 (hard tension) strings. Yesterday, I bought a set of Savarez Alliance 520R regular tension strings and put them on. I don't know if is the lighter tension or the brand, or maybe both, but WOW the guitar sounds completely different now. Is a lot brighter, louder and with a whole lot more sustain and better tone than before. Fretting the strings is a lot easier as well. I will give it a few days until the strings settle in and update again.

[Jubilee Valence]

Jub: I will. Happy Cinco de Mayo. Today, I will have my debut as mariachi singer :lol: So far, I only sang after 3 am of the next day after the Don Julio tequila worked out his way into the neurons :? :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :arrow: YIII--JAA!!!--Thanks for reminding us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!---heading to the "Airport Tavern"-(-!anejo! por viejo!)--y mi anniversario es "Dies Y Seis"!!--ciao!