Norio wrote
My first guitar, a Yamaha acoustic something-or-other has a bowed-neck. I think it's caused from the previous owner having really heavy strings on her. The problem is that it makes it quite difficult to play this guitar because anything above the 4th fret is a pain in the ass to fret.
Now my Capoeira teacher found out I play and wants to play something together (with him on the Berimbau and me on acoustic guitar) so...
Should I try get it fixed or just sell it and buy something else? Or maybe just use it as-is but with much lighter strings?
I guess, because it was my first guitar, I should probably keep it but can something like this really be fixed and turned into a playable braai guitar? ? I'm not aiming to have a Taylor or anything - just something playable will be nice. Who knows, I might even end up practising as a result!
Sounds like it's a steel string acoustic.
Maybe get a 2nd opinion. What are you used to playing? If you're used to playing an electric with 8s then 12s on an acoustic might feel like quite a tough proposition.
There are various possibilities
1) Neck relief is incorrect. Could be due to the heavier strings, but could also mean the truss rod needs adjusting. Figure out what gauge of string you want and then string it up and get the relief adjusted to suit those strings.
2) Saddle too high
3) Nut too high. Try putting a capo on the first fret. If things get better straight away it's likely the nut (doesn't seem likely from your description of the symptoms)
4) Needs a neck reset. In which case things might get expensive relative to the value of the guitar.
Hard to say for sure without looking at the guitar.
I'm ruling out humidity issues. On the highveld the danger is too little humidity and that usually pulls the action down.
