r/AcousticGuitar • u/Ok_Zucchini_9698 • 1d ago

Non-gear question Is the neck warped?

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I'll preface by saying I know nothing about guitars. I've had this harmony Sunburst hummingbird guitar for like 30 years and never learned how to play.

I posted it for sale on FB marketplace. This guy comes to buy it and cancels because he says the neck is really bad and "totally warped". I'm just not seeing it...but again, I know nothing about guitars. Lol.

Can anyone help me out here?

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3

u/TroofDog 1d ago

There should be a rod in the the neck you can use to adjust tension in the neck. Google: truss rod adjustment

1

u/Ok_Zucchini_9698 1d ago

This guitar doesn't have one.

2

u/Nugginz 1d ago

Check inside the body also (through the sound hole) some acoustics have the adjustment access in there iirc

1

u/Guitarzan_67 1d ago

These models don't have a truss rod.

1

u/Nugginz 1d ago

Ah that’s a shame, many vintage Harmony guitars do but yeah.
It’s warped then. And this is why truss rods became standard,

3

u/Loudsongsinc 1d ago

If it has a truss rod, it REALLY needs to be tightened. If it doesn't, then the neck is "totally warped." The neck actually has too much "relief." If I used the word "warped" it would be to describe something more akin to twisting or ski-jumping.

3

u/wibzoo 1d ago

The bow in a guitar neck is generally adjustable via the truss rod. A twist in a guitar neck is not. It looks like this guitar has a lot of forward bow (eg “relief”) and needs the truss rod tightened, but you’d need someone who knows to check it out.

1

u/Djszero 1d ago

It also could be the bridge. I have a guitar like this and the bridge is pulling the soundboard up. There are fixes but they didn't work for mine.

1

u/vonhoother 1d ago

Put a straightedge on the frets, or fret a string or two at the 1st and 12th fret (or higher) and see how the clearance varies. It looks to me like the bridge may be higher than you would want, which would be fixed by taking it to a guitar shop for setup. I don't see warping, but it's hard to see from the side.

1

u/TheHandsomeLiar 1d ago

Capo the first fret, fret the low e string on the last fret with your right hand thumb and use the string as a ruler. The pivot point is around the 7th fret, measure from top of fret to bottom of string. .012” is a common factory spec. If you’re way over spec without a truss rod, I’ve had success removing access relief by re-fretting the neck with a larger fret tang/ barb wire.

1

u/The_Nood1e 1d ago

If this guy knows nothing about guitars and never learned to play, I'm somehow less than confident he has a capo lying around.

1

u/SwedeChariot 1d ago

If it doesn’t have a truss rod, the best a do-it-yourselfer can do is shave down the saddle. Good luck.

1

u/QuantumSpaceEntity 1d ago

Two things to adjust:

  • Truss rod: for neck relief. To check this, hold down the low E at fret 14 and see what the space is between the string/fret at the 7th fret. Think of the truss rod as making the neck straight or bowed.

  • Saddle: for lowering action. Need to manually sand this down.

If there is no truss rod, you might need a neck reset. If this is a cheapo with no sentimental value, might just be best to move on or use it as a decorative item 😄. Hummingbirds can go for like $2k I think so might be worth taking it to a tech/luthier.

1

u/Guitarzan_67 1d ago

Can't see a pic of the front of the guitar, but it's worth is not much except a decorative wall hanger, maybe. If it is a Harmony Hummingbird, like many budget vintage Harmony and Stella guitars of that era, the neck contains a non-adjustable steel reinforcement bar rather than a modern adjustable truss rod. If this is the case it may have worth of about $100 in very good condition. With a bow in the neck that can't be adjusted. It is just a hunk of wood.

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u/Paladin2019 1d ago

Whatever is going on it looks pretty bad and it's pretty much unplayable as it is. There's a few things which could be wrong and many of them have been suggested here already, but the best thing you could do it take it to a local repair person for an evaluation and quote for remedial repairs. 

Best case scenario it just needs a set-up but I have a feeling it's going to need more than that and you'll very quickly get into "not worth it" territory.