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ZilchWoolham

eBay conundrum

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I thought I'd pop in to the newly opened Guitarchat to ask for a bit of advice. 

Recently I bought a used/vintage Martin (over 46 years old but not quite vintage by Martin standards) on eBay. This particular model is braced for, and to be strung with, either nylon or silk and steel strings (or compound strings as they're called in the old catalogues) and I noticed from the images in the listing that the owner, as most people do, had it strung up with bronze strings. I notified him of this, in as friendly a manner as possible, in a message and asked if he had noticed any bowing or damage as a result of the higher tension strings. He told me he hadn't and that he played it down-tuned with a nice low action. Finding the price reasonable I bought the guitar. 

The listing had not included any close-up images of the bridge, and I, rather foolishly had not asked for any. When it arrived and I strung it up with silk and steel strings, I immediately noticed some issues. The strings had really dug into the bridge quite hard, leaving noticeable wear and small cracks by the bridge pins. More importantly, the saddle has at some point been sanded down and is basically flush with the bridge. This probably wasn't an issue with bronze strings, but with the silk and steel strings it was actually made for back in 1972, there is significant buzzing coming, not from the frets, but from the strings hitting the bridge as the saddle isn't giving them enough height. In standard tuning, it's mostly noticeable when hitting the strings forcefully, but it's unplayable in, for example, DADGAD. 

So, what is the best course of action at this point? It's clear that I need to have a new saddle fitted and slotted, and while a bone saddle isn't expensive, it's something I need a luthier to do for me, as I have neither confidence nor competence nor tools to do it myself. (I also have a fear that doing so will raise the action to an uncomfortable level, but it should be said that I haven't noticed any bowing in the neck or soundboard, with my untrained eyes anyways.) Should I let this go or is it reasonable to request some sort of compensation from the seller? 

Cheers!

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With an instrument like this, it would be wise to take it to a reputable, competent luthier, to have it inspected, repaired/restored if necessary, and set up for how you'll be playing it. Think of it, not as a cost, but as an investment, as the guitar will be good for another half a century or so. It's quite normal for any quality instrument to benefit from a check-up now and again. A good workman will know exactly what to look for, and how to remedy any flaws.
Just my tuppence-worth; hope this helps.

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