I got a new guitar, which has the hummingbird pickguard and a nice cherry sunburst finish. Its made by Peerless and is from the 80s. Sounds great, even with the ancient grungy strings that are currently on it........ahh, string decisions, that's for another thread......... Everything about it is just like the Gibson hummer, but the fretboard markers are standard pearl dots not the double parallelograms like the Gibsons. Inside says AF351 if that helps. So I'm just wondering if any of the folks on this forum have played a Peerless acoustic like this (opinions of more experienced guitarists welcome! ), and more importantly, is the top solid wood? Its hard to tell because the finish isn't natural so the staining around the sound hole makes any grain really hard to see. I havn't been able to find anything on a peerless hummingbird, only the epiphone one.....and there isn't much contact info from the Peerless guitar company....so that's been frustrating and I thought I'd just ask the gurus here :lol:
Forgot to mention, this guitar has a crack going across the heel of the neck (from side to side). I filled the crack using titebond glue which is ok. But now I noticed that at the 12th fret 6th string the action is around 5mm, which is above the factory standard for most Gibsons, Taylors, Martins, and other big brands......I prefer the regular action height, any lower and the fret buzz tends to drive me nuts.
Also, Can I lower the action without damaging the guitar further (given that it is cracked on the heel)?? I believe changing string guages will also mean truss rod adjustment at some point so would that be an issue as well??
Just wanted to check before I start tinkering 8)
I couldn't find anything on it either. But to see if it's a solid top, look at the grain pattern of an area where you can see the grain on top clearly, from inside with a small mirror. It should match the top if it's solid. If it's veneer/laminate it won't match. Non-solid tops are not necessarily bad, so I wouldn't worry about it too much if it sounds good. The main bad side is possible reduced strength, because you don't really know what the center or bottom layer is. Of course it effects the sound also.
As far as the cracked heel goes, not much to be done there if you already filled it. Correct fix is to remove strings, then apply proper glue (possibly with a syringe), and clamp. Adjusting the truss rod won't compensate if your fix changed the angle of the neck to the body.
Got pictures?
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