Need some advice.... A friend of mine has an Epiphone DIablo (acousta-strat). Anyhow, heat and the tension of the strings caused the bridgeplate to lift and pull forward behind the pegs. At first glance I thought the glue had given and I pulled the strings to reset the plate, only to find that the top seems to have pulled with the plate until the bridge separated from the top leaving the top bulging upward under the bridge. The top is actually cracked across the peg holes...
Is there a way to push the top down and flatten it out again to reset the bridge plate? The braces underneath are intact, not really having any cross members like a standard acoustic but are set in a "v" from the bottom of the soundhole to the bottom of the body. There's no gap between the braces and the top either but I'm not sure how to get the top flattened so that I can reinforce it to reset the bridge.
Any suggestions?
Bridge Repair
Are you sure it was heat that did the damage? If it's just bellying out a little, and no glue joints seem disturbed, it could be a humidity problem. Try just taking the strings off and letting it sit near a humidifier. Occasionally humidity changes in the top's wood will make it belly out, especially on thin tops and man-made backs. Rick Wertz suggested the fix for my old Penco, and it worked beautifully. It takes a couple weeks at least, but, there's no labor involved once you get the strings loose.---->JMS