kamikaze try to cure bellying takamine ed26sc wit 2.4kg of calcium chloride (thirsty hippo alike).

thankful with info in this thread and other singaporean thread, i brave myselft for this attempt.

the guitar condition.



my quest for hygrometer really challenging. i spend few days & aproach countless petshop but they dunno what issit. then decide go to daiso bukit raja but hey out of stock & did make a call to daiso bukit tinggi & there also no stock. he cant call setia alam daiso coz dint have thier number. he advice me daiso setia alam much bigger perhaps they got it. then my car park ticket missing & my rm20 aso gone to retrive new ticket. i drove there & after 20 minutes of searching & ask the staff, he said perhaps no more stock & ask me to go to daiso at the curve. i say nvm ler, rm5 oni but need to drive from klang to setia alam & now to damansara. i did bought something & on my way out, i did see those hygrometer hanging behind the cashier. got 2 model & 3 brand/packaging. i choose the one dat have same reading from 3 brand. i bought 3 units. i salt test all three & can say 2 got 75% rh & last 1 got 76% rh. really satiesfied.


1st attempt using garbage bag. felt like the air can come inside so not efficient.


2nd attempt using plastic lapik meja. selotape the side & vacuum out the air. still felt its not air tight enuff.



after few hours i see the pore on the fretboard start to open up. later see the fretboard got hairline crack near the sound hole. i quickly let the guitar out & lemon oil the fret board. perhaps the hairline crack already there but i dint notice it before. i did scrub those fretboard with steel wool few days earlier thus can see it clearly now. the only reason i put the calcium chloride near the fretboard/neck becoz before doing this, i have adjust with truss rod from minimum to maximum still the string dint not touch the fret crown (using standard truss rod adjusting method). in my thinking,the neck is out of geometry & need a neck reset. the cost really not worth it. thinking killing 2 birds with 1 stone thus came the idea.


3rd attempt using plastic elastic wrap on the body only coz the fretboard/neck can become too dry.


reading after finish wrapping


reading after 18 hours


actually i bought this tak few years ago used. as i such a noob when holding a 'real beginner guitar' (solid top) thus i just awe by the beauty especially the east indian rosewood on the back. the string kinda rusty & its noisy when cod at lrt station. just try for few minutes & then i pay the guy. few set of premium strings of various brand (80/20 to phosphor bronze) changed plastic to compensated bone saddle, still i dint get dat twangy sound. the bass felt muddy. when strum its loud but no twang-twang sound like most takamine on youtube. really bad when fingerstyle. like the guitar being muted. cant play with light touch. bass like mehhh. perhaps its a bad guitar or not expensive enuff.

few weeks later, i bough a used blueridge br-73 & ditch the tak. this is the one. the original standard design bone saddle sound much better than the new compensated saddle. so i just leave it standard until now except changed to ebony bridge pin & i can hear abit more warm on the bass. later on my fren ask to borrow a guitar & i give him my tak but then after few weeks he returned it coz its hard to play & ask to borrow the blueridge coz he say he can play like butter on this guitar. the neck profile so low felt like playing electric guitar. being bz at dat moment & his skill definitely deserve a better guitar, i let he have the blueridge.

at this moment, im into fingerstyle with my cheapo jasmine classical guitar. afterwards the bridge on this jasmine start to crack & the sound mess up liao. so i inspect my tak & try to revive it again. with the lowest almost like no saddle still the string so high on 12th fret. i adjust the truss rod all the way to maximum left no effect or maybe 1-2 mm different but it still not touching the crown with the string on it. then try to maximum right. can say like no effect. later inspect perhaps the bridge too high then explore the web & only know it got the wet symptom. i know expensive guitar owner always keep the humidity level to preserve thier instrument. but for me, felt like its nothing. before this i use vintage (around 30 years old) yamaha classical dat belong to my bro. its laminated but no sign of bellying. thus i keep believing im not into the humidity crap until now.

now i just cross my finger & hope for the best.

UPDATE - 15/05/14

after 60 hours
-rh at around 32-35% & the result really impressive. perhaps around 98% flat. from the pic below as u can see it still wrapped & i intend to wait maybe 12 to 24 hours more for final result. yey.


This post has been edited by alvarez_: May 15 2014, 06:27 PM

by martin standard their guitar being kept at 45-55% RH while taylor on 47% RH for optimum condition. in my theory by making my guitar to have RH below 45% (36%RH at the moment) will squeeze out the wetness slowly. now i need to monitor it once Every few hour scared the top really cracked.

i did use the elastic plastic wrapper for controlled environment. it will trap the air inside & these plastic really airtight.

this morning the fret become too dry so i add some more lemon oil on fret & bridge as well. the top almost flat now. i would say only left 2-3mm height to make it 100% flat top. cant update pic rite now coz my lauya phone playing dead. just loading non-stop

so need opinion here. from my reading top flat doesnt mean 100% flat but got slight curve. my blueridge as i remember the side really like 90 degree. maybe expert or takamine owner can shed some light.

thanks. i really felt its 98% flat already. i'll wait another 7-8 hours for a complete 48 hours process & see if those 2% stay or gone. now need to file new bone nut & saddle. too bad bone bridge pin abit expensive for me at the moment.

actually i got bad experience changing nut on the cheapo classical. using standard/big filing tool found in local hardware store, i very syok filing to eliminate the leftover glue until it got big longkang there. my frend gave some idea to put a piece of wooden batang ice cream to make it like a shim & it really fix it except a bit ugly.

starting few years ago, i have had wasted 4-5 bone saddle. mostly coz being sadded too much or the bottom not flat enuff when sanding thus make it abit senget. aso got 1 time i sand the bone saddle using water aggressively & i find it fit nicely on the slot. later on after the bone dried, it become loose. dang, water really make the bone expand when wet sanding.

hey. the brown(choco) colored saddle did u soak it in black coffe like ur 1st attempt? from my view, ur 1st attempt slightly make the saddle & bone just light choco color.

updated with pic. it still wrapped. i wana wait a bit more for best end result. rasa macam tamak & x bersyukur jer. anyway this method really worked but i wonder why all the mat saleh with such problem opted for expensive repair like perhaps installing JLD bridge doctor. i even see JLD cant help cure a vintage martin. perhaps this method abit extreme coz it might crack the wood but for my case seems like nothing to lose since i cant appreciate the guitar before coz its really hard to play.

thanks for the coffee & tea tips. definitely wana try it.

about the fmi improvement, judging from ur audio sample it really fatten up the tones. its something i search for such a long time. the bone improvement over plastic is the clearer & brighter tones but it lack the fat or density.

in ur experience, how did u raise dented/ding on spruce top or u let it be? i threat this tak like a kapok brand guitar before. just dump anywhere & 1 day beside the tools area & somehow a small rubber hammer drop on it & leave 1cent size round ding.

on youtube someone did use hot water/steam iron or soldering iron with wet towel to raise uncoated wood. felt wana try it few days later.

i agree. JLD & Thomson Belly Reducer (TBR) only cure the looks & will remain the shape at whatever humidity they live at. its a fix but not the right way at least for me. dehumidifier fix the belly by replicate the guitar factory environment. the bad news is we need to always keep the guitar in optimum RH level. then again by theory the guitar should sound better without all those wetness.

i plan to built dis dehumidifier using peltier method coz it seems so simple. i just need to buy a peltier plate (around rm30-90 depend on its power). need to calculate power consumption & which peltier depend on the cupboard size. all diy peltier method on youtube dint state what RH they get so i need to do some experiment. the rest of the parts consist of old/used cpu heatsink, small cpu power supply unit or laptop adapter, dehumidifier box & a little bit of soldering. as a pc technician, i got all of these parts laying around except the peltier plate.

about the ding, i dont think i want to harm the glossy finish. anyway i'll try to put some hot water on the spot. cover with wet towel & put soldering iron. if it fail, i'll put few drop of hot water underneath the spot & again using wet towel & soldering iron on top. if all fail, let it be & just enjoy the guitar sound la.

long time no update.. after 5-6 days with thirsty hippo, i got the acceptable flat top (slight bulge on center). after restrings, it still felt too high. its lower than before but definitely not low enough.

i know the neck reset is the only true cure but somehow i fall into the dark side. my hand slowly sanding the bridge (with steel ruler ) despite all the negative comment i read on nets.

i got the bridge top lowered few mm but then come the real challenge, ramping the slot manually. i use small screw driver but after few minutes i realize at bass string area, the slot were deeper than the other end. isnt the slot supposedly to be equally flat from 1st to 6th string? i did my best & restring back.

now the string felt lowered with maximum tight on the truss rod however i counter buzzing frets. the saddle itself kinda too lowered on 1st & 2nd strings, definitely i need a new bone saddle.

even with the buzzing & old strings set, i felt it got much longer sustain. cant say much bout the volume coz the strings already loss the brightness.



on another story, i got back the br73 & when through thirsty hippo treatment on it. after few days. guitar action felt lowered than before. now i keep the guitar in the glass closet (like in phone shop). put all the thirsty hippo into the closet. i got an average reading at 60RH. a lot better than outside at 70-80RH.

why i dint find clamping the fret method on nets before? whats done is done i guess. but i'll try your method for much better neck angle.

sorry bout the confusion, i understand about ramping the bridge pin hole idea. what im trying to say is, the slot where u put the saddle in. isnt the deep suppose to be flat from 1st to 6th strings? in my takamine, it seems kinda 'senget'. at 1st string, less deep while deepest on 6th string. issit normal?

my under saddle piezo pickup seems dead. its a film type piezo. do you know how much for the replacement?

pics taken from nets but lookalike.. shadow preamp. i guess early tak using this preamp. later on they using tak's own preamp. the piezo is plug & play. do you know how much issit?

then its shadow chapalang level ar?

i dun have any amp to begin with. just wana replace the faulty piezo tape. where u think can find it eh.

im too cheapskate to buy few g-clamps. so trying alternative method. total weight around 40kg. dot matrix printer + printer tray + dumbbell. now cross my finger the neck wont split into two.

thanks for the info.. really kopak rite now. dont think i'll visit any luthier anytime soon. dat 40kg i think almost like im bending the guitar with my hand. by the way, about ur g-clamp method, will it last or just a temporary fix?

i guess so. now if i ever wana buy pre-used guitar, i'll inspect every inch of it. do tell me how much the neck reset cost.

RM600??? I bought my guitar pre-used RM800 oni.. if martin mahal ok la. those youtube neck reset video sure looks easy. some of the info i got, most takamine are dovetail with epoxy glue which wont melt with heat unlike those wood glue used on martin. hence need to saw the heel. kerja giler wooh!!

taylor really ftw fot its neck but im towards martin kind of sound eventhou i never touch either martin nor taylor. watching youtube oni.

i send to u my takamine but u dun charge mahal2 la.. i am very poor..

which guitar u use? nice treble but hardly hear the bass strings. as for playing, its nice. if u practise more i think will be more fluid. is 'fluid' the right word?

in my experience, i thought i play nice liao until i record it. felt no continuity or not fluid enough. i guess need to practice until vomit. later on, close the eyes & just let the finger do its job.

inb4 komen pandai upload xmo.

got this song i practice a lot. confident level up to 90%. once start recording, i got nervous, confident level drop to 50-60%. playing become sux big time.

i test the thumb pick long time ago but felt really weird. not natural feelings but for better bass sound, its a must. i aso need to learn it back. last month went to taregga klang for bone nut & saddle & i got the their last stock while thumb pick out of stock.


Everdying, nice tips.

vintage guitar.. i drool... brand & year made?

wah.. u got so many nice guitar.. come take my guitar convert to bolt on neck..


ok now lemme know what to do with this br-73.. the belly is normal to me but now the bridge start to loose..

can i slip some premium wood glue for a quick fix?

i google "bridge clamping caul". seems like easier than using real clamp but this job took so many days to prepare. summore it will be my 1st time to try. i dun mine doin summore damage to my takamine but this blueridge i dun wan do any damage.

pm me the price but i bet its pricey.