Vintage neck question

[gaucho]

I have a Supertone from the late 20's - early 30's that I love. Plays and sounds great! The neck has a little bit of a bow to it but the heel joint is tight at the body. I play mostly with a slide with a little bit of fretting (usually just at the upper frets) and the action is fine for that. My question is, if I don't get the neck fixed, will it continue to bow to the point where it could never be fixed? Or am I OK to just play it as it is? I have several guitars and my resos get most of the play time. I break out the Supertone maybe 3-4 times a month to play. Should I de-tune it when it's sitting in it's case between playing? I tune it Spanish, key of F or E and use a medium, 13-56 string set.

[slide496]

Hi Gaucho,
Chickenbone John might have some info on that as he repairs these older models.

Peace,
Harriet

[Michael Messer]

Hi Gaucho,

I always prefer to leave the tension on a guitar when it is not being played. The whole structure gets used to being under tension and that, I believe, should not be disturbed.

Using low open tunings with those strings, I think it should be fine. I would not disturb it, or change anything, unless I had to.

If it ever needs straightening, a good vintage guitar repairer should be able to do it without having to insert a carbon fibre rod.

It is a beautiful guitar.

Shine On
Michael.

[gaucho]

Thanks Michael! That's exactly what I was hoping to hear.