I have an old Hohner that I changed strings on today, thought I would try extra-lights. Now I can’t get the strings off the frets! Never had this problem before. I’ve loosened the tension on the truss rod all the way to no effect. Probably a 1 way adjustment only, the saddle is adjustable (high as it will go) not sure what to try next; maybe shim the nut? Any ideas other than going with heavier gauge strings? I don’t suppose the truss rod adjustment is reversed on Hohners?
Thanks!

Faster thing is to take a few shots on the truss rod adjustment with strings loosened. Work on the saddle might be worth having done by a shop.

I’m just glad to hear someone else is playing Hohner guitars! I got my first one in 1975-76 and I’ve never been without one (or more) since then. Even the newest ones are strikingly good tone and quality for such an affordable accoustic. These are simply wayyyy under-rated. Be happy you have one, especially an older one!

-sudden

Thanks for the help. I’ll give them a try. John

: I was given an older Hohner acoustic but I can’t seem to lower the action to where it is comfortable. It’s a model HGK599 if that helps. Thanks for any help. : John Thanks for the model no. and the sincerity of the question, to any & all people here. Thought I’d take a shot at it to prevent me from doing some chores I don’t want to do. Solutions dealing with all acoustic guitars with certain similarities … Is there an adjustable truss rod? Have you tightened it, if there is an over-bow in the neck? That’s done with the strings slackened, then tune up – might take a few tries. So, if you’ve done that, have you removed the bone, plastic or micarta saddle from it’s slot in the bridge, and evenly filed its base? Don’t file the top. You remove material from the bottom, evenly, where it is re-inserted into the slot. That’s usually done in several stages, because we can’t guess when we’re done. Be careful, saddles break easily. Also, I draw a straight reference line with a fine marker about 1/8" above the base of the saddle, to check my progress. That lowers strings right from the bridge. If you’ve done something like that, maybe the top has lifted, or soundhole has sunk, affecting the pitch of the neck. Pitch of the neck, certainly affects height & action. How it affects tone is another story, and is various companies’ trade secret. 2 things left to do, BEFORE a complete neck reset, if required to change the pitch of the neck in relation to the guitar body. If you felt you could, you might deepen the slot for the nut in the bridge, and/or plane off some of the top of the bridge itself (re-oil & it will look allright) and radically shorten the height of the saddle. OR, have the entire instrument refretted with larger frets, especially those with giant cleats that are specifically designed to push out the neck if it isn’t straight. If you can tell IN ADVANCE that refretting with corrective frets won’t help, then it’s a neck reset. And that is drastic, last resort. Good luck. Strat Man Dwight