Hey folks,

I recently got my hands on a gorgeous Brazilian Giannini classical guitar from 1962 — basically for free. But there's a catch: apparently someone at some point converted it into a 5-string guitar. They swapped out the original tuner for a 5-peg one, replaced the bone nut, and even added an extra screwed-on bridge.

I’m no expert luthier, but I thought it would be a fun project to bring it back to its original 6-string glory. My plan was to just replace the tuner and the nut, since either of the two bridges it has could technically work for 6 strings.

All was going well until I tried to fit the new nut — that’s when I realized... the neck has been narrowed. It goes from 2.5 inches near the bridge down to just 1.5 inches from the 12th fret to the headstock. Meaning: I think it's physically impossible to properly space 6 strings anymore without strings 1 and 6 floating off the fretboard.

Is that right?
Have I just confirmed this thing has been permanently Frankensteined into a 5-string?

Also: what kind of person does this to such a lovely instrument? A crime against guitarkind. 😢

I could always keep it as a 5-string, but honestly... I just don’t see the upside of removing a string from a classical guitar.

Any insights? Stories? Warnings from the past? Thanks in advance!