hey everyone, i'm thinking about buying this guitar, but the owner pointed out a crack on the back of the neck, saying that he thinks that "when they routed the groove for the adjusting rod in the neck is that they either routed it too deep or sanded the neck too close to the groove and there is a spot about 1/2 an inch long where, even though it hasn't completely broken, the wood has sort of caved in just a bit." this is a gretsch from about 1980 if that helps
is this something that will get worse? is it nothing to worry about? or is this a guitar i should stay from?
thanks for any help!
It's certainly to the seller's credit that he pointed out the issue. It's a bit tough to tell how bad this is from the pics. At first, I thought this to be a crack in the "skunk stripe" insert that merely covers the truss rod route in the maple -- a crack in that wouldn't be too bad, as it's more cosmetic than structural. But at second glance, it appears the crack is in a complete lamination layer in the neck. Does the dark wood layer (mahogany?) extend through the neck top to bottom? If so, it is a laminated section, and I consider a crack it that more serious, even though it may not be fatal. It may have been caused as you suggest, or maybe by over adjustment of a two-way truss rod mechanism in the "greater relief" direction. As in the case of many cracks in wood, it's probably repairable, though possibly a challenge in this particular location. Were the guitar a real bargain, and I really liked it, I'd probably buy it and repair. However, if the seller isn't offering a sizable discount for this flaw, I'd pass.
-=tension & release=-
I tried to post earlier, but GN went off-line for a couple of hours.
If the seller will allow you, I'd put it in front of a good luthier. To me it looks more like a dent, caused by a fall.
If the damage is old, there's a good chance that it won't get any worse. Best bet is to let a luthier have a close look, pictures can be very deceptive.
I started with nothing - and I've still got most of it left.
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yeah -- pics are tough to decode. Looks to me like a split along the grain.
+1 on if it's old, probably won't worsen.
-=tension & release=-
The damage looks as if it could have been hit by the edge of something similar to a cymbal.
I started with nothing - and I've still got most of it left.
Did you know that the word "gullible" is not in any dictionary?
Greybeard's Pages
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Are you looking at the reflected area? That looks like a possible declivity. I'm looking at the grain below just below that, slighty darker and wider than other, nearby grain. That's why I'm thinking a split instead of dent.
-=tension & release=-
Thanks for the replies. gnease, the dark wood layer (walnut) does extend through the neck top to bottom. And greybeard, the seller lives about 1,000 miles away from me, so taking it to a luthier may be out of the question.
So you guys think that it actually is a defect and not caused by a fall or a dent?
Graham and I are interpreting your pics differently. What feature is the actual damage?
-=tension & release=-
This is how I see it:
I started with nothing - and I've still got most of it left.
Did you know that the word "gullible" is not in any dictionary?
Greybeard's Pages
My Articles & Reviews on GN
