One of the biggest challenges that i had was figuring out the best way to get that ambered vintage look. Our gold level service centers and uv finish equipped service centers can also touchup dings and, in many cases, make them disappear completely. This crack is tough to see as its nearly perfectly closed so ill save the multiple views until i spread it. If you start scraping paint off they probably wont take it back. You can glue and clamp it up good as new, maybe paint th. A guitars look is a major part of the statement that guitarists make to the world about themselves. I have an old ibanez with a similar crack, i think its just in the finish, mines been like that for. Here are some pics of my ebm that got dropped and resulted in some pretty heinous poly cracks. Finishing diy kits wudtone custom guitar innovation. Also, it will mar a lacquer finish, requiring a finish repair that isnt needed with hide glue. Our gold level service centers and uv finish equipped service centers can repair cracks and, in many cases, make them disappear completely. With the butt end of the guitar resting on a padded chair, i clamped the guitar to the board so its held upright so the. So if you have one, its most likely an older guitar with an older case. The owner of the store who is also a very good friend of both myself and my tech friend,told him that if.
However, if its a new guitar, bought and paid for as new, id take it back, no reason to even be asking questions. It has a sunken top and too much relief or front bow in the neck. How to fix sticky neck syndrome on guitars crook custom. It looks brand new date but the seller found a crack where the neck and body join.
To protect the neck from oils and to return the original feel of lacquer here is a solution. Its important to note that a ding or a finish chipout wont affect the guitar s sound, playability or humidification and repair is generally not something required for the performance of your guitar. How to repair cracks in your acoustic guitar guitar alliance. May 20, 2016 if you have a bolton neck and are comfortable with removing it, take it off the body.
If you have a picture of your guitar s condition, upload it to our estimator platform and well be able to get you an even more accurate repair. If you try to fix and it doesnt work they wont take it back. Over time the lacquer would wear and expose raw wood. I cant tell you how many guitars ive played where the lacquer on the back of the neck made me just want to put it down and pick up something else. The problem is that when you say cracks people do not distinguish between finish or wood and the majority of people think finish cracks means the top is cracked all the way through. This lacquer fill will begin to shrink almost immediately and a small depression is likely to appear, even after weeks of patient waiting. This time the image seems to show a crack in the headstock of a 2018 les paul. The finish provides complete protection against beer, wine, cola, coffee, tea, fruit juice, milk. I have an applause ae28 electricacoustic guitar that plays pretty well, but doesnt look so great. This shortish video looks at neck pocket cracks the scourge of just about all bolt necked guitars bought online.
When repairing lacquer finishes a new lacquer fill is placed in the finish crack. Before even getting a neck on it, a slight hair of a crack appeared in the finish. Painters tape works great to seal the bag, and its easy to remove when youre done. Apr 03, 2015 there are multiple reasons for applying a hard finish on a guitar neck including varnish, lacquer, or something else and very few insurmountable problems when it comes to an unfinished neck. Feel free to contact us for help in having a crack or ding repaired. Titebond is strong and cleans up easily, but its rather thick and wouldnt penetrate as deeply as. Gibson has done it yet again and puts another image of a damaged guitar up on its own website. If theyre level then its probably just a finish crack. They get thinner and more brittle as they age because the thinners in them continue to. As i have worked on my relic obsession and make no mistake. Most finish dings arent too concerning, but inspect the ding closely to make sure the impact didnt crack the wood. Ive had poly chip off the side of the neck and other spots too. Ebmm had found that the problem was mostly from an overly perfectly fitted guitar case.
My sg has some finish cracks near the neck joint, but if you look closely it is the finish and not the wood. They have changed the cases and the problem is now gone. I have been talking to john suhr about this recently and his take on it is was also that it almost always happens during shipping, and that its due to very rough handling the guitar stops abruptly when its thrown and then lands. Check out the price list then describe your repair for us and well get you a live estimate. On the tele i recently bought there is a crack in the finish on the back of the neck, right where the skunk stripe is. Neck joint stress cracks ive had a few guitar where a crack would develop at the neck joint over time, musicman included.
How to fix sticky neck syndrome on guitars crook custom guitars. This neck was cracked when the guitar hit the floor headstock first and is not the typical crack behind the nut youll find from over tightening of the nut, although the repair is the same for both. None of my poly guitars have finish cracks either, except for my ebm. Ive always been a fan of the bare wood feel as opposed to thick finish on the back of a neck, so i thought for this month we could talk about getting a nice, smooth barewood neck. The same guitar properly humidified and with the truss rod correctly adjusted. May 16, 2009 i completed a solid body electric guitar in december of last year.
If it were my guitar, i would keep an eye on it and be careful with it until it was convenient to have it. Repairing a super thin hairline crack in the neck or leave as it is. Is this crack line on neck something to worry about. It gives the instrument a big part of its character and its soul. If you arent a fan of the beatup look, a urethanefinish instrument is probably. It doesnt seem like there are any cracks in the wood itself, just the clear finish. First, clean the back of your neck with naphtha to get rid of wax, grease and sludge. Knowing how to evaluate the seriousness of a crack will allow you to determine whether to call a repair person immediately or whether it might be ok to leave it alone for a. Maybe ask yourself if you want a finish on your guitar neck at all, its an option too. This video i go over the cracks with 1500 grit sandpaper and smooth. While it is difficult to tell anything from the posted pics, there is really no such thing as a finish crack on a poly finished guitar like an epi. Yes, we will email you a repair quote including warranty repairs, recommended nonwarranty repairs, and an estimated timeframe to complete this work. The real challenge to repairing most tight cracks is primarily with the finish. Acoustic buying guide free ebook download to help find the perfect guitar for you more.
As far as i can tell, it looks like its mostly just the finish that cracked, however i think i can see a little bit of cracking in the wood where some of the finish has fallen off. Everything seems to be in working order and the guitar still plays great, however. Further, urethane ages wellit doesnt check, crack and yellow as nitro finishes do. One can of neck amber and one can of clear will be more than enough for a neck. Hello yes i am sure it is not the finish crack, it starts from. The way that gibson guitars are constructed with a tilt back.
In this video im showing you what happend with my gibson les paul. Spray two coats of clear lacquer from the guitar reranch clear aerosol spray can two nozzles are included with the clear. There are multiple reasons for applying a hard finish on a guitar neck including varnish, lacquer, or something else and very few insurmountable problems when it comes to an unfinished neck. That is because poly remains more flexible than the wood, and will not crack unless there is a crack. If one is slightly higher than the other as it was on a mahogany guitar i looked at recently then theres likely the wood is cracked and there may be problems. Fixing a cracked gibson neck silesia guitars guitar setups. How to repair cracks in your acoustic guitar if you own an acoustic guitar long enough, chances are good that youll have to deal with the repair of a crack in the wood. And i stand by my earlier post that poly will not crack, unless the guitar wood has been subject to forces on which i dont want to take a chance. The truss rods main job is to keep the strings from pulling the neck into a exaggerated bow shape. The finish kits come with either, deep colour, base and top coats depending on the type of kit, designed to meet the demands of wood. Im assuming my best bet is to remove the finish to eliminate the cracks. Discussion in guitars in general started by jman, jun 21, 2015. The neck was cracked in several places, and the more cracks, the.
Does replacing a guitar neck change the way it plays. If you want a cracked guitar to practice repairs on you can get one for a lot less. If you are not happy with the finish on your neck, try these steps that have worked for me to cure sticky neck syndrome. The finish is cracked right at the edge of the fretboard between the second and third frets. How to give a maple neck a vintage amber look finishing. Crack repair guitar blog the official taylor guitars blog. Slow curing, self levelling properties ensure you achieve a professional result with excellent wear and tear capability, yet reduces filtering to maximise the resonance, feel and tone of the guitar. The finish is probably polyurethane and very, very tough to get off. Ive used a combination of crazy glue and nail polish to repair a ding from a wall hanger on the neck by the nut on my es 5 translucent red finish, took the guitar to the drug store and the girl in cosmetics helped me match the color, the results were unnoticeable. New guitars with high quality solid woods and low action are most. Guitar neck problems bowed necks excessive relief the upward bow caused by string tension only becomes a real problem when it is excessive and unadjustable. Nitro finishes, however, crack and yellow with age, and they can check guitarspeak for fine hairline cracks with age or sudden exposure to low temperatures. In an effort to avoid a repeat, and keep the new adhesive from pulling up wood fibers if removed again, this bare area of wood beneath the guitar is usually sealed with finish.
The guitar in question for this example is an epiphone les paul studio. It will not affect the guitars tone, and personally i would leave as is. It was frozen solid like this and may have been for years, as the guitar had been in a closet for a long time. What to do if you break your guitars neck 3 october 2010 leave a comment ive written a little about specific headstock repairs and it occurred to me that might be a good idea to give you an overview with some tips and considerations on how to prevent broken necks and what to do if the worst happens. When i started playing, all guitars worth buying were laquer finished. Aug 15, 2019 maybe ask yourself if you want a finish on your guitar neck at all, its an option too. I clamped a board into my repair vise, running parallel to the floor. My guitar is being sent back to the factory for repairs. Theres a thin crack under the guitar not far from t. I completed a solid body electric guitar in december of last year. This shortish video looks at neck pocket cracks the scourge of just about all boltnecked guitars bought online. As some of you say, i bought it for playing not for fashion, but i expect a 1200 dollar guitar to mantain its looks for a little more than a couple of months and more important i dont want the problem of having to send my guitar to a luthier in 3 months because the fretboard was separated from the neck.
The neck has a hairline crack coming from the nut that appears to be only in the finish, see photo. If the damage is extreme, we may suggest a neck or body replacement. A humidifier was placed in the case with the guitar for four days. The neck of your guitar deserves as much care and attention as any other part of it, if not more. Taylor factory service centers and uv finish equipped service centers can repair cracks and, in many cases, make them disappear completely. On ibanez rg type guitars inc vaipgm etc which are all variations of this model, the cracks are almost always caused by neck movement resulting from a combination of trem use, shallow pocket and skinny neck. I cant tell you how many guitars ive played where the lacquer on the back of the neck made me just want to. The customer didnt want to spend money on going all out with the perfect finish job, especially since he just wanted to be sure that. Ive always been a fan of the bare wood feel as opposed to thick finish on the back of a neck, so i thought for. Your browser does not currently recognize any of the video formats.
You can take it a step further by having some finish work done to make it look as good as possible if youre concerned about aesthetics. May 15, 2012 a couple of weeks ago i was playing a show with my band. The neck shows heavy finish checkingcracking around the neck joint, and long finish checking cracks running lengthwise on much of the neck, though its only severe around the last 8 or so by the joint. With the fenders, you would be lucky to get it home before the finish rubbed or chipped off. I tend to use the term finish checking but most people outside of the industry dont understand what that means. It almost seems like it could be readhered to the wood, if i knew how to do it. If you own an acoustic guitar long enough, chances are good that youll have to deal with the repair of a crack in the wood.
Heres an interesting explanation on why gibson headstocks are more vulnerable to breaking compared to other guitars. Guys, without examining a particular guitar, nobody can tell if a finish crack is really that or something more serious. As i said earlier i have 2 near my neck pocket so i had an official guitar tech look at at by removing my neck and was told it was just the finish with 100% certainty. My theory is that it has a lot to do with the shape of the guitar at that point. Episode 122 reinforcing a guitar neck pocket with carbon fiber. Jun 26, 2012 the area around the nut is the achilles heel of s. With this in mind, its probably a gibsonepiphone design with the extremely slanted head and you probably dropped it. If you drop a poly guitar, the poly will crack and sometimes even shatter in that area. It says your style is flamboyant or that its laidback. The wudtone finish kits, along with method of application wont add more finish than is needed. The headstock seems stable, and it was perfectly in tune when i got it home, so im optimistic the wood is intact.
Sgs are notorious for being weak and flexable at that joint, even on ones with no cracks in the finish or otherwise. What to do if you break your guitars neck guitarless. This instructable will show you how to repair a broken guitar neck and, depending on how severe the damage, how to do some minor cosmetic repair. If its used, it plays well, and you got a good deal on it, id definetly keep it by common on teles he must mean common on all bolt on neck guitars, they crack right about there from the screws stress. Ive though about sanding the neck down, just knocking off the shine, to try and make it not noticeable. First things first, you will need to assess whether your guitar is suited to this type of finish.
Use a couple drops on a paper towel and scrub it clean, and wipe dry. The price list how much will it cost to fix my guitar. For many brands, replacing the neck depends on the circumstances and if the piece is broken or simply needs replacing. For those who are finishing a new neck this finishing recipe will work for you also. I dont want to build up any finish thickness at this point, just to seal the grain. I honestly like poly better, as long as it is not too thick.
It never seemed to affect anything, playability, tone etc. Hey all, i have jackson warrior xt and it was pre owned before i had it, and i just recently noticed 2 large semideep cracks and one hairline crack a. Gibson les paul traditional 2018 now with precracked headstocks. Let the first coat dry about thirty minutes before spraying the second.
The longest crack should not be in an area of high stress from the strings. Its important to note that a ding or a finish chipout wont affect the guitars sound. I noticed after five months old the finish is developing cracks one just over 2 long between the pickups at the top edge of them. However it can be fixed by a good repair man, as being nitrocellulose, the finish can be blended back together. We were playing our last song i stupidly yanked my guitar off, held it above my head, and threw it on the ground. Once i had trimmed the ends, i made sure to vacuum the workspace as i didnt want bits of metal getting embedded in my nice new neck. Its not a huge issue and isnt unplayable but it can be felt while playing it. Repairing a neck ding with nail lacquer genius or stupid. So today during practice, i knelt down to plug in my pedals i always unplug them because they run on battery and consume power while the input cable. Unlucky for your friend he had it in a spot that couldnt be checked. Well i guess ill send them an email and see what they have to say about it.
For a point of reference, i tried to do the finish repair on the previous fix. There are a couple of cracks in the thick plasticy finish. So youve somehow managed to break your guitar head clean off the neck. Guitar finishing 101 the highlighted grain stain finish. With a gibson, best keep in its case to avoid spider web finish cracks. Guitar necks built for specialty instruments like 12strings and mandolins may have an even more specific set of measurements to consider in order to play properly. Gibson les paul neckheadstock crack my guitar fell down. Knowing how to evaluate the seriousness of a crack will allow you to determine whether to call a repair person immediately or whether it might be ok to leave it alone for a little while. While it seemed like it was worth it at the time and it was pretty awesome on tape im concerned that i may have badly damaged my guitar. Now you can upload photos with your repair estimate request. Will i be notified once you receive my guitar for repairs. As the name implies, the highlighted grainstain finish is a tinted transparent finish that accentuates the grain pattern of your guitar and is sealed with a clear oil finish.
A problem occurs when the bowing can not be controlled or adjusted by the truss rod. I was so upset yesterday as this crack happened when the guitar luthier was installing new tuners on my bass. It has actually separated from the surface of the fretboard, but hasnt cracked or peeled off yet. The op has the finish crack in a good spot so he can remove the neck and see if the wood was effected. For necks the red nozzle with its narrower spray width seems the better suited. Repairing hairline crack in poly finish telecaster guitar forum.