mitchtram Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 Hi everyone! I hope i am posting this in the correct section. This is the neck of my 2011 SG standard. I have no idea how this cracking happened or if it is anything serious. It has always been kept in its case and always in a climate controlled room. I actually rarely play this guitar as i just don't really like the thick neck... i prefer the 60s slim neck. It is in near mint condition with the exception of this cracking in the finish or whatever it is. I was going to sell it and I started looking close and noticed this cracking. I took it to the local luthier and he said it was just the finish most likely and pretty common on Gibson guitars with binding. Anyway just looking for opinions of people with more experience than I and advice. Thanks, Mitch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzing Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 Congratulations for that battlescar. Come on, do you really care about it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STEVIL Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 I agree with drzing, it looks just like a surface split in the veneer, but if your really bothered take it along to your local pro, and get him to have a look too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarzan13 Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 Why is it that Gibsons seem to do this a lot? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btoth76 Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 Why is it that Gibsons seem to do this a lot? I don't know whether they do this a lot, but this is very disturbing. Take it back. By the way: my guitars are exposed to lot of sudden climate (temperature/humidity) changes throughout the year. Not one of them has this kind damage. AND there is no veneer at the point where crack is seen on the picture above. Holly veneer is used on the headstock - nowhere else on a Gibson. That's fretboard moving against the neck. Cheers... Bence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiamondJig Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 I don't know whether they do this a lot, but this is very disturbing. Take it back. By the way: my guitars are exposed to lot of sudden climate (temperature/humidity) changes throughout the year. Not one of them has this kind damage. AND there is no veneer at the point where crack is seen on the picture above. Holly veneer is used on the headstock - nowhere else on a Gibson. That's fretboard moving against the neck. Cheers... Bence +1 Call Gibson and bring it to there repair shop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgplayers Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 I could take a picture of my 2011 but it looks identical to your picture. But my truss rod takes a little hard turning to get the recomended .012 neck relief. wonder if they are connected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitchtram Posted July 31, 2013 Author Share Posted July 31, 2013 I could take a picture of my 2011 but it looks identical to your picture. But my truss rod takes a little hard turning to get the recomended .012 neck relief. wonder if they are connected. That would be interesting to see. The checking or cracking, whatever it is does not effect the playability, but it is very annoying that it is there. This was the first year of the baked maple fretboard on the SG i think... Wonder if that has anything to do with it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btoth76 Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 Hello Mitchtram and welcome to the Forums! Torrified maple has nothing to do with that. I am among those happy owners of Les Paul Classic Custom who praise the quality of these guitars. After using the guitar over 1.5 years I have no issues with it. (It has the same 60s Slim Taper neck profile.) Your problem is likely the result of: either poorly dried woods still in move, or improper gluing of the fretboard. Good luck with solving this issue... Bence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobF_ Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 Mitch - My 1999 LPC '57 RI has the same thing going on on both sides of the neck in the range of the first 5 frets. Not easy to spot, the light has to be just right to even see it on mine. I'm the original owner and I honestly can't say when it showed up. It could have been there from day one. I first noticed several years ago, so naturally I've check it really close a couple of times a year since. Truss rod adjustments have been very minor and far between ... It hasn't changed a bit in the last 5 or so years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitchtram Posted July 31, 2013 Author Share Posted July 31, 2013 Mitch - My 1999 LPC '57 RI has the same thing going on on both sides of the neck in the range of the first 5 frets. Not easy to spot, the light has to be just right to even see it on mine. I'm the original owner and I honestly can't say when it showed up. It could have been there from day one. I first noticed several years ago, so naturally I've check it really close a couple of times a year since. Truss rod adjustments have been very minor and far between ... It hasn't changed a bit in the last 5 or so years. Mine is on both sides as well, and unless you take a close up shot like the one in the first post its not easy to see either. It actually still has the plastic on the pick guard as i just never really fell in love with this guitar so i left it on there until i could decide if i wanted to sell it or keep it. I actually have not really played it very much either... I was going to sell it and then I noticed this issue by the nut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobF_ Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 Mine is not that pronounced - impossible to see at the distance of some of your photos and not going neatly to the nut joint. I don't think you have many options. Gibson won't cover a finish problem under warranty, so ... I would put it up for sale. Judging by the responses here so far, some care and some don't so you might sell it without ever even having a discussion about the finish cracks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 I don't know whether they do this a lot, but this is very disturbing. Take it back. By the way: my guitars are exposed to lot of sudden climate (temperature/humidity) changes throughout the year. Not one of them has this kind damage. AND there is no veneer at the point where crack is seen on the picture above. Holly veneer is used on the headstock - nowhere else on a Gibson. That's fretboard moving against the neck. Cheers... Bence I also agree with Bence. This should be covered by the Gibson Lifetime Warranty. I think the binding has been moving along the neck and perhaps fretboard woods. I could take a picture of my 2011 but it looks identical to your picture. But my truss rod takes a little hard turning to get the recomended .012 neck relief. wonder if they are connected. Trying to set up my own 1978 SG for a .012" string set, I suffered trouble with the truss rod nut in the past, too. In order to avoid damage to the threads, I tuned the strings down and turned the nut loose several turns. Then I carefully applied some contact cleaner to it and turned it to and fro several times. After vapourizing of the alcoholic solvent, there remained an oily residue on the surfaces. The trussrod nut can be turned easily since then without any danger of damaging the threads. The reason for me to use contact cleaner is that the nut is made of brass so that it is somewhat softer than the trussrod which would be much more complicated to replace. Not all lubricants are compatible with brass, but contact cleaners are, and I wanted to safely avoid corrosion of the zinc being part of the alloy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgplayers Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 I don't know Mitch tram but mine is supposed to be ebony according to the add but it is redwood mine is a classic white split coil standard. beautiful guitar I really like to play it i wouldnt trade it unless for a 59 lp. lmao . it plays good but I have a high neck relief that takes quit a stiff turn to get down to .012. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgplayers Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 thanks for the info cap master . i am starting to believe after reading the responses that they are two separate problem's. the finish really don't bother me, but I stopped playing her and put the burst buckers in my sg special. . I hope I can get it right because I was falling in love with that classic white standard sg. she is a sweety. lol thanks again. great info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 thanks for the info cap master . i am starting to believe after reading the responses that they are two separate problem's. the finish really don't bother me, but I stopped playing her and put the burst buckers in my sg special. . I hope I can get it right because I was falling in love with that classic white standard sg. she is a sweety. lol thanks again. great info. You're welcome, sgplayers. Threads getting sticky with time is a common problem and occurs on guitars of all manufacturers. In most cases, there is left some powdery residue of the finish, and this inavoidibly will draw air humidity. Another point is that one can't cut a smooth thread onto a truss rod. Basically they are made of spring steel, and so they twist when charged with the torque caused by the cutting tool. This causes vibrations and results in a rough surface. Luckily you haven't pushed too far. Once the thread of the brass nut is damaged, it might damage the thread of the truss rod, too, so you were absolutely right to be careful and better stop. By the way, I had changed to .012" gauge strings in 2000 on my 1978 SG and was able to adjust for .011"s seven years later without problems. But I think I better stop here because I don't want to run completely out of this topic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STEVIL Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 Had a proper look at mitchtram's original post again, and the picture. Sorry for the flippancy in my original post, I was actually looking at this on my phone, so couldn't see how deep the split was. Personally I would do either take it to a local tech, or do what bobf8332 said and sell her on for another standard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgplayers Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 I would not like using a heavier string than 10s but i can see your point unless I was to try heavier e and a string. I have already tried the adjusting with the strings loose and didn't help. i had to stand the guitar up to get it any tighter. I was messing up the brass nut so I have replaced the brass nut and just put it up. I wonder if this would get better with age. i would take it somewhere to get it fixed but I didn't cause the problem. do you think Gibson would fix this issue. We are allowed to adjust our own truss rods for our own comfort right? sorry we got a little off the subject Mitch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgplayers Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 great news i just talked to gibson and they said the truss rod issue is covered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 I would not like using a heavier string than 10s but i can see your point unless I was to try heavier e and a string. I have already tried the adjusting with the strings loose and didn't help. i had to stand the guitar up to get it any tighter. I was messing up the brass nut so I have replaced the brass nut and just put it up. I wonder if this would get better with age. i would take it somewhere to get it fixed but I didn't cause the problem. do you think Gibson would fix this issue. We are allowed to adjust our own truss rods for our own comfort right? sorry we got a little off the subject Mitch. As many - sadly not all - guitars come stock with a trussrod key included I think we're basically allowed to perform reasonable adjustments of guitar necks. Saying reasonable I mean setting them somehow close to being straight when strung with a balanced set of strings. The latter could mean that one will have to select different gauges when permanently using a tuning different from the standard tuning which standard string sets are designed for, e. g. to prevent neck twisting. Over the years I had to do with guitars and basses of pals who hadn't played them for many years and partially left them severely detuned for a longer period. Therefore some of the necks were dramatically bent forward or backward. So for several of them it took months until we were able to set them right, but with a mixture of feel and patience they all became playable again without further trouble. Luckily, besides being careful and patient we never had to do something more than to make the trussrod nuts run smoothly. Sometimes we cleaned the threads using interdental brushes, first dry, then soaked with contact cleaner, but same luckily we never killed any parts although we all are amateurs. Thanks God we never had to deal with twisted necks until now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgplayers Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 cool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgplayers Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 so your saying by storing a guitar with the strings loosened it could have negative effects on the neck curvature? BTW if someone were to say that there was no such thing as perfect guitar intonation that would make me happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Hi everyone! I hope i am posting this in the correct section. This is the neck of my 2011 SG standard. I have no idea how this cracking happened or if it is anything serious. It has always been kept in its case and always in a climate controlled room. I actually rarely play this guitar as i just don't really like the thick neck... i prefer the 60s slim neck. It is in near mint condition with the exception of this cracking in the finish or whatever it is. I was going to sell it and I started looking close and noticed this cracking. I took it to the local luthier and he said it was just the finish most likely and pretty common on Gibson guitars with binding. Anyway just looking for opinions of people with more experience than I and advice. Thanks, Mitch Mitch - There are a few guitars like yours that people have talked about on this forum. They mostly seem to be from the time when Gibson was changing fretboard woods and trying different things with the fretboards. I think that what's probably going on with yours is that the fretboard wood is shrinking longitudinally and is trying to delaminate from the neck - the ends would be where the stress would be the highest. All glue "creeps" or moves over time if it's constantly under stress. So I'm guessing that the fretboard is trying to delaminate and the glue is creeping and the finish can't take that much movement without cracking. It should be warranteed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitchtram Posted August 5, 2013 Author Share Posted August 5, 2013 Mitch - There are a few guitars like yours that people have talked about on this forum. They mostly seem to be from the time when Gibson was changing fretboard woods and trying different things with the fretboards. I think that what's probably going on with yours is that the fretboard wood is shrinking longitudinally and is trying to delaminate from the neck - the ends would be where the stress would be the highest. All glue "creeps" or moves over time if it's constantly under stress. So I'm guessing that the fretboard is trying to delaminate and the glue is creeping and the finish can't take that much movement without cracking. It should be warranteed. You are probably right, and I was thinking the same thing. This is a 2011 which is when the switch to the baked maple happened. I Unfortunately am not the original owner of the guitar so I cant claim warranty. The original owner could not stand the fact that it had the baked maple fretboard and sold it to me for a great price, just a few months after he bought it. I honestly cannot tell the difference in the fretboard from a sound or feel perspective. I believe the issue is really just in the finish and the board is not coming up. I took the thinnest exacto knife blade made and stuck the tip in the widest part of the crack as far as it would go and it only went less than 1/16 of an inch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted August 8, 2013 Share Posted August 8, 2013 so your saying by storing a guitar with the strings loosened it could have negative effects on the neck curvature? BTW if someone were to say that there was no such thing as perfect guitar intonation that would make me happy. Sorry, sgplayers, I must have overlooked your quoted post for several days. Considering all I've heard from players and luthiers, it is best to keep the instrument in good shape even when not played for a longer period.I don't know how much deviation from a correct neck curvature for how much time it may take, but I think it may cause damage to the woods as well as to the finish. If i pull off all the strings at once in order to clean a guitar or to adjust a Floyd Rose vibrato, I always try to work as fast as possible. If I leave a guitar unstrung for let's say more than half an hour, I loosen the truss rod nut thoroughly counting the number of turns, and retighten it gradually during restringing and tuning correctly. Perhaps I act a bit too cautiously, but I never had any persistent trouble with necks or finishes in the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.