ES-335 '63 Memphis Puzzler

[soundjunkie]

I just sent my favorite and very special 3 month old 335 '63 50'th anni to Memphis after discovering while doing a re-string, binding shrinkage in areas including the fretboard, causing cracks at fret ends. My guitar is kept in my humidified 42-45% home and closely monitored with humidistats placed in room and in cases. I'm just so sad. The dealer and Gibson customer service have been excellent helping me with arranging the return, but I'm still a nervous wreck. I'm not sure if the maple body and neck is expanding or moving, the binding shrinking, rosewood istalled "wet" and now drying or what is going on. I've never had a bound guitar behave this way in a controled environment. I know the factoty will figure it out but I'm just racking my brain trying to figure out how this happened.

 

Any clues?

[badbluesplayer]

That might be caused by the fretboard drying out and shrinking across the grain. Maybe the rosewood was too moist when it was made or maybe the fretboard dried out and shrunk after it was manufactured. I like to oil my board so it keeps a little bit of shine on it.

 

If the guitar is only 3 months old and it never sat out on the floor of the shop, I wouldn't think that it would have had enough time to really dry out bad. It seems more likely that there was a moisture problem with the rosewood when it was made. Who knows?

 

At 40 to 50 percent humidity, you'll still need to oil the board once in awhile.

[soundjunkie]

I've never had an issue with a rosewood fretboard on any of my other guitars. Maybe this rosewood was dry when installed and drew in moisture and expanded. Who knows. I'm sure the factory will figure it out. What's also puzzling to me is the way the binding has shrunken around the body along with neck binding. Are the bindings a wood product also? If so, wouldn't the binding, fretboard and maple neck/body woods all react similarly regarding moisture content? Weird.

[SteveFord]

The binding should be a genuine plastic product, I would think. I've never seen what you're describing but I'd raise the humidity some if possible and Lemon Oil for the fret board every so often.

 

 

 

[j45nick]

Cracking of the fretboard binding in the way of the fret ends is pretty common on Gibsons. It's almost certainly caused by the difference in expansion of the frets and fretboard, particularly if the ambient humidity where the guitar is stored is lower than that at the factory where it was built. I don't even think twice about it on a vintage guitar.

 

However, on a new guitar that had always been kept in a controlled environment, I would be disappointed. The binding is tightly glued to the edges of the board, so it comes and goes with the board as the board shrinks and grows across the grain with changes in humidity. The metal frets, on the other hand, are unaffected by humidity, and sit there trying to poke through the binding as the board shrinks.

 

Even on a new guitar, you can often see small bulges in the binding at each fret end if you sight along the edge of the fretboard. If the guitar goes through dry/humid cycles, you may eventually get cracks there.