NighthawkChris Posted April 20, 2018 Share Posted April 20, 2018 OK, so I was looking for an inexpensive LP Studio from 1995 - wine red finish with gold HW and OHSC (the pink shroud containing Gibson USA case from the 90's in very good condition). Generally the finish on the body is good, electrically everything original and nothing faulty here. There is a small palm size area on the neck where the finish has worn to the mahogany, but this doesn't bother me that much. The item I find concerning is the slight crack - and I mean very slight - that is near the headstock. He disclosed this, and I saw it... Doesn't seem to be a major issue right now as the headstock is not flexing or anything it shouldn't... Tuning is stable... He offered to give me this deal for around $550. The things I like are that it is broken in and very functional. The neck is straight as it should be - checked relief - and the nut slots are cut good as the clearance of the string over 1st fret is pretty good (when depressing the 3rd fret, I check clearance of string over 1st fret). The clearance is very slight, but eyeing this out, looks about normal to me. Put it this way, no buzzing on open strings occurring whatsoever. Frets are in good shape all around... It's just the slight crack that worries me in the future. I know this isn't a collector guitar, but it's a LP I can bring out and about and not worry if it takes a ding or two from the road. Sounds nice, but again I come back to the crack which seems to tip the scales to make me reluctant to say "Go for it!" If there's anything else I can comment on with this, I'd be happy to share what I can, but I wanted some opinions on this and if the price is right... I compared used prices online, and it seems like this is priced pretty well for what I'd be getting, but I wanted some opinions, that's all. Maybe help me see this in another light whatever aspects of this might be important to focus on. Anyone have slight cracks that have never caused an issue??? Sorry I can't post pictures, but the guitar is not mine and this would be difficult to obtain. Anyhow, thanks in advance. Looking forward to the feedback. EDIT: And when I mean the crack is by the headstock, it's in the "typical" spot where the headstock starts to "curve" on the neck. Sorry for the use of double quotes... I fail to be able to provide the right terminology. My apologies... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Bill Posted April 20, 2018 Share Posted April 20, 2018 Does the crack appear to be in the wood or just on the finish? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted April 20, 2018 Share Posted April 20, 2018 Hey Chris, maybe you don't but If you had a decent close up photo, that would surely take some of the guess work out of this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NighthawkChris Posted April 20, 2018 Author Share Posted April 20, 2018 Big Bill, It is definitely not just the finish. It is a crack in the wood which troubles me. Slight as I said, but I wonder if it gets worse over time - reasonably my lifetime that I am able to play a guitar . kidblast, I agree that I need to try to get a pic of this to give a more clear picture... I suppose I was wondering if anyone has any "trusty" guitars with slight crackage, haha! God that sounds bad when I say it. Considering buying a guitar with any type of crack no matter how slight just sounds like a bad idea. Either way, if this crack is nothing to get my panties in a bunch about, I am looking at an opportunity to own a wine red LP Studio with OHSC from 1995 or so for around $500 which I think is the fair price given what I have seen. We will see what you guys can come up with and if this seller is willing to negotiate that low of a price. He has already agreed to $550, but that extra $50 means something to me. Anyhow, thanks a ton for the feedback. I hope that I can get these images soon, because if I can't get the community's input on this, I will just pass this up and figure to keep looking for a great LP Studio deal that comes my way. Here's listing for what it's worth... He originally tried for $650, but he then went down to $550 for me. I'm hoping to go down to $500 or no deal even if this crack is nothing to worry about. https://detroit.craigslist.org/okl/msg/d/gibson-les-paul/6558494795.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeman Posted April 20, 2018 Share Posted April 20, 2018 If you're saying its just a very slight crack, I'm leaning toward it being just in the finish, but again we can't see that so we cannot be sure. If there is in fact a crack in the wood, $550 is going to be way to much money to pay. There are used studios out there without cracked necks that you can land for $500. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Bill Posted April 20, 2018 Share Posted April 20, 2018 Unless the owner dropped at some point I can't imagine that the crack would be in the wood, might just be a stress crack in the nitro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted April 20, 2018 Share Posted April 20, 2018 500/550 is a fair price for 95 studio. They were around 800 bucks new all day long everywhere back then but the crack, yes. I'd have to be sure it wasn't something more serious. We all know how these gibby headstock stories go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NighthawkChris Posted April 20, 2018 Author Share Posted April 20, 2018 http://www.mylespaul.com/threads/would-you-buy-a-guitar-with-a-cracked-neck.199840/ There is a post here that shows the cross section of the headstock meeting with the neck - of course a one-piece neck as the LP's are as we know them to typically exist. MAN is that area (where the "bend" starts) very thin wood, and this is why I am so concerned about a "hairline" crack on Gibsons built as such. And from what I could tell is that this definitely is a wood "hairline" crack - not just a finish crack. It's easy to see for me because this neck is stained - no paint under the nitro; the grain is clearly visible. I can also tell as I have Nighthawk I won at an auction for dirt cheap with a repaired crack in the same place as this LP, but it wasn't finished afterwards (wanted this NH for the hardware/special NH M-Series and NSX pickups). Although structurally sound, it is very noticeable, but I can care less if the guitar looks beat up, so long as it doesn't crack off on me while playing - and it sounds like a NH! Getting back to the LP Studio, I just wonder it it will continue to crack further at some increased rate after I get this thing and I am then forced to go for a repair. Not my ideal situation. This is why I am thinking that I should just wait for a better deal to come through and not go for the $500 LP Studio. I want a LP sound that I don't have to worry about the guitar taking some dings, scratches, and dents - notice I didn't say falls/drops, haha! Like, I feel real hesitant to play my Custom because its lacquer doesn't even have swirls on it - totally 100% flawless guitar and sounds like a dream! I am not worthy of it to be in my hands, haha! Not too interested in taking my Custom to the gig overall... I like my real nice guitars to stay home for the recording session. I was even thinking of getting a used Epi-LP and upgrading it with something else in terms of HW, pickups, electronics, etc. But then I figure just get a Gibson LP Studio, you have good stuff already in it... Don't get me wrong, I like gutting a guitar and making a project out of it, but I have a kid, and time is important. I prefer to spend my time playing, not fixing project guitars, haha! So, I think I should pass on this guitar the more I think about it. $500 is a lot of money for me, and I still don't know if this guy is willing to go that low on the price as well as the other side of this, I pay this, he agrees, and then I have to repair it for this problem I have identified. It's like throwing good money to bad IMHO. And LP Studios aren't going out of style anytime soon last time I checked for someone trying to get rid of one. No need to be cheap-O on this one. Many thanks though for the input from everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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