buddyw Posted December 26, 2018 Share Posted December 26, 2018 Hi I am new to the forum have been trying to join by using my phone, finally I got on line and made it in. I am looking at a Gibson J-100 and was wondering if it might have cracks in the neck by the head stock and maybe by the bridge. I will post two photographs. This would be my second Gibson purchase, the first being in 1975 a Gibson MK53. Thanks in advance, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boyd Posted December 26, 2018 Share Posted December 26, 2018 Hard to tell much from that photo, looks like it might just be scratches in the finish. But this is my 1974 J-50. I got it repaired back in the 1980's, and while it's not pretty, there haven't been any more problems with it. As that crack was slowly developing over a period of years, it was quite obvious but I put off fixing it until it became un-playable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobouz Posted December 26, 2018 Share Posted December 26, 2018 Can't really see anything from that particular photo. If you can post a few different angles, something might be revealed. Also, a full body shot of the guitar helps in providing a broader frame of reference re the particular model, and the serial number would of course reveal the year it was made. Members here might then be able to provide some additional generalized info regarding this instrument. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedzep Posted December 26, 2018 Share Posted December 26, 2018 There are cracks...and then there are CRACKS. Position is important as to how stress from the string tension can pull wood apart if a fulcrum point is working to allow optimum opportunity for separation. Boyd's is scary in this sense, but his is holding, and I have seen super clean cracked headstock and neck repairs. It's hard to imagine what is in your photo is an actual break, but I'd say it's in a fairly non-scary location. That is, unless you can open it up by grabbing and twisting with your bare hands. Still worth a price break if it's indeed deeper than a surface check. As for the top crack by the bridge...same fixability, but a different animal altogether. No photo of that was included. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 Even a properly repaired neck break will devalue a guitar at least 50%. One that has not been repaired will knock the value down even more. I have repaired a couple of busted necks. If it is a clean break it is not a tough job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 If you go to FB and check out the Gibson repair shop they recently showed a bad neck break repair. After glueing the pieces together they ground away wood on the back and built it up with carbon fiber. Look up Carbon Fiber headstock repair article from Nov. 27, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 ...I am looking at a Gibson J-100 and was wondering if it might have cracks in the neck by the head stock and maybe by the bridge.... Can't tell by the photo provided. If there's a neck crack, the guitar better be seriously discounted. Personally, I have no interest in a guitar with a cracked neck. I'd keep looking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddyw Posted December 30, 2018 Author Share Posted December 30, 2018 Ok I went and looked at and played this guitar, it is beautiful and sounded better than it looked a nice warm sound. My Gibson MK-53 has a little cooler ( colder ) sound. Now it might be because of older strings or lack of playing it. But this guitar i like everything but the strings on the first fret are 1/8” off the nut on the fret board and the strings are 3/16” off the end of the neck at the sound hole. When sliding a straight edge to the saddle the saddle is about 3/16” higher than the straight edge. The saddle and bridge appears to be tilited forward to the sound hole there appears to be a rise or bump from the back of the guitar to the bridge. Could the top of the guitar have raised to make the saddle tilt or cant forward to raise the strings at the end of the neck? Or is the saddle made to cant forward and a trust rod correction would fix things. I did not see any cracks the neck looked brownish where the picture showed the scratches or cracks. I really liked the sound and feel but if there is a problem with top bowing upward tilting/canting the saddle forward how much would that cost to fix? Thanks for all for the first input it helped me to look over this guitar, I have a 43 year old Gibson MK-53 and the straight edge went right from the neck to the top side of the saddle I did not take my flashlight because i forgot, if input sounds good i told the owner i would come back and look at it again. Thanks for all the comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinder Posted December 30, 2018 Share Posted December 30, 2018 There will always be a parabolic arch to the top of a modern Gibson acoustic, they're built that way. This guitar is hard to picture without photographs but the tilted bridge doesn't sound good to me. The straight edge should be level with (or just above) the bridge itself, not necessarily the saddle. The setup on the guitar sounds a bit screwy (1/8" at the nut sounds painful to play!) But setup can be sorted...it's structural integrity that needs to be right of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedzep Posted December 30, 2018 Share Posted December 30, 2018 As Jinder mentioned, you should get a photo here somehow, especially from the side to display the forward tilting bridge, which could indicate the top is sinking toward the sound hole. The leaning saddle is easily correctable and indicates a poor fit, but the bridge itself should me more or less on a nearly dead flat horizontal plane. Caveat emptor, for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted December 30, 2018 Share Posted December 30, 2018 But this guitar i like everything but the strings on the first fret are 1/8” off the nut on the fret board ... Did you mean 1/8" off of the nut, or between the top of the first fret and the bottom of the string? Off of the nut would be something to see: One of the more important measurements to take into account when looking at a guitar's setup is the string height measured at the 12th fret, from the top of the fret to the bottom of the string. Did you see the neck angle diagram BigKahune posted the the Action on J-45 thread? http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/topic/145189-action-on-j45/page__view__findpost__p__1968300 . . . anything not close to spec for that measurement will be a compromise to improve playability, short of a neck reset. It sounds like you liked the guitar, but as Zombywoof mentioned, it should be devalued by about 50% from what they typically go for, if there are no other issues. Have a look on eBay, there are some nice J-100's currently being offered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buc McMaster Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 In that photo I see nothing amiss with the top/bridge. No major distortion of the top, no noticeable roll of the bridge. Looks good to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boyd Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 FWIW, you can display your photos in your posts by using the img tag like this. If you hit the reply button you will see how this is done. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 Oh, it's a 1994- it has the 100 yr anniversary label. Cool. 'Looks like a nice top, and the finish crack is absolutely no biggie. But you said: We did put a straight edge off the neck and it hits below the bridge and it has a finish crack off back side of the lower part of the bridge. . . . and that could be something. Once again referring to BigKahune's diagram, http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/topic/145189-action-on-j45/page__view__findpost__p__1968300, the straight edge hits into the bridge, or the saddle on top of the bridge? The saddle already looks fairly low (photo 3), which is not necessarily a good thing, as a neck reset could be $omething to deal with down the road, or it could be a bargaining chip in your favor (neck reset could easily be $400 +). Other than that, the guitar looks nice. Comes with the chocolate brown Tone, Feel, Appearance case w/purple fur/shroud? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddyw Posted January 4, 2019 Author Share Posted January 4, 2019 Oh, it's a 1994- it has the 100 yr anniversary label. Cool. 'Looks like a nice top, and the finish crack is absolutely no biggie. But you said: . . . and that could be something. Once again referring to BigKahune's diagram, http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/topic/145189-action-on-j45/page__view__findpost__p__1968300, the straight edge hits into the bridge, or the saddle on top of the bridge? The saddle already looks fairly low (photo 3), which is not necessarily a good thing, as a neck reset could be $omething to deal with down the road, or it could be a bargaining chip in your favor (neck reset could easily be $400 +). Other than that, the guitar looks nice. Comes with the chocolate brown Tone, Feel, Appearance case w/purple fur/shroud? Thanks for your input without yours and the others I would have never looked this hard or asked questions or talked with a luthier about possible problems and repair cost on this guitar. When I get it I will take it in for inspection. Yes you are right brown case with purple lining. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddyw Posted January 4, 2019 Author Share Posted January 4, 2019 FWIW, you can display your photos in your posts by using the img tag like this. If you hit the reply button you will see how this is done. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boyd Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 I have tried that and it does not seem to work for me Seems to have worked fine for you, except the little one, but that is an attachment instead of a URL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinder Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 It looks in good shape to me. It's a 25yr old guitar (I wasn't previously aware of the age) so will have some belly to the top. The saddle isn't tall, but is still taller than some '70s Gibsons shipped with when new! There is a good chance that it will be nicely settled at the age it is now. I have a 1990 Hummingbird which is solid as a rock and seems impervious to humidity changes. These early Bozeman guitars are superb in general. I would buy it and enjoy it. If you have to put some coin into a neck reset at some point, so be it. It's all part of regular maintenance. It doesn't appear to need one at present though. Don't overthink it too much...you're getting a great guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 Yes, true, Jinder, it's probably fairly stable. . . still might help in negotiating. It's also a good sign to see the current owner using the soundhole humidifier in the photo- wanting to be careful with the guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddyw Posted January 4, 2019 Author Share Posted January 4, 2019 I have tried that and it does not seem to work for me. looks like maybe it is half way working, I will figure it out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobouz Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 Comes with the chocolate brown Tone, Feel, Appearance case w/purple fur/shroud? If I recall correctly (and based on the '96 J-100 I owned), the brown cases with purple lining from that era had a "Gibson Montana" logo rather then the later "Tone-Feel-Appearance" moniker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 If I recall correctly (and based on the '96 J-100 I owned), the brown cases with purple lining from that era had a "Gibson Montana" logo rather then the later "Tone-Feel-Appearance" moniker. ✔️ . . . looks like no “shroud”, either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddyw Posted January 5, 2019 Author Share Posted January 5, 2019 It looks in good shape to me. It's a 25yr old guitar (I wasn't previously aware of the age) so will have some belly to the top. The saddle isn't tall, but is still taller than some '70s Gibsons shipped with when new! There is a good chance that it will be nicely settled at the age it is now. I have a 1990 Hummingbird which is solid as a rock and seems impervious to humidity changes. These early Bozeman guitars are superb in general. I would buy it and enjoy it. If you have to put some coin into a neck reset at some point, so be it. It's all part of regular maintenance. It doesn't appear to need one at present though. Don't overthink it too much...you're getting a great guitar. Thank you for your comment I did buy it and thought of the neck exactly like you described. I will take it and see if it can be set up to make it play a little easier. A cool little note, this guitar was made in Montana Feb 1, 1994 sent to a music store in Flint Mi and sold on April 1, 1994. It floated around for 25 years and is now mine and I only live 8 miles from that music store, I was in it several times in the mid 70,s. I do appreciate every ones comments, I learned more than I previously did and my post showed it and lacked clarity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted January 5, 2019 Share Posted January 5, 2019 Thank you for your comment I did buy it and thought of the neck exactly like you described. I will take it and see if it can be set up to make it play a little easier. A cool little note, this guitar was made in Montana Feb 1, 1994 sent to a music store in Flint Mi and sold on April 1, 1994. It floated around for 25 years and is now mine and I only live 8 miles from that music store, I was in it several times in the mid 70,s. I do appreciate every ones comments, I learned more than I previously did and my post showed it and lacked clarity. Congrats on the J-100! Quite a large step from your 1975 Gibson MK53. 'Sure that the sound is a large step, too. As far as the "learned more than I previously did and my post showed it and lacked clarity"- thing, don't be silly. . . all of this trivia wasn't easily available before internet forums. The early 1990's was a great time for Gibson Acoustics- they'd just bought the Flatiron Mandolin and Banjo Company in Bozeman, Montana, and the guitars built there turned the company's fortunes around. For people whose brains are wired as such (myself, included), hearing that you and your guitar had crossed paths for years is very cool. Just a guess- you and it will become fast friends soon. And if you're able to do the forum on your computer at home, it would be a fine addition to this thread if you were to put up a vid, or tune (most use SoundCloud, here), as well. Again, congrats & enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddyw Posted January 5, 2019 Author Share Posted January 5, 2019 ✔️ . . . looks like no “shroud”, either. what do you mean by shroud? I have been trying to post two photographs for over a half hour, I have resized them down three times the are now down to 400 + or - KB. So I will have to go to url links. Down sizing hurts the guitar photograph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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