2penny_hangover Posted June 16, 2023 Share Posted June 16, 2023 (edited) I'm considering this Southern Jumbo WG from 2012. I talked to the seller on a video call since we don't have a chance to meet in person and he showed me something that looks like a crack, a scratch or a sort of lacker reaction on the headstock. Has anyone seen this before or can explain what and why this is? Edited June 16, 2023 by 2penny_hangover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted June 16, 2023 Share Posted June 16, 2023 (edited) Gibson headstock contours (the curved edges) are actually small pieces of wood glued on to the edges on either side of the head stock to give it that curved shape. I think you are seeing the seam where those sides are attached. Check the back, that seam may be more visible through the clear coat on the back Edited June 16, 2023 by kidblast 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted June 16, 2023 Share Posted June 16, 2023 Adding wings to the headstock was a way of cutting down on scrap costs. But while common unless it is a matter of the camera angle those are further from the tuners than I would expect to see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2penny_hangover Posted June 16, 2023 Author Share Posted June 16, 2023 That explains it. So I guess it's a matter of shrincage of those two pieces that causes the lacker breaking. Not a great sign I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boyd Posted June 16, 2023 Share Posted June 16, 2023 There was another thread from last year (I think) about these lines showing on recent model Gibsons. Looked at my 2020 J-50 60's Original and sure enough, they are visible - but not bad enough for me to have even noticed before. The ones in the OP's picture look much worse though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted June 17, 2023 Share Posted June 17, 2023 I can always "find" the seams on my Gibson's , the finish hasn't seperated along the seam in any of them (6) that one in the picture seems (ha! see what I did there) a bit of an extreme case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boyd Posted June 17, 2023 Share Posted June 17, 2023 (edited) FWIW, here's the old thread about this that I mentioned above... Edited June 17, 2023 by Boyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinder Posted June 18, 2023 Share Posted June 18, 2023 It’s not uncommon, I’ve had a couple of guitars with similar lacquer separation on the headstock wings. It’s not necessarily a sign of anything-just three different pieces of wood that are joined together and can shrink/change shape at will and at different rates. Wood is an organic thing of course and is an unpredictable thing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted June 18, 2023 Share Posted June 18, 2023 Yep. I knew an organic girl once. Wait... Wrong word... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted June 18, 2023 Share Posted June 18, 2023 On 6/16/2023 at 9:30 AM, zombywoof said: Adding wings to the headstock was a way of cutting down on scrap costs. But while common unless it is a matter of the camera angle those are further from the tuners than I would expect to see. Yep - the wings are wider than the OP's scratches would explain. Are there corresponding scratches on the back ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted June 18, 2023 Share Posted June 18, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, fortyearspickn said: Yep - the wings are wider than the OP's scratches would explain. Are there corresponding scratches on the back ? You could also sight down at the top of the headstock. Me being me, I had to go and look at the headstocks on my Gibsons. The oldest guitars have no visible wings but the headstocks on these instruments are narrower so could have been built with 3" neck planks allowing for a one-piece headstock. I believe Martin still goes this route with certain models. With my 1961 B45-12 and my wife's 1960 J200 which have wider open book headstocks, I could see wings. But while I may be on puppy chow, I could only make out a fairly wide wing out on one side of the headstock of both guitars. Edited June 18, 2023 by zombywoof Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gearbasher Posted June 18, 2023 Share Posted June 18, 2023 Here's a photo that shows the wings on the back of my J-45. They're, pretty much, in the same position as the OP's lacquer cracks. 9 hours ago, Murph said: Yep. I knew an organic girl once. Wait... Wrong word... Murph, you're organic girl has probably used a product with "wings" some time in her life. That's as far as I'm gonna take this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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