Larsongs Posted December 15, 2023 Share Posted December 15, 2023 (edited) I have a 2001 Gibson Bozeman Masterbilt J-160E Solid Top that I bought new.. It is a fantastic Guitar. It is one of my main Guitars I play all the time.. Today I was doing some Care & Maitenance on a few of my Guitars.. As I do regularly to keep them in excellent condition. I usually do a few at a time & rotate the Herd as needed.. After checking adjustments, inspecting I started polishing my J-160E. I noticed a crack or split on the Side about 3-4" long. It's right down the center & is following the grain of the Mahogany wood.. Are there two pieces of Wood fit together on the Sides? I'm kind of freaking out right now as this is an important Guitar & they don't make them anymore.. I have a 50 year old Martin D-35 & it doesn't have anything like this! This is not normal.. My Guitars are well cared for & always kept in a controlled environment with 40-50% humidity. Temps 70-80 degrees in Southern California.. I just called Gibson. They said to send them some Pics.. Service@Gibson.com. And we'll go from there.... Edited December 15, 2023 by Larsongs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted December 16, 2023 Author Share Posted December 16, 2023 I took some Pics & emailed to them this afternoon.. They emailed me back with a Case number & said they would get back to me as quickly as possible.. So, we’ll see.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted December 16, 2023 Share Posted December 16, 2023 Not familiar with the guitar- Isn't "Masterbuilt" an Epiphone product line? Those were solid wood, but I thought from Asia. Sounds like Customer Service was fully responsive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted December 16, 2023 Share Posted December 16, 2023 2 minutes ago, fortyearspickn said: Isn't "Masterbuilt" an Epiphone product line? That's what I thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted December 16, 2023 Author Share Posted December 16, 2023 I pulled out the old file as I’ll need the original Receipt to proceed for Warranty.. If it’s Warranty.. I was sure somewhere in all my paperwork & original brochures it said Bozeman Masterbilt.. But, I must’ve been smoking Crack! I stand corrected. It is a Gibson J-160E built in 2002 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted December 17, 2023 Share Posted December 17, 2023 16 hours ago, Larsongs said: I pulled out the old file as I’ll need the original Receipt to proceed for Warranty.. If it’s Warranty.. I was sure somewhere in all my paperwork & original brochures it said Bozeman Masterbilt.. But, I must’ve been smoking Crack! I stand corrected. It is a Gibson J-160E built in 2002 Whitney Houston smoked crack look where it got her, a marriage to Bobby Brown. Be careful with that stuff its whack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted December 17, 2023 Share Posted December 17, 2023 Lars would never marry Bobby Brown. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted December 17, 2023 Share Posted December 17, 2023 38 minutes ago, Murph said: Lars would never marry Bobby Brown. Crack is the gateway drug to marrying him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted December 17, 2023 Author Share Posted December 17, 2023 Forget the Crack! Make mine a Beer! LOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted December 17, 2023 Share Posted December 17, 2023 19 hours ago, Larsongs said: I was sure somewhere in all my paperwork & original brochures it said Bozeman Masterbilt.. But, I must’ve been smoking Crack! I stand corrected. It is a Gibson J-160E built in 2002. It wasn't the crack- it was an ad campaign that Gibson had in the early 2000's. I had a J-45 R from that series. Good luck with the real crack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted December 17, 2023 Author Share Posted December 17, 2023 So I guess I wasn’t smoking Crack! I was sure back in 2002 when I bought it was advertised as a Gibson Bozeman Masterbilt J-160E Solid Top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted December 18, 2023 Share Posted December 18, 2023 Sounds like it's suffering from "Dry guitar syndrome" how's the humidity in your neck of the woods? Are you trying to do anything to level off RH in your environment? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted December 18, 2023 Share Posted December 18, 2023 (edited) It's Gibson Masterbuilt. Epiphone Masterbilt (no "u"). Red 333 Edited December 18, 2023 by Red 333 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted December 19, 2023 Author Share Posted December 19, 2023 9 hours ago, kidblast said: Sounds like it's suffering from "Dry guitar syndrome" how's the humidity in your neck of the woods? Are you trying to do anything to level off RH in your environment? My Studio is climatized & I use a Humidifier.. I keep my Studio Temps between 65-78 year round.. And Humidity between 40-50%.. I have a Martin D-35 I've owned since new in 1975 & keep it in the same room.. I play it equally as often.. It has no splits or cracks... Come to think of it I have have 15 other Guitars in the same Studio at any given time & none have split or cracked.. I baby my Gear. I maintain it often. Clean & Polish regularly.. Dress the Fretboards with Lemon Oil.. I was recommended some excellent Bore Oil & tried some on one of my new Gretsch's & it does a beautiful job. The Guitar has never been abused, dropped or thrown around or anything like that. Is it possible it's just been there & it's taken this long to show through the surface??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted December 19, 2023 Share Posted December 19, 2023 yea, sure sounds like you're doing everything right RH wise. anything is possible, Pictures might help a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted December 19, 2023 Share Posted December 19, 2023 The logo on the bottom right of that ad ^ is on the case of my 2003 J-45. Tone, Feel, Appearance. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted December 19, 2023 Share Posted December 19, 2023 On 12/17/2023 at 3:24 PM, Larsongs said: So I guess I wasn’t smoking Crack! This is your only evidence? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted December 19, 2023 Author Share Posted December 19, 2023 47 minutes ago, Murph said: This is your only evidence? Smoked a lot of other though… LOL! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted December 20, 2023 Author Share Posted December 20, 2023 The J-160E in this Video has a lot of splits in the Wood.. It has the exact kind of split in the side Wood that mine has. Is this common with Mahogany? My Guitar hasn’t had the abuse the one in the Youtube has had in its short life. Mine is well taken care of & lives in a 65-78 degree climatized environment with a Humidifier kept between 40-50% humidity… Unless, I’m out playing somewhere.. Which is what Guitars are made for.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted December 20, 2023 Share Posted December 20, 2023 6 hours ago, Larsongs said: Is this common with Mahogany? Ouch! Man, I don't know. Mine are walnut and/or rosewood. Titebond and a staple and you're back on the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted December 20, 2023 Author Share Posted December 20, 2023 The J-160E in this Video has a lot of splits in the Wood.. It has the exact kind of split in the side Wood that mine has. Is this common with Mahogany? My Guitar hasn’t had the abuse the one in the Youtube has had in its short life. Mine is well taken care of & lives in a 65-78 degree climatized environment with a Humidifier kept between 40-50% humidity… Unless, I’m out playing somewhere.. Which is what Guitars are made for.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted December 20, 2023 Author Share Posted December 20, 2023 I don’t know why it posted twice? I can’t figure out how to delete the 2nd one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted December 20, 2023 Author Share Posted December 20, 2023 1 hour ago, Murph said: Ouch! Man, I don't know. Mine are walnut and/or rosewood. Titebond and a staple and you're back on the road. I have a 50 year old D-35 that lives in the same room with no splits in the Wood.. Spruce Top, Indian Rosewood Back & Sides… It must not be something really common I wouldn’t think? Mahogany is a widely used Wood.. There’s about a jillion J-45’s & D-18’s!! I know quite a few Guys that own J-160E’s whose Guitars didn’t split. They live all over the USA.. North, South, East & West.. Every kind of climate. I’ve never heard of this happening before? I’m not digging the Glue together fix.. I hope there are better options.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted December 20, 2023 Share Posted December 20, 2023 5 hours ago, Larsongs said: I’m not digging the Glue together fix.. I hope there are better options.. What would you like to see happen then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgm Posted December 20, 2023 Share Posted December 20, 2023 (edited) 5 hours ago, Larsongs said: I’m not digging the Glue together fix.. I hope there are better options.. Well....you'd have to replace the whole side (I think) which is quite complex, but I had it done once on an archtop - not a Gibson. That - a whole new side - would change the tone much more than glueing and bracing the crack IMO. Good luck! Edited December 20, 2023 by jdgm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.