Mike CT Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 On the edges of the ebony fretboard it looks like there was some shrinkage. Now the fret ends look to be pushing out some of the nitro finish. Gibson said it was likely due to a lack of humidity. i don’t have this dynamic going on with my guitars and have no idea 1) if the circles are likely to flake off, 2) if they flake off will it feel strange/rough moving along the board and 3) is it something that any local guitar tech/luthier can fix? I don’t to buy into an obvious problem. The rest of the finish looks great. Thanks, Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marco mancini Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 It looks like the refretting of the guitar was badly made indeed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike CT Posted March 12 Author Share Posted March 12 17 minutes ago, marco mancini said: It looks like the refretting of the guitar was badly made indeed Apparently it was not re-fretted and largely sat in a case. Gibson seemed to thing it was a humidity issue with some board shrinkage that is causing the fret ends to push out on the nitro. I’m trying to figure out if flaking is inevitable and if it easy to fix or not if it happens. The rest of the guitar looks great but this just stands out. thx! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 If that’s the case, a good luthier should be able to file/sand the ends and touch it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieDog Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 Am I reading the photo right that the fret board has actually shrunk away from the edge of the neck? Like the neck and fret board are tiered, like a wedding cake, rather than flush with each other? If that’s the case, I think you have more trouble than just a bad fret job. Unless this is some dream guitar, or a killer price that will cover the cost of new fretboard, there are a whole lot of nice used guitars for sale in the world. I would probably move on, if it were me. If it dried out enough to do that to the fretboard, I’d be thinking about what happened to the rest of the guitar at the same time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike CT Posted March 13 Author Share Posted March 13 54 minutes ago, PrairieDog said: Am I reading the photo right that the fret board has actually shrunk away from the edge of the neck? Like the neck and fret board are tiered, like a wedding cake, rather than flush with each other? If that’s the case, I think you have more trouble than just a bad fret job. Unless this is some dream guitar, or a killer price that will cover the cost of new fretboard, there are a whole lot of nice used guitars for sale in the world. I would probably move on, if it were me. If it dried out enough to do that to the fretboard, I’d be thinking about what happened to the rest of the guitar at the same time? I really zoomed in and think you’re right. Ok…..taking a pass. Thanks so much. I learn something new every time I come here and this time it probably saved me a lot of money in the long run. Thanks! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 7 hours ago, Mike CT said: I really zoomed in and think you’re right. Ok…..taking a pass. Thanks so much. I learn something new every time I come here and this time it probably saved me a lot of money in the long run. Thanks! Mike Good choice. Good argument from PrairieDog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 Mike C, Out of curiousity what guitar model is this ? I'm not sure what I'm looking at. Is is clearcoat or binding? both ? ...but no nibs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike CT Posted March 13 Author Share Posted March 13 31 minutes ago, merciful-evans said: Mike C, Out of curiousity what guitar model is this ? I'm not sure what I'm looking at. Is is clearcoat or binding? both ? ...but no nibs 2009 Gibson Flying V. White version that has the ebony fretboard. I have a 97 of this already. These 67 reissues are all unbinded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 1 minute ago, Mike CT said: 2009 Gibson Flying V. White version that has the ebony fretboard. I have a 97 of this already. These 67 reissues are all unbinded. ah! not too familiar with those. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marco mancini Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 Ciao Merciful ! Rule Britannia 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 looks like someone took a hammer or soldering iron to the fret edges! LOL! when a file was all they needed... That's a little on the bit too much side.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 You got some bad info here. The fretboard cannot shrink separately from the neck it is glued to unless it is no longer glued together. That doesn’t appear to be the case here but generally I feel like the likelihood of that happening is so small it shouldn’t be considered The neck shrunk to a greater extent than the frets. The fret ends are finished over so as the fret end pushes out proud of the neck it pushes the finish along with it Nitro lacquer also can shrink and crack and it tends to do so along seams no matter how fine. That’s why you always see the finish cracking around the Gibson inlay on the headstock. For that reason, the finish cracked along the fretboard to neck seam. There is almost certainly no structural issue. Just like when you see a line in the finish on a Gibson set neck joint. Nothing to worry about 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieDog Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 5 minutes ago, Dub-T-123 said: You got some bad info here. The fretboard cannot shrink separately from the neck it is glued to unless it is no longer glued together. That doesn’t appear to be the case here but generally I feel like the likelihood of that happening is so small it shouldn’t be considered The neck shrunk to a greater extent than the frets. The fret ends are finished over so as the fret end pushes out proud of the neck it pushes the finish along with it Nitro lacquer also can shrink and crack and it tends to do so along seams no matter how fine. That’s why you always see the finish cracking around the Gibson inlay on the headstock. For that reason, the finish cracked along the fretboard to neck seam. There is almost certainly no structural issue. Just like when you see a line in the finish on a Gibson set neck joint. Nothing to worry about Did you zoom way in on the picture? It really appears the fretboard does not reach the edge of the neck. The photo seems to show a thin “ledge” under the edge of the fret board. Even gibson said it was shrinkage of the fret board is a bit telling if it’s just fret sprout. If it were stored in desiccating conditions, or wild humidity swings, the glue could have failed allowing the board to move, especially when they are two different densities of wood. I’ve seen similar developments in very old furniture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 When Gibson said the fretboard contracted they were assuming you realize it’s glued to the neck. This happens to pretty much all old guitars if you don’t maintain proper humidity. What you are describing never happens. So by all means I would choose the option that pretty much always happens over the option that never happens I think you’ve already confused the hell out of these guys though 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieDog Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 1 hour ago, Dub-T-123 said: When Gibson said the fretboard contracted they were assuming you realize it’s glued to the neck. This happens to pretty much all old guitars if you don’t maintain proper humidity. What you are describing never happens. So by all means I would choose the option that pretty much always happens over the option that never happens I think you’ve already confused the hell out of these guys though Did you look at the picture? And zoom in? Go ahead and explain how the whole fret board is inset what looks like a 1/8th back from the edge of the neck? who knows, maybe somebody who had no clue trying to address fret sprout and filed off the whole edge of the fret board “trying to even things up.” And I’m sorry but glue is not atomic level bonding. I have seen it fail in plenty of good laminates that were kept in bad conditions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 (edited) Here is a thought, how many used guitars for sale are not like that? I’d buy one of those. Edited March 19 by Sgt. Pepper 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 1 hour ago, PrairieDog said: Did you look at the picture? And zoom in? Go ahead and explain how the whole fret board is inset what looks like a 1/8th back from the edge of the neck? who knows, maybe somebody who had no clue trying to address fret sprout and filed off the whole edge of the fret board “trying to even things up.” And I’m sorry but glue is not atomic level bonding. I have seen it fail in plenty of good laminates that were kept in bad conditions. You’re trippin out 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 (edited) He did say the rest of the finish looks great, so buy it, it’s your $. Edited March 19 by Sgt. Pepper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 I think in that picture the light is messing with how we see it. In person I’ll bet it looks different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 Looks like the board shrunk and now there's really bad fret sprout. I'd pass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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