Crack In SG Body

[JayFi]

Potential buyer here looking at a '78 SG. The guitar has a crack between the neck & upper cutaway (see pics) which appears just to be cosmetic, but I could use some advice from everyone here on the forum. Is this anything I should be concerned about?

 

The guitar is a couple hours away from me, and if this will affect playability or drastically affect value I'd rather not waste my time going to check it out. Any advice is appreciated, thanks!

[80LPC]

That's not cosmetic because the crack follows the grain. I'd be concerned about the blow or stress that caused it - other damage, and signs of repair etc.

[Rui Barata]

The are where this crack is coincides with the area where the efforts on the neck are transmitted to the body. I don't know how deep is the crack but it ssems it will progress over time. I wouldn't buy it.

[jimmiJAMM]

I love my '78! Those Tarback Humbuckers have incredible tone, the neck's super-thin and it's light as a feather.

 

Walnut's pretty sturdy so that crack's not likely to worsen. If you can good it for a decent price, go for it!

[BigKahune]

Use the crack as a barginning chip. Talk him down, saying you're going to have to have the crack repaired. If the deal price works for you, buy it. Then I recommend a repair. With the proximity of the neck pup route, I should be an easy fix and not too expensive. You want the area around the neck joint to be as stable as possible.

[Yew]

Yeah, it shouldnt be to hard to inject some wood glue into the crack area with a syringe and a steady hand ( either you could put it over the top of the crack, leave it to dry, and peel off the excess blue (not sure about the reaction of PVA with nitro though =/) Or you could use s sharp syringe to poke into the wood from the inside of the pickup cavity, that would hopefully fill the crack with pva.

 

It has the longer, stronger 67 neck joint, so its not as much of an issue as if it where a 61-66 SG, but a stitch in time saves nine!!

[JayFi]

Thanks for the responses! Seems like we're pretty much split down the middle on this at the moment. If I pull the trigger on this, what do you think the guitar is worth? Been talking around $950 at the moment...

[Blackie]

950 sounds high to me.

[jimmiJAMM]

$800.00 sounds better to me, considering "the break."

[JayFi]

Thanks guys - I appreciate the input!

[Southpa]

What you pay would (or should) generally depend on overall condition. A 78 SG Std in MINT condition is currently valued at $1400-$1600. Any fading in the color (eg. cherry to brown) then take 30% off, and account for general wear and tear, dings, bumps and scratches all give it character, nothing wrong with a natural relic. Whats it worth? whatever the seller can get and whatever the buyer will pay.

 

If you want to make this affect the price then you both have to get together and find out if its serious or just a finish crack. Its a serious purchase to many people and well worth investigating in detail. I have been building, restoring and repairing all manner of guitars for a number of years now. I would suggest pulling all the hardware in that area and GENTLY flex the body and look for any movement. If you can actually see the crack flex it should be evident at the pickup cavity. It would be better if you can flex it that way you can whicker some thin viscosity CA (superglue) into the crack.

[80LPC]

Should it be a structural fault, superglue won't be strong enough, and it makes a proper repair more difficult since it is difficult to remove.