A Cracked Gibson Songwriter Deluxe Studio EC - Buy or Not? HELP!!

[pete1607]

I have found a cracked Gibson Songwriter at Guitar Center and they are offering to sell it to me for $1,900. The crack starts just below the bridge but stops well short, I'd say about 2 inches short, of the bottom of the guitar. The crack has since been repaired. While I was at GC today, it was played by two other people for me - one of them being a Gibson rep who just happened to be at the store - and it still sounds fantastic. The crack travels along the middle of the body and was described to me as very "cosmetic" mainly affecting the finish. The guitar is not bowed out or concaved in any way.

 

I need some help with, first, whether or not to buy this guitar or not. Second, what should I pay for this guitar because of the crack. GC, along with most other sellers, retails this guitar at $2,549 so right off the bat they are giving me a $650 discount for the defect.

 

Thanks everyone for their help and advice. I'm greatly appreciative.

 

Lucas JP

[jchabalk]

pictures would be helpful here probably but in general i'd say that if you're sure that the crack is superficial and you really want this guitar you're in a good bargaining position here. You should also make sure that the guitar will be sold to you as new with the included Gibson factory warranty.

 

There are a ton of reasons a guitar top or the finish might crack and none of them are representative of a guitar with a long and fruitful life in front of it. But if you really want it tell them what you want it for and be prepared to walk away from it if they don't meet your price. I'm thinking somewhere in the mid to high triple digits (aka, less than $1000). you'd be surprised what leverage you have with a flawed instrument at GC, it's essentially a $0 item to them once it's busted.

 

i recently got an American telecaster from the guitar center that had been dropped and dented pretty good in a few different spots. playability-wise it was perfect and is as solid as a flawless one. I offered $250 +tax and got it for that, with warranty etc... retail/list was ~1400 and their initial offer was 1150

 

in general i'd probably recommend walking away from it though unless you're prepared to deal with any problems that may arise later on.

 

good luck with it!

[albertjohn]

Is it a crack in the top or just a lacquer crack. If the latter, this is cosmetic.

 

I have a lacquer crack where the fingerboard binding meets the neck and whilst quite worrying when I first noticed it, has not affected the playability or tone. It does not bother me now.

 

My understanding is that a finsh crack is not covered by the warranty so you should ensure that the warranty is still good (for everything else).

 

If the wood is cracked that's a different matter. You say that it was described as "mainly affecting the finish".

 

$650 off list (who pays list)! I bet they can do better than that.

[jgwoods]

The Gibson Songwriter series got some big changes recently - and a big price increase too. If this is one of the older ones I think the price is way too high. If it is one of the new ones I would need to know if it is the Deluxe or Standard model before I had any thoughts on the price.

[geelinus]

There's no way I'd pay $1900 for a guitar with a cracked top simply due to the crack's impact on resale value. $1000 - $1200 seems a reasonable proce to me.

 

BTW - There are two Songwriters with fairly identical top cracks at GC stores near me (Michigan). One is priced at $1900; the other is $1200. mm

[Space Pup]

Is GC offering you any kind of guarantee on the repair? (I know from experience how GC loves to pass the buck on this kind of thing) If not, I wouldn't go over $1,500 for it or just take the $1,900 and put it toward a different guitar.

[pete1607]

In response to the questions:

 

The original Gibson warranty will still be included in the sale. The rep from Gibson, who just happened to walk into the store as I was getting into talking about this guitar, spent about half an hour talking with me himself. From this, he indicated that any other manufacturing defect would be covered for the life of the guitar. So yes, the OEM Warranty is still in place even with the cracked top. In fact, everything about the sale will be the exact same as any other GC sale - including the 30-day full return policy. I still get the Gibson case, the GC points...all that stuff.

 

It is a crack in the wood but it did not go all the way through to the back apparently and it does not travel the entire distance of the guitar body. The crack is also NOT under the bridge - it starts a few inches from there and stops a few inches above the bottom of the body. Actually, when I first looked at the guitar I didn't even see it and then when I spotted something I thought it might have just been part of the grain of the wood! It's very minimal and the repair job that was performed looks to have been done flawlessly.

 

I wish I could get pictures to get more feedback but from other information that I've found online this "crack" is just barely able to be described as that. It is certainly not a minimal defect in my opinion but I have seen much worse in the last day just looking for information on guitar cracks.

 

Thanks everyone for their help. I think I will go back to GC and try to get them to give me a better price. If not, I can wait till a later date (Christmas comes every year still - I think) and buy a new one for a little more money. This seems like a good deal though and I think GC will negotiate the price even further with me if I can play the cards right.

 

Thanks again!!

 

Lucas JP.

[davenumber2]

There are plenty of great guitars out there for very good prices these days. I wouldn't buy one with a crack unless it was a complete steal of a deal, and I would say $1900 is not.

[KL]

There are plenty of great guitars out there for very good prices these days. I wouldn't buy one with a crack unless it was a complete steal of a deal' date=' and I would say $1900 is not.[/quote']

 

+1

[onewilyfool]

That is NOT a deal....