styling_fingers Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 Hello to all; Frequent lurker, first time poster. I recently came across a 2002 J-100 Xtra. After researching and reading all the positives, I was extremely excited to see the guitar, and arranged a meeting. What a dissapointment! The guitar is clearly ignored, and exremely dehydrated, he attempted to hydrate it by putting moist sponges in zip lock bags (in the case). There are two places (in the same spot),front and back, where finish cracking (checking?) has occured. The actiion was horrible, I mean nearly 1/4" at the 12th (neck bowed), and the strings were years old and tarnished. Needless to say, the sound was flat,muddled, and lacking, obviously not enjoyable to play. The tonal qualities were evident. I nicely explained to the owner that to ever consider purchasing the guitar, it would at least need strings and a truss adjustment, which I offered to assist in. I KNOW this guitar has loads of potential, and would like some advice. Will putting new strings on and lightly adjusting the truss rod expose much that this guitar has to offer? Is it doomed? Also, I am leary of adjusting the truss on such a dehydrated guitar. I would like to take the guitar in for professional servicing, though I doubt he would be too keen on that. Plese help! BTW, his asking price is $1,100, he is eager to sell and would probably take $900. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewilyfool Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 $1100 is what they go for in our neck of the woods in Pristine condition......$900 is NOT a deal if you have lots of repairs to do. I would see if you can take it to the luthier for a check up and to see if anything can be done. Re-hydration can only do so much. A bowed neck may show a broken adjustment rod. If it is really bowed, you may need to remove the frets and plane the fretboard OR replace the fretboard....not cheap. A set up may help, but you never know with a neglected guitar. Did you tap the top and back to check for buzzes (loose braces)? Good luck...I would offer him a price that gave you some leftover cash to take care of repairs, and I don't think I would feel safe at $900. Another thing you could do, is distress and age the thing, make it look like it has tons of mojo, like it's really been played and to heck with appearance. Someone had a post of an Epiphone they did that really looked good. (IMHO) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 I am fairly damn certain that for that kind of money you could buy a 'player ready' Gibson or other! Like OWF said...That is way too much for that guitar....with issues. Sad but true. I would walk (errr! run) from that one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
styling_fingers Posted April 15, 2011 Author Share Posted April 15, 2011 Thanks for the responses. I still have a glimmer of hope for this guitar (not sure why). I did not tap around for buzzes. Other than the afformentioned issues, the guitar is in sound shape. Living in northern MN, we experience extreme variances in humidity; I have to adjust my truss rods twice a year. I have corrected worse necks with success. I believe I will ask to take the guitar to a luthier. Can a luthier determine if a guitar will hold up following neccessary repairs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewilyfool Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 I would add one more thing, I've seen this in humidity problems....sight down the neck from the saddle towards the nut. Sometimes with humidity challenged guitars, the bow in the neck will also cause a "twist" in the neck...sighting will show the twist. You can also measure the action at the 12th fret on BOTH sides.....if there is a great difference, that can show a twist. If the saddle is high on one side and low on the other, this often shows a twist. Twists are VERY hard to fix, ie. remove all frets, plane the fretboard...etc. or replace the fret boardand level the twist in the neck....again....costly.Best to have him meet you at the luthiers and see what the freight is...good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blaster Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 I considered that same model Gibson, and even tried out two of them, which were in very well cared for condition. For that asking price, the guitar should be in pristine condition. If I remember there were a couple in that same price range on Ebay a few weeks ago; they all looked in clean condition from the pictures A friend of mine, had a sunburst '90s J-100 that had a bound fretboard, it was a real pretty one, I didn't know that they made them with bound necks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 . Run away. Way too much money for the condition. For $800 here's a J-100 with rosewood b/s - http://cgi.ebay.com/Gibson-J-100-/110673839406?pt=Guitar&hash=item19c4acc52e#ht_500wt_1156 A couple of issues that have already been repaired. Looks in nice shape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
styling_fingers Posted April 16, 2011 Author Share Posted April 16, 2011 I have drooled at guitars online, but have always been hesitant to pull the trigger. The unknown is too much risk IMHO. Once a guitar has been dried out, is It a constant battle to maintain? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 I have drooled at guitars online, but have always been hesitant to pull the trigger. The unknown is too much risk IMHO. . . . . . Return policy is key. You might be passing on some great guitars, but I do agree there is some risk and a buyer needs to be sure of the return policy when making an online purchase. I've bought a few online - new from authorized dealers and used off eBay, etc. No problems - so far. . . . Once a guitar has been dried out, is It a constant battle to maintain? I don't think so. But sometimes with an extreme dry-out or extreme over-humidification, damage beyond dry or wet can occur that must be addressed once the guitar has been brought back to the proper moisture level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobouz Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 You've got to get new strings on it to properly assess the tone, & adjust that truss rod to properly assess the playability. It might be a sleeping giant of a guitar. Having the guitar in hand is certainly the best way to go vs banking on someone's narrative on the net. Throw the strings on first & see if you need to go further. If the tone makes you drool, the neck then become crucial. I've seen a number of late model Gibson acoustics with rolling fretboards or somewhat twisted necks. Trying to dial them in can be maddening. If it's good & you again start to drool, you're all set, but you won't know until the truss rod's adjusted. Hope it works out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modoc_333 Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 way too high for the condition... especially the cracks. a super clean one is a $1200 guitar. but deals can be had. i got lucky and got mine used for $800 in perfect like new condition (it was 5 years old at the time). check my avatar. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobouz Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 The OP stated that the guitar has either two cracks or checking spots. Of course there's a big difference. If it's just checking, no big deal. If it's cracked, forget it. Make a lowball offer, and this might still be a very good deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
styling_fingers Posted April 19, 2011 Author Share Posted April 19, 2011 Well the owner is having the guitar adjusted and re strung, I think this will bring out what this rig has to offer. If it is beyond proper repair, he is going to keep it. Meanwhile, An L 05 MT popped up for sale locally; since I've always wanted to test ride one of their hogtops, I'll be trying it out tomorrow. Thanks for the info guys, I'll keep you posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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