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Advice from LP owners of older guitars please


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I have recently noticed on my LP Classic that is now over ten years old that on the side of the frets there is a small crack in the binding.. on every one I think top and bottom.

 

This being my oldest guitar and having never noticed it before I wonder if that was always the case or is this just a normal aging thing.... or worse is this the start of somthing that will require action like a re-fret.. Which brings me to the question (as ive never had to have a guitar re-fretted) if you need to re-fret a bound board does that mean the binding gets redone?

 

Anyway this is the pic, the cracks are pretty small right now and this is the only issue I can see over the whole guitar so I think its not doing too bad for its age :) But would appreciate any advice on if this will get worse and if theres anything I can do to slow or stop it, or if its just inevitable. Cheers :)

 

DSC01408.jpg

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Not really. Just don't get it waterlogged and leave it outside during the winter months.....

 

P.

Haha :) thats ok then I in no way plan on doing those things to my baby ;)

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It's done for. You should buy a new one right away and send that one to me. [biggrin]

 

If the cracks start to become a physical impediment, you have an issue. Otherwise - no worries.

When you say an issue.. does that mean that it would need a re-binding? (which hopefully i wont ever have to worry about :))

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What I mean is that only if the crack begins to get in the way of your playing will it be an issue. I would think that to be very highly unlikely. These types of cracks are normally fine enough that they can't even be felt - not to mention be large enough to hang one's hand up while playing. If it did become something big enough to hamper your playing, I imagine fill and sand would work instead of re-bind. That prolly ain't gonna happen in your lifetime though! [biggrin]

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My '72 has had these cracks for at least 20 years. When these develop quickly, they are usually due to the ends of the fret tang being a little to long, or the fingerboard being improperly cured, a manufacturing defect. However, when this develops around the age of your instrument, it's due to normal shrinkage of everything except the fret tang. I have seen some of the develop on 50's instruments to the point where the binding cracks through at two consecutive frets, and a small section of binding falls off. However, as other posters have said, until that happens, or until you start to feel the binding lift and it distracts from your playing, I wouldn't worry.

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yes, that is normal for sure. As mentioned that is caused from the wood expanding (in the humid months) and contracting in the drier winter months. The frets are impervious to the climate changes, the wood is not.

 

Best way to minimize the damage the elements can do to any guitar is to keep em cased until you're gonna play em.

 

But for this, not to worry. you're golden.

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yes, that is normal for sure. As mentioned that is caused from the wood expanding (in the humid months) and contracting in the drier winter months. The frets are impervious to the climate changes, the wood is not.

 

Best way to minimize the damage the elements can do to any guitar is to keep em cased until you're gonna play em.

 

But for this, not to worry. you're golden.

Thanks for the replies [thumbup] I thought that would be the case but just wanted to be sure ;)

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