LucSulla Posted March 7, 2020 Posted March 7, 2020 I'm kinda looking at this guitar, but these neck pocket cracks have me worried. I'm not sure there is anyway to really tell without taking the neck off, but what do you think from the pics?
Steve Haynie Posted March 7, 2020 Posted March 7, 2020 I have seen similar cracks on other guitars. My feeling is that the cracks are in the finish only. They do not follow the grain of the wood.
cynic Posted March 7, 2020 Posted March 7, 2020 Based on nothing concrete my feeling is they’re finish cracks, but that the finish is cracked because the wood was stressed. I don’t consider them as innocent or meaningless as many make them out to be.
gtrdaddy Posted March 7, 2020 Posted March 7, 2020 The crack in the second picture looks like a finish crack, the first one though, that is an awfully long crack in a neck pocket; usually a lone- finish crack on a neck pocket isn't that long in my experience. I would insist on pulling the neck to have a better look, or you can try and flex the neck while looking closely at the crack.
Dutchman Posted March 9, 2020 Posted March 9, 2020 Here’s my theory on neck cracks. The grain of the wood runs parallel to the neck and a crack that runs parallel to the neck is most likely going to be a crack involving the body wood. Cracks that run perpendicular or at an angle from the neck for a short distance is most likely a finish crack from a tight neck joint and harmless. I have seen finish cracks from over tightening the the neck bolts to tight. Bolt on necks are made to be removed. Just take it apart and take a look. If you don’t have a magnifying glass just take a close up with your phone and blow the picture up to examine!
LucSulla Posted March 11, 2020 Author Posted March 11, 2020 Well, I decided to email and got this back: Quote Thank you again for the inquiry. I understand your concern and have heard similar messages from other potential buyers. I’ve never removed a neck (primarily due to the fact that I’m a fan of neck-thru guitars), so I’m going to refrain from removing it. It’s also quite difficult with a Floyd being involved. Again, I completely understand your concern, and the only noticeable cracks are at the neck joint [emphasis added]. If there’s anything else I can help you with just let me know. Yeah, cracks at the neck joint on both sides - no big deal! Think I should be a good samaritan and let him no you can leave the strings on and just relieve the tension when taking a neck off? It's a little odd that he can't even get $1125 for this guitar with free shipping, is getting messages about this, and yet still won't take the neck off.
gtrdaddy Posted March 11, 2020 Posted March 11, 2020 1 hour ago, LucSulla said: It's a little odd that he can't even get $1125 for this guitar with free shipping, is getting messages about this, and yet still won't take the neck off. Not odd when you consider he probably knows it's cracked and his sole purpose is to make it someone else's problem.
LucSulla Posted March 11, 2020 Author Posted March 11, 2020 2 hours ago, gtrdaddy said: Not odd when you consider he probably knows it's cracked and his sole purpose is to make it someone else's problem. I was being kind, lol.
crunchee Posted March 15, 2020 Posted March 15, 2020 From what I've seen on other guitars, metallic finishes (which this looks to me to be from the photos) tend to be prone to cracks, more so than 'regular' finishes. Stike would likely know for sure.
crunchee Posted March 16, 2020 Posted March 16, 2020 On 3/7/2020 at 2:59 PM, gtrdaddy said: The crack in the second picture looks like a finish crack, the first one though, that is an awfully long crack in a neck pocket; usually a lone- finish crack on a neck pocket isn't that long in my experience. I would insist on pulling the neck to have a better look, or you can try and flex the neck while looking closely at the crack. I have a question: Has anybody here (or know of somebody who has) ever stripped the exterior finish off of a guitar body to find out whether there's a crack in the wood or not, if the exterior has finish cracks like this? The neck is normally meant to be removed on a bolt-on, so checking the neck pocket should be easy enough to do (doofus seller preferences notwithstanding ); but even so, with a finish crack like the one shown above, sometimes it pays to investigate further. Besides, sometimes stripping the body may be in order if a guitar is beat up enough, or the present owner wants to make a change. Edited to add: Coincidentally (and with no affiliation), it looks like this '62 RI MIJ Custom Tele showed up at DGS Milwaukee either today (3/16) or sometime late last week, it appears from the photo that the body was cracked behind the neck pocket, between that and the neck pickup rout. I had one of these guitars years ago, IIRC the body was made from Basswood: https://davesguitar.com/products/fender/tl62-62-telecaster-custom-late-80s-sunburst-milwaukee-608-790-9816/
Camstone Posted March 18, 2020 Posted March 18, 2020 "comes with gig bag" Could be the reason there are neck pocket cracks on the Tele?
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LucSulla
I'm kinda looking at this guitar, but these neck pocket cracks have me worried. I'm not sure there is anyway to really tell without taking the neck off, but what do you think from the pics?
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