This Franklin is Nick’s 12 fret dreadnought model. The top is red spruce and the back and sides are Brazilian rosewood. It’s a long scale length and most of the other dimensions are pretty standard.
This is a sort-of new guitar day. I received this guitar back in December from a Reverb sale. The guitar was described as having been loaned to a friend and improperly humidified. The guitar was said to have developed some cracks as a result and was sent to Nick Kukich for repair. I asked a number of questions of the seller and was assured the guitar was “like new” except for the repaired cracks in the back.
When I received the guitar, I noticed the heel was cracked and was told it must have happened in shipping (I later realized from the ad photos that it was cracked before shipping). The buzzing was so bad the guitar wasn’t playable. I thought it was just a high fret. Stupidly, I agreed to get it fixed and ended up owning a whole host of issues. Here’s what Lewis Santer, my trusty luthier, found:
1) Heel was cracked
2) Top seam was split and had to be cleated
3) The neck had to be reset after the cracked heel was repaired. This was complicated by the fact that the hide glue used to seal the end grain on the neck had re-activated and glued itself to the body (the neck is a bolt on)
4) Many frets were totally loose and the fretboard had to be completely leveled to render the guitar playable
5) The saddle was loose and leaning forward about 25 degrees. The slot had to be deepened and a new, thicker saddle was made.
6) The case was designed for a 14 fret, so the headstock was laying on top of the accessory compartment. This is probably why the heel cracked at some point along the way. That case had to be replaced.
Lewis and I had to call Nick about removing the neck because it wouldn’t come off when the bolts were loosened. We learned from Nick that he received the guitar after it had been loaned out. He guessed it had been left in direct sunlight or in the trunk of a car because it had essentially fallen apart. He described cracks so large in the back that you could see through them. He told the owner the guitar was a “total loss” and should be submitted as such to insurance. Regardless, the previous owner had Nick rebuild the guitar.
I’ve never had a buying experience remotely like this one, and it has cost quite a bit of time and money to get it into playing shape. It’s my fault for agreeing to have the heel crack fixed. I should have sent it back as soon as I received it. You can imagine my frustration when, a couple of months later, I re-examined the ad photos and found the heel was cracked before shipping.
Anyway, the work has finally been completed and the frets have been re-glued and Plek’ed. I’ve had very little time with the guitar in playable condition, but it has a huge, cavernous bass. It’s not unlike many of the Somogyi-style guitars I’ve played over the years, though perhaps not quite that bass focused. It really growls when tuned down to open C. I think drop tunings are this guitar’s strong suit. I looked around for an inexpensive case solution, but ended up getting a Karura in the end. It’s a standard dreadnought case, I believe, but it fits the guitar well and the headstock clears the accessory compartment.
I’ll spend some more time with it in the coming weeks and report back on more details.
