Serious Top Crack

[Fichtezc]

Hey guys, I have an Aria A551B which my grandparents bought my mother in 1964 that she learned to play guitar on and 40 years later I learned to play guitar on. I'm not an avid classical player, I put my money into electrics and steel strings but I do love to play nylon strings.

Ever since it came into my possession I have done everything in my power to humidify it and take care of it but even so it has developed a nasty crack. It is almost 3 inches long and about an inch and a half below the fretboard. As far as I can tell it doesn't go all the way through the top since the underside is still smooth so maybe it just looks bad? My mother has long since given up her emotional attachment to the guitar but it's quite valuable to me in many ways. It isn't worth hundreds of dollars in repair however. At that point I would rather put the money into a new instrument to my liking and put this one away.

What should I do? This has been a particularly dry winter and I'm wondering if I do a better job humidifying my room if the crack might seal up a little.

Many thanks,

Zach

EDIT: There is also a crack in the side of the same severity. I guess that answers my question of whether the sides were solid or not.

[fitness1]

Without seeing a picture, it sounds like it's just a finish check. If it's alongside the fretboard it's very common.

Wood moves, nothing you can do about it. Finish, not so much

As long as it plays and sounds fine, don't give it a second thought as long as you are sure it's not through into the wood.

Same goes for the crack on the side, but I may suggest having that one looked at by a qualified tech.

[Fichtezc]

Hmm that's reassuring. Let me grab my iPod and try to take a picture. I left my real camera at school.

[Fichtezc]

Here we go,that's about as good of a job as my ipod can do with poor lighting.

[fitness1]

hmm.....don't know about that one. I assumed it was closer to the fingerboard extension. have someone look at it in person. at any rate it would be too much to repair it (ie stop it from getting worse)

[Tommy]

One thing you didn't mention is whether you humidify the guitar. Guitars don't crack without a reason. Buy a good humidifier (or two!) and get the guitar properly humidified. See how it plays.
You say it's not worth much, so maybe the surface crack won't amount to much. Despite their reputation for fragility, guitars are remarkably tough.
This is the best humidifier I've found;
http://www.google.com/products/catal...d=0CCcQ8wIwAA#

good luck.

T__

[fitness1]

Originally Posted by Fichtezc

Ever since it came into my possession I have done everything in my power to humidify it and take care of it but even so it has developed a nasty crack. .

you missed this part Tommy

[Tommy]

Originally Posted by fitness1

you missed this part Tommy

GULP! so I did. Sorry about that! Blame it on my bad cold.