I suppose it had to happen sometime

[musictag]

Just a bit heartbroken this morning. After spending most of my recent playing time on my steel string guitar, got my Rubio classical out this morning, was planning to put some fresh strings on it, and discovered that the fingerboard has a large crack starting at the 11 fret and running all the way up the neck. It looks like it's also caused a crack in the soundboard. So, my first immediate question is can a crack that's gone all the way through the fingerboard be repaired? At the moment, I'm not hearing any degradation in sound of the guitar - no buzzing or other intonation problems.

Odd (ironic?) to me that in the 40+ years I've owned a variety of guitars, and for the bulk of those 40 years, never thought about humidifying or worrying about soundboard cracks and the like, when I finally start keeping a humidifier running and such, I get my first cracked instrument.

[jklotz]

I don't think anybody here can give you a definitive answer without seeing it first. Just take it to a good luthier. They can stop any further damage, and possibly even repair to the point of not even being able to see that it was ever damaged.

[musictag]

Will try to add some pictures shortly

[musictag]

Here's the damage.

[nikpearson]

Ebony is a wonderful wood but is very prone to shrinkage. It’s not uncommon for a crack to form in the soundboard along the line of the fingerboard even if there is no sign of a crack in the fingerboard itself.

Whilst it looks bad I suspect that a skilled luthier could repair this fairly easily. The fingerboard crack could be stabilised with ebony dust and superglue and the crack would be invisible. The soundboard crack could be closed up and cleated. It might be better to do these jobs in reverse order.

[musictag]

Happy to report that the good folks over at Willie's managed to get the repairs done. Took a few weeks for the work to be completed as the guitar was "exceptionally dry" and had to be rehumidified first before the repair could be done. Can't even tell that there ever was a crack in the board now. Additionally, he got the frets trimmed up a bit so the guitar is playing better. Sounds just as good as always. Very happy with the work!

[jaymarsch]

Originally Posted by musictag

Happy to report that the good folks over at Willie's managed to get the repairs done. Took a few weeks for the work to be completed as the guitar was "exceptionally dry" and had to be rehumidified first before the repair could be done. Can't even tell that there ever was a crack in the board now. Additionally, he got the frets trimmed up a bit so the guitar is playing better. Sounds just as good as always. Very happy with the work!

Great that you had a good outcome as that crack looked rather dramatic. I think that some guitars are more sensitive to humidity changes than others. I wonder also if you play an instrument regularly whether or not the oil from your fingers helps as well.

Best,
Jayne

[redir]

I know this is a zombie thread but just for the future record, that is a classic case of sever drying out. But never fear just about ANYTHING can be fixed on a guitar, it just depends on how much it's worth it to you.

One other indicator before it gets that bad is that you might feel fret ends sticking out. That's a good indication that you are too dry.

[charles Tauber]

Originally Posted by jaymarsch

I wonder also if you play an instrument regularly whether or not the oil from your fingers helps as well.

There is zero evidence that it does and zero evidence that it doesn't. In the absence of evidence, you can believe anything, or believe nothing: either is equally valid. Hence the frequent discussions about whether or not to oil one's fingerboard.

Some have argued there is very little oil content in what is transferred from one's hands to a fingerboard.

There is evidence that adding oil to wood does not prevent wood from cracking/splitting. It might prolong the onset of cracking by slowing moisture absorption and desorption.

[musictag]

Originally Posted by redir

I know this is a zombie thread but just for the future record, that is a classic case of sever drying out. But never fear just about ANYTHING can be fixed on a guitar, it just depends on how much it's worth it to you.

One other indicator before it gets that bad is that you might feel fret ends sticking out. That's a good indication that you are too dry.

Yes, did have that problem with the frets. Hence starting the use of a humidifier over the winter months. Just not enough, I guess. Have noticed a buzzing on the low E string now. Not sure if it's due to the work on the fingerboard.

I've used a few different humidifying techniques over the years, and when this happened a friend sent me some of the D'Addario packs to put in my guitars. Will be giving those a try this winter along with the room humidifier. Drawback being that you are supposed to keep the guitars stored in their cases.

Not to take this thread too far off topic, but here in the land of 10,000 lakes, we have such extremes in humidity levels, going from near tropical in the summer to bone dry in the winter. A friend in Colorado (who just purchased a used Collins) said his luthier told him never humidify a guitar. Goes against everything I've ever heard. Still I suppose if you are located where the humidity doesn't change much season to season, maybe the guitar will adapt?

[redir]

I'm going to assume you live in Texas? I think the most humid and hottest place I've ever been was San Antonio. But I can imagine it gets pretty dry in the desert regions of Texas.

The key is to mediate the extremes. If you live in a desert and bought a guitar that was built under normal conditions of 40-45% RH then you will need to try and mediate the dryness. If the guitar was built in the desert then you have nothing to worry about unless you move to the Pacific North West rain forest.

That kind of thing.