need some help: Collings center seam crack

[Scotso]

I hear crack, I wonder about humidity and more damage Sorry but there might be loose braces, There might be neck block issues. There might be cracks around the fingerboard wh/ are hard to detect. All in, cracks say poor ownership to me. So I proceed with a lot of caution and look for a sizeable discount. The guitar may be fine but I am cautious until I have it in to someone I trust. If you expect to sell me a guitar with crack(s), expect me to want eval time.

[blindboyjimi]

Originally Posted by Scotso

I hear crack, I wonder about humidity and more damage Sorry but there might be loose braces, There might be neck block issues. There might be cracks around the fingerboard wh/ are hard to detect. All in, cracks say poor ownership to me. So I proceed with a lot of caution and look for a sizeable discount. The guitar may be fine but I am cautious until I have it in to someone I trust. If you expect to sell me a guitar with crack(s), expect me to want eval time.

This is exactly why I wrote the post before this one. Many people will think this way, but in reality every Collings (and most every guitar) starts with a center seam crack. It’s simply a glue joint between the book matched top pieces. A lot of luthiers cleat their center seams on brand new builds to avoid this such as David Flammang. With being over the tail block, a cleat may not even be needed. There is zero risk of any other damage or evidence of poor ownership, etc, but a majority of people will feel this way which is why it’s a $50 repair at most, the fix will outlast the guitar, it won’t affect tone at all, but a big hit on re-sale.

[Earl49]

Originally Posted by blindboyjimi

.... a majority of people will feel this way which is why it’s a $50 repair at most, the fix will outlast the guitar, it won’t affect tone at all, but a big hit on re-sale.

There is the gist of the whole thread, distilled to one line. Only the OP can decide what is right for them.

[Scotso]

Originally Posted by blindboyjimi

This is exactly why I wrote the post before this one. Many people will think this way, but in reality every Collings (and most every guitar) starts with a center seam crack. It’s simply a glue joint between the book matched top pieces. A lot of luthiers cleat their center seams on brand new builds to avoid this such as David Flammang. With being over the tail block, a cleat may not even be needed. There is zero risk of any other damage or evidence of poor ownership, etc, but a majority of people will feel this way which is why it’s a $50 repair at most, the fix will outlast the guitar, it won’t affect tone at all, but a big hit on re-sale.

every guitar starts with the neck off too. Sorry but I have seen too many guitars with issues to just excuse any crack as minor. It may be....but it may not be.

[tippy5]

Why can't builders instead of a butt joint come up with some offset joint? or some light membrane mesh?

[awesomepser]

does it need gluing and is there any way to make it invisible? Not planning on doing it myself but would love some input, cheers!

[fazool]

1) dont bother until you get your humidity under control.



That is a crack from wood drying out and shrinking. It is the most common spot for it to happen.

Rehumidify the guitar properly first, then have it assessed.

It is quite fixable and fortunately in a non-critical location tonewise.

It can be sealed up and made almost invisible by a good finisher

[Kerbie]

Threads merged.