The fastest of the 48 yet...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Westone-Pantera-Electric-Guitar-/160754475864?pt=Guitar&hash=item256db6a358

Gone not even 8 minutes after I stumbled on it. Did anyone else see when it went up?

I must have blinked because I missed it. But truth be told I may trade or sell my x390??? My FX suits me just fine. After the knobs, I may try to make a brass sustain block for it.

TVill25 wrote:I must have blinked because I missed it. But truth be told I may trade or sell my x390??? My FX suits me just fine. After the knobs, I may try to make a brass sustain block for it.

Am I still on the top 'o you're list on that one, TVill?

Yes pm me and we can talk.

As I had hoped for awhile on finding one of these (one of my very first posts here was to gauge the chances of getting one) I can now announce that my searching has finally paid off.... I was the winner of this auction. I was in a dead spot for coverage (yes, Verizon does get them) and it was a looong 8 minutes finding service. I didn't want to say anything 'til it arrived since...

No pictures yet as I fear I have ended up with an immediate project on my hands. The finish along the
upper edge on the neck between the nut and first fret has cracked and begun to chip away in very small amounts. Upon close inspection it is apparent that the fingerboard has begin to seperate from the neck. As I recall one or two of you have had this experience in the past (Sarc?) and I am looking for any opinions, advice, experience or anecdotes that might be helpful here. Unbelievable as it may sound I am considering not dealing with the repair and sending it back for a refund.

Any comment is gratefully accepted and appreciated.

Let's see some pics before a refund. My latest has a crack in the finish but no seperation as far as I can tell. The repair might just be an easy one on yours though.

My first 350 had a hairline crack with the grain about 3 inches long on the headstock and the guy that did all the fretwork on it for me used a syringe to put glue into the crack - he pulled apart the headstock (i was freaking) just enough to get the glue in and it is rock solid. I would do the same repair myself now that I know a bit more.

Take some nice close ups and we'll all put our 2 cents in eh

it would be pretty hard for me to send it back.

even though very collectable, i would still want to be able to play the thing. if it works as it is, then i would guess that since it is now in your care, the affected parts won't get worse. if it must be repaired to be played, then that would be harder to decide.

a separating fretboard is quite a bit more than just cosmetic items as was claimed in the listing, so that is a bit hard to comment on without seeing it. but still, if it was so easily apparent to you then you might think the seller had a bit more obligation to be forthright in the description.

adding in the cost of paying someone to repair it, then the deal is becoming less of a deal, but you still have what you had been looking for.

i suppose what i would do would be continue to seek out another, better one. and if that happens, then you can certainly pass on the first one to recover your investment in it.

I have taken it to a luthier down in the Cities (Mnpls/St. P.) who is known to have a great reputation with this sort of thing, so no pictures at this time. To describe it better the fretboard itself was only showing a crack line right at it's back edge from the nut to just past the first fret along the upper side only. If you put back tension on the headstock you could see light clearly through to the bottom side.

The seller already offered me a partial refund with no questions asked so I did leave him good feedback as he was very sincere in his explaination. Other than a couple dings and some wear up at the headstock tips there is very little to complain of as cosmetics go. It plays very nicely even with the fingerboard issues, with lots of fretlife left and the electronics are sound.

If the luthier who is looking into it feels it can be reglued and touched up he had already given me an estimate if only abit over $100 which includes a full setup and cleaning. If he feels it to be a major project I still have the right reserved to get a full refund and send it back.

The other luthier there struck up a good conversation with me as he owns and regularly gigs a Dimension IV so he thought it quite a treat just to see an x350.

I should find out more by Friday at the latest.

This repair is no big deal and quite frankly is a common break. If you drop it, or it falls over, this can happen. Luthiers see this all the time.

Thanks for the reassuring words Colt. The guy I took it to did say it should really not be any big shaker, but also cautioned me that you never know until you are in there. Doing the repair itself he was very nonchalant and confident about.

Once I (and his bench partner who knew his Westones) got across to him the rarity of the guitar his demeanor changed to all business and he undestood why I was in no hurry for him to hurry over it.

I also have him checking out my $50 surprise hollowbody as the neck join needed a more experienced opinion than what I was thinking about it and that I will go back for tomorrow so I could have an update early as tomorrow night.

Even if it costs you a hundred or whatever to repair, so what?! it's a great find so don't worry about it! Enjoy it, it's a rare bird that's found a good home. Way to go Steve!!!