X350 on the Bay

Considering the laminated construction of these necks I think it's unlikely to be a structural crack. You'd need a considerable impact to break the wood. And I think you'd see a tremendous amount of damage somewhere at the point of impact.

Looks to me like she's experienced a blow to the headstock possibly from a fall, which has caused a "whiplash" effect, breaking the finish. I also note a smaller stress crack running from the nut.

The pattern of the crack is troubling though, but it may be caused by violent neck vibration, kinda like a big tuning fork--that is a long piece of timber!

In other matters, I have strong urge to eat toffee. 

Gorgeous guitar Mike!  Congratulations.     

Should be a great playing guitar, whether it's a finish crack or a wood crack.

Let us know how you do with the seller.  We'll be interested to hear it!  Sounds like they'll take some straight talk.

Nice catch Mike. Not sure but looks to me like there may have been some mods to the guitar which if a bit clumsily done could have resulted in the scratches. John's comment above made me think this. The nut area looks a bit bruised and battered, heres a shot of the same area on mine, fixed bridge though.

 We need Damian.

today i took it to a pro luthier shop (operating here since 1923), to give some trained and experienced eyes a look at it. 

it took all of 2 seconds to point out the lines in the lacquer where the repair meets the old finish on the back of the headstock. and also a slight color mismatch in one area at the low-E side of the neck.

so his verdict was; broken and repaired. 
his suggestion; protect it from big changes in temperature and humidity.

Wow! It must have been sumthin' really horrendous to break that baby!  

Hope she turns out to be a good one for you bro.  Assuming you mention this to the seller, let us know how it goes.

So are the finish cracks are around the meeting of old and new finishes?
Thought the finish around the face veneer of the headstock where it fades out around the nut looked suspicious. Should be readily fixable though if mechanically stable and guess if it wasn't it would be unplayable.

You need to get back to the sellers for some compo.

Sorry to hear of this ill turn Mike, but as I think back on the demeanor and hesitation I felt from the guy who was feeding me his lines it sorta makes sense now. If you do happen to make contact with that pawn shop you might mention that I am a friend of yours who had stopped in and asked to see it right around lunchtime on the 3rd.

They shouldn't have too tough a time remembering me as I am nearly 6'5", 230+ #'s, I shave my head... and was wearing a lime green tanktop and fluorescent orange Adidas that day.












...and my Wayfarers... don't forget the Wayfarers.

what is visible in the pic i posted earlier is the crack itself. it has been glued back and lacquered over. what is visible is the line of the crack under the new finish. the lacquer finish covers it over and feels smooth. there are no rough edges anywhere around it because it is not a new break and all the damage is covered over.

the guy at the shop showed me the area on the back of the headstock above the crack, and on the neck below the crack, where the new finish was not totally blended to the old. very difficult to show in a photo, but the eyes and hands of an experienced luthier immediately picked up the different look and feel to the new and the old finish. 

i've been in contact with the seller to work things out. i'll make a new thread and more pics when it is all sorted.

Mine ended up having a decent amount of fretboard separation from the nut to the 3rd fret. After contacting the seller (who convinced me he had no idea of the damage, and I believed him) I took it to my luthier down in the Cities who called him with an estimate of the needed repairs.

Within 10 minutes of that call the seller had refunded me what worked out to about 40% of my payment to him and everyone went home a winner.

I certainly hope your results are as good or better than mine were on both counts, Mike.

Fingers crossed...

the seller and i have come to a good resolution. i'd give them an A+.

and the guitar will be staying with me.

good to hear eh!

All right Mike!  Great to hear man. 

And about this from Steve... "They shouldn't have too tough a time remembering me as I am nearly 6'5", 230+ #'s, I shave my head... and was wearing a lime green tanktop and fluorescent orange Adidas that day."

I don't get it.... Why wear those clothrs? It's not as if you were going to check out a Dynasty or Dim IV!

The Chad wrote:...I am nearly 6'5", 230+ #'s, I shave my head... and was wearing a lime green tanktop and fluorescent orange Adidas that day.

Hubba hubba!

OIY!!!

Y'all don't be hatin' MY Adidas...

So you are keeping that x350?!??

Color me shocked!!!

Iceman wrote: OIY!!!

Y'all don't be hatin' MY Adidas...

Did they come with free sunglasses ????

Iceman wrote:So you are keeping that x350?!??

Color me shocked!!!  

well honestly, it was very much a possibility.
i'm sure you can imagine my disappointment when i found the crack across the back of the neck. 
even with it repaired already, $800 (+shipping) is too much.

several things helped to convince me to keep it;
1. the damage i found did not occur during shipping to me.
2. it was already repaired, and it's stability was verified by a qualified luthier
3. the seller was responsive and acted with integrity to resolve our situation

while i certainly would prefer to have one that is undamaged, i can live with the results. if it was damaged in shipment, or was previously damaged and not repaired, i would have (unhappily) sent it back for sure.
if the seller had not acted responsibly, i was still prepared to send it back, and wait for a chance at another one sometime.

i hope the repair that was done remains stable, and that seems likely if i take the necessary precautions. it seems like they just tried to do the minimum work necessary to stabilize the damage. so no major sanding and refinishing, just glue it back and smooth it over

I'm just funnin' ya Mike. I could think of no one better for that baby to land with than you. In the end perhaps it was best they didn't let me see it. I'd of either talked them down and bought it myself on the spot if I had or more likely broadcast a serious warning to steer clear if it.

Enjoy it man... you certainly deserve it!!























...oh, and by the by, does this mean by any chance that Smurfy will get dealt out of the rotation??

Why not sand it back and respray it properly. It's only a 2 pack tinted lacquer. Easy job for your guitar man.

Mahogany hides a repair very well.

Iceman wrote:...oh, and by the by,  does this mean by any chance that Smurfy will get dealt out of the rotation??

 

Westbone wrote:Why not sand it back and respray it properly. It's only a 2 pack tinted lacquer. Easy job for your guitar man.

Mahogany hides a repair very well.

 mostly because it would cost $350 for strictly cosmetic work

if i had the proper tools and the skill to do it myself it would be worth the effort. but to have it done at the shop is not worth cost, at least not at this time.

Sand it back yourself. It's only a bit around the damage.
That's all the hard work.

Then get it sprayed, can't be that much over there.