# Gretsch hollow body w/ bigsby. finish crack at rear strap peg hole.



## marcnagainis (Jun 15, 2018)

Hi all. Looking for advice on a finish crack on the tail end of my Bigsby laden gretsch hollow body (5422tg). The crack runs from the rear strap peg hole in both directions. Perhaps 12 cm in one direction and double that in the other. This crack doesn’t appear to affect playability or tone, and cannot be seen inside the guitar. Any thoughts on repairing this cosmetically? 
Thanks in advance. 
.m.


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## alwaysflat (Feb 14, 2016)

Perhaps post some photos, hoping your cm is a typo and really mm  Our more skilled repair folks might want to see what you have.
I'm not experienced with Gretsch construction but would be concerned for the tail block. I'd want to make sure that is solid, secure and stable before proceeding on exterior. Wouldn't want to just mask a potential problem.


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## jdto (Sep 30, 2015)

It’s hard to say without seeing it.


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## Latole (Aug 11, 2020)

We can't say without good photos 

Short answer ; any good luthier can fix it. Or by yourself f you are used to DIY and have the right tools


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## marcnagainis (Jun 15, 2018)

Hi all. Thank you for your replies, and my apologies for not getting back here sooner. Unfortunately I did mean Centimeters and not millimeters . Photos below. First is tail on second is from tail peg past plug in. 

Again, thank you all for your time.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

If the sides are laminate, is the crack only in the finish and the outer layer of the laminate?
(I'm not sure if it is even possible to crack only one layer of a laminate)
Do you have an inspection mirror and a flashlight to take a look at the inside of the guitar?


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## jdto (Sep 30, 2015)

marcnagainis said:


> This crack doesn’t appear to affect playability or tone, and cannot be seen inside the guitar.


@greco you may have missed this.

@marcnagainis
If the crack is not visible inside the guitar, then it could be in the top layer of the laminate side. From those pics, it looks like it definitely goes deeper than just the finish. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if there's an easy fix here. Was the guitar bumped on the endpin somehow? It sort of looks like that's where the line goes from. Do you have access to a good repair place?


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

jdto said:


> @greco you may have missed this.
> 
> @marcnagainis
> If the crack is not visible inside the guitar, then it could be in the top layer of the laminate side. From those pics, it looks like it definitely goes deeper than just the finish. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if there's an easy fix here. Was the guitar bumped on the endpin somehow? It sort of looks like that's where the line goes from. Do you have access to a good repair place?


OOOOPS! Thanks for reminding me to read threads more thoroughly and with more focus before posting.
Apologies to the OP


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## marcnagainis (Jun 15, 2018)

No worries. I'm not certain how the crack originated. It may have been there and I didn't see it. It may have happened by reefing on a strap trying to put it over the peg. I do know the guitar was transported on a cold day. That may have been enough. The guitar has been babied in my ownership but I'm not her first unf. I do have a few quite reputable luthiers here in Ottawa, but... It's not worth a lot to begin with so paying over and above... Was hoping to learn and do myself.


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## zdogma (Mar 21, 2006)

marcnagainis said:


> No worries. I'm not certain how the crack originated. It may have been there and I didn't see it. It may have happened by reefing on a strap trying to put it over the peg. I do know the guitar was transported on a cold day. That may have been enough. The guitar has been babied in my ownership but I'm not her first unf. I do have a few quite reputable luthiers here in Ottawa, but... It's not worth a lot to begin with so paying over and above... Was hoping to learn and do myself.


Usually laminate guitars are pretty tough, I suspect the idea that it got a good bump on the endpin is the likely.

I would bring it to Jerome at Glebe guitar for an opinion, but I'm not sure how you would fix that on a Gretsch-how to you access it?

You do know that the strap buttons unscrew, right?


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## jdto (Sep 30, 2015)

I’ve seen posts over at Gretsch-Talk about sides cracking at the jack, too. I put a metal jack plate on mine to hopefully make it just that little bit stronger there. It is a danger with the hollow guitars, even with tough laminate sides, that something screwed into it getting a hit or some torque could cause a crack.

I wanted to put a little block of wood on the inside by the front strap button, but so far it is holding well as it is. The side walls aren’t very thick, so I do think the button could worry itself loose eventually.
As Zdogma says, it’s a right pain in the ass to do anything inside a Gretsch, let alone a repair of a cracked side.


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## jdto (Sep 30, 2015)

Also, those screw on strap buttons make me nervous. I replaced mine with Schaller S-Locks.


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## marcnagainis (Jun 15, 2018)

Alright. Thank you all for your input. I’ll ask around town once things open up a bit.


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