# Will this Neck Finish Crack Turn Into a Worse Problem?



## tomsy49 (Apr 2, 2015)

I was looking at buying a guitar locally (ESP eclipse standard from 2005) and the guy was showing me pictures of some finish cracks in the neck which which start at the nut. He says they can't be felt while playing at all and that it's purely cosmetic. Do you foresee this progressing into something worse, or is it just from cyclic humidity changes since we are in Canada. Any help would be awesome!


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## Lincoln (Jun 2, 2008)

that's a bad place to have a crack......and showing on both sides? I'd be plenty nervous about buying that guitar. It would have to be a very good deal.


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## JBFairthorne (Oct 11, 2014)

Yeah...ditto. If the cracks appeared randomly I might be less concerned. The fact that they're more or less in the same spot on both sides would seriously concern me, especially considering the fact that they start exactly at the front of the cutout for the nut. Even the binding on the one side looks almost like it's shattered. When I see stuff like this, my immediate thought is, how did this happen? Looks to me like a drop (on the front side of the guitar rather than the back) where he got lucky and didn't actually split the headstock. Unless it's an absolute STEAL, avoid it like the plague.


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

I'd stay a long way away from that. Looks to me like it's had a fall and has already been stressed.


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## bigboki (Apr 16, 2015)

Looks to me like bad hit into the nut. Or really bad nut replacement?


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## tomsy49 (Apr 2, 2015)

I'm on the fence with it. Its a beauty of a guitar. Those Eclipse Standard look to be in the $1200 range usually and he was going to accept $500 and a couple pickups in trade. I've dealt with him before as well so its not just a random guy.


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## mr trick (Sep 21, 2013)

it looks like an impact crack in the finish, if you can open it up by just bending the headstock back then it's real trouble, but even as just a finish crack it greatly devalues the instrument


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## 5732 (Jul 30, 2009)

That's a weird orientation for a wood crack. I've seen cracks like that after nut replacement. Did you try removing the stings and giving it a good twist to see if it opens?


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## GTmaker (Apr 24, 2006)

I see no evidence that its a wood crack . Looks like a finish crack and that makes the wood as strong as it was before the crack.
I would agree that someone would use that as a bargaining tool to devalue the guitar but I think the guitar is as sound as it was before the crack.

G.


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## tomsy49 (Apr 2, 2015)

I haven't seen the guitar in person so i can't give it the twist test. I have decided not to buy it. I may have missed out on a great deal but better safe then sorry.


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## cboutilier (Jan 12, 2016)

tomsy49 said:


> I haven't seen the guitar in person so i can't give it the twist test. I have decided not to buy it. I may have missed out on a great deal but better safe then sorry.


I passed on a steal on a black 335 once because it had finish cracks at the neck joint, and I couldn't be certain they were solely a finish issue.


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## bigboki (Apr 16, 2015)

I completely agreer - better safe then sorry, especially if you would be thinking about it. And even more so if you were ever to think about selling it. If it would be guitar solely for you and you know that you will never part with it, perhaps then it would make sense to gamble, but I think you made wise decision.

yours truly
Bojan


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## PTWamps (Aug 5, 2016)

Good move to pass on it. ESPs are not so rare, and if you buy it and want to move it on later, you'll get stuck with the same issue yourself when it comes to resale.


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## King Loudness (May 3, 2010)

I bought one of those ESP Eclipses in white that had the headstock totally snapped off and reglued (without the original ESP veneer on the face of the headstock) for $200 or $250 when I was in high school. It was a pretty nice guitar. I think I got $400 when I sold it, although the headstock repair was incredibly poorly done which may have contributed to that. Normally, they seem to sell for between $900-$1300 CAD.

If you're buying it to keep, the +/-$500 value is probably a safe bet, but if you're buying to flip it, there are too many variables. Even if the cracks are totally sound, everyone and their dog is going to fight you tooth and nail on them. Never mind that ESP stuff generally doesn't seem very popular on the re-sale market here in Canada.

W.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

If I was as capable at woodworking as some of the fine craftsmen here are, I would take a chance on it. Refinishing and/or repairing what you find underneath could turn a $500 guitar into an $800 guitar. But I would have to pay someone to do that so it wouldn't be worth it to me. 




PTWamps said:


> Good move to pass on it. ESPs are not so rare, and if you buy it and want to move it on later, you'll get stuck with the same issue yourself when it comes to resale.


But what's the chances of tomsy49 selling anything? I think he's a bit of a packrat or hoarder..... ^)@#


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## tomsy49 (Apr 2, 2015)

Hahahaaha guilty! I'm gonna start doing my best at keeping it simple, with KEEPING being the key word.


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## tomsy49 (Apr 2, 2015)

Duplicate message


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## djmarcelca (Aug 2, 2012)

That little lump o wood that is located on the back of the neck under the nut is called a Volute. 
It's purpose is to structurally reinforce the headstock/neck joint.

Guitar builders put that there to correct the break-prone(ness) of the Gibson necks they're copying. You know the ones a google search will give you nightmares about.

Anyway.......For a crack to be in mirrored locations like that absolutely indicates an impact of some kind. However because of the Volute, I'd be much less nervous about it that if it were a Gibson. 

The structure of the joint may not be harmed. 
But if you're nervous, pass on it.


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## Accept2 (Jan 1, 2006)

I have a Charvel with a much worse finish crack than that in the same place. Cracked in the 90s, and it hasnt grown in 20 years............


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## BEACHBUM (Sep 21, 2010)

That one would be a deal breaker for me.


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