Anyone had this too...?

[viento]

I might buy a F512 with a crack in the top at the end of its fingerboard, but I can´t estimate if the repair would be a big / expensive thing...

Maybe one of you has had one like this before and thus knows what I´m heading to...

Thanks for your help!
viento

 

[guildzilla]

Cracks like that tend to make me nervous, especially on a 12-string. Is there another on the other side of the soundhole below the fretboard?

Can be no problem. But can also be a sign that string tension is causing that portion of the top to cave in, resulting in higher action and need for repair or neck reset.

 

[viento]

Cracks like that tend to make me nervous, especially on a 12-string. Is there another on the other side of the soundhole below the fretboard?

Can be no problem. But can also be a sign that string tension is causing that portion of the top to cave in, resulting in higher action and need for repair or neck reset.

No, the other side (still??) is ok.
As the vendor writes, a professional has told him that the neck block isn´t loose.

 

[chazmo]

Viento,

Regardless of whether the seller has seen this spread, I highly recommend that you repair this crack if you're going to get the guitar. The crack has clear edges to it and is not level, so it certainly needs cleating (at a minimum). But, before you do that...

This could be an example of a humidification problem, but it's hard to tell. A luthier needs to have a close look at the structural damage.

If you think this guitar has dried out from low humidity, I recommend immediately taking off the strings and putting it in a hard case with dampits and damp sponges in a ziploc back. Do this for about two weeks, checking the sponges/dampit every other day. Only once it's properly humidified will you know whether the crack is going to heal itself, in which case it should be a minor cleating repair. Hopefully, the guitar will absorb the humidity and the crack will level out and seal up. But intervention is needed one way or the other.

That should be a bargaining chip for you in your discussions with the seller.

 

[viento]

Thanks so much for your kind help!

Sure I´ll follow your advice and take off the strings and have a very thorough look inside especially at the neck block.

Thereafter measures will have to be taken to get everything in order.

As this deal will be run over ebay I am slightly insecure how high to bid and "bargaining" will be no question...:-(

I´ll have to wait whether I can get it for a reasonable price.

BTW, eventually someone can tell how the neck joints of Corona 12-strings were made, bolt or dovetail?


Dietz

 

[Darryl Hattenhauer]

Viento,

Yes, you might have a humidity problem. If you have the guitar in winter in Northern Germany, the heating in your home might create very low humidity, which would dry and shrink the wood. I believe Northern Germany and coastal Spain are fairly humid in the summer, which would cause the wood to swell up a little. Even if the summer humidity in those areas isn't too high, the repeated shrinking and swelling is bad.

A lot of people use a small humidifier inside the case. But with one of those case humidifiers, it is hard to keep the humidity from going up and down too much. Some of us use a room humidifier, which will keep the room from getting to dry, and you can leave the guitar outside the case, and you don't need a small humidifier for each case.

Here is some info on room humidifiers:

http://www.acousticguitar.com/ubb/Forum ... 16057.html

http://www.allergyconsumerreview.com/hu ... =askjeeves

http://www.allergybuyersclub.com/humidi ... .html#cool

Some people live where the air gets too wet. They need a de-humidifier to dry the air. But that is probably necessary only in jungles and rain forests. I don't know about de-humidifiers because I live in a very dry climate.

There is some disagreement about which humidity level is best. Some say you need at least 40%. Some say 30% is ok. Some say you need to know the average maximum humidity in your climate, and then keep the humidity about half way between that average maximum and 40%. That way you minimize the extremes of shrinking and swelling. But if your natural humidity is too high and you need a de-humidifier, I don't know what you are supposed to do.

There is a lot of info about guitars and humidity on the internet.

All the best to you,

Darryl Hattenhauer

 

[viento]

Tanks for all of your help and advice!

In the end I quit bidding because the price ran up too high.
The winning bid was 933€ = 1450$ thus too much for a guitar with
a damage where I don´t know the repair price.
I better keep feeding my saving bank piggy until it provides me with a
guild without problems ;-)

-------------
@ Darryl: most of the time I do not play I leave the guitars in their cases.
a simple and inexpensive meter for humidity is lying on a shelf
here in my room is showing appr. 60% humidity in this summer period.
dietz