The place to discuss, post photos, video, and audio of the G&L products (US instruments, stomp boxes, etc.) produced after 1991, including the amps & gear we use with them.
I recently sold my S-500 on eBay and am having a tussle with the buyer (I know... my bad for not coming to the Marketplace first...). The buyer insists that the guitar has a crack in the neck that I did not disclose. I confess that I did not disclose it, because frankly, all the time that my thumb was hanging over that part of the neck, it never occurred to me that the mark might be a crack. Always saw it as a feature, not a bug, if you know what I mean. It never appeared to me that the finish was cracked. See the picture below ....
The buyer is trying shake me down, er, I mean negotiate a partial refund based on this. I already offered to completely refund his money if he will ship the guitar back, but he declined. If it is indeed cracked, I'll refund some part of the price just to be finished with him, but if it's not I guess the drama will continue for another day or two. Although this guy has a high "power seller" rating, every sentence of every email ends with three or four exclamation points!!!!! You get the picture.
Dave, this is my non expert opinion. Apparently there is not a crack in the finish. If true, this appears too be a natural dark stripe of grain in the maple. I have alder body on a Fender that is 23 years old with the same types of grain lines. The finish is raised a bit on the grain but clearly not cracked. Some would consider this mark a beauty mark and others would not like it. I think it is normal and not a crack. An example of grain coloration is Spalted Maple. It is a premium price.-- Darwin
Looks like a small dark natural streak in the woodgrain to me. If it's below the finish, it's even more unlikely to be a crack. (I think the power seller is just trying his luck.)
Well, I am not an expert. But I don't think it's a crack, just coloration of the wood. how would a crack like that happen? I have never scene such a thing, and I have seen some pretty sorry guitar specimens. Stand your ground, ebay is getting scary. I have had good luck out there, but I am hearing of more and more stuff like this.
BTW - Is it visible in any of the auction pictures? If it's not, it's not the end of the world. But if it is, then there is no complaint, for sure.
Good illustration Darwin -- thank you. It's ironic that the body of the S-500 is also pretty highly figured with a clear natural finish. On the body I guess such a mark is a "feature."
@offplanetfilms is probably correct -- the power seller is trying his luck. We'll see if he gets cranky with eBay ratings over it.
@sickbutnottired -- The mark isn't visible in any of the pictures... Ironic again because I did take pictures of a couple of small dings that I thought a buyer would be interested in. I'm no power seller but have bought and sold a few guitars and amps on eBay and this is the first real problem I've ever run into. Like I said, should have posted here first....
I recall this question coming up once before on the old GbLDP years ago, regarding dark wood 'cracks' on the front body which appeared to have been 'filled in' ... as I have a mid 90's Legacy which exhibits these, and so I was very interested in that discussion. Turns out that these are just portions within the wood grain which absorbed the finish lacquer to a higher degree and appear darker as 'cracks', which they are not, or it was something to that effect.
Would be nice if that discussion was resurrected from the GbL archives, if possible, and put into the KnowledgeBase .. because the question seems to arise once again now and then.
It never ceases to amaze me how anal some people are about "imperfections" in pieces of wood--especially when they're spending so little on such a nice instrument. Production guitars are rarely "perfect." If someone want a show piece (aka, a wall hanger), they should anti up and pay the big bucks for carefully selected wood--or more gruffly said, "pay the piper or STFU!" Otherwise, it's all about playability. In short, minor "blemishes" are irrelevant.
I know my comment is probably not helpful in regards to the situation, but... Good luck!
I was changing the strings on my bluesboy today and noticed these (sorry for the grainy pic, from my cellphone)
Those "marks' are on the back of the neck (about 6 of em) and on the front of the head as well as the back. That one is the most noticable. They are wonderful beauty marks and completely below the finish. Look great. Non on the fretboard. Nothing wrong with my bluesboy!
Whole gratuitous pic: If you look close you can see the front mark, just below the high E tuner.
I was playing my F-100 Return Edition yesterday and noticed that it had similar mineral streaks on the neck. And they are most definitely under the finish and not cracks:
The streak is darker for realz.
It is funny that I never had heard of minral streaks before, and I completely overlooked them. But now I know what they are, I see the everywhere! Reminds me of buying a new car and thinking nobody drives your new model. Until you take delivery, and all of a sudden it is like everybody is driving that same model. Mere case of knowing what to look for ...
