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April 2008
Posts: 2336
Location: Brighty in Blighty | The 7163 arrived today.
Was sold as excellent condition and it is pretty much mint. VERY VERY clean, you can it was well looked after however...
There is a crack that runs from the center of the bridge to the bottom on the guitar. It looks like it's just a finish crack as it doesn't exactly follow the grain.
The guitar plays like butter, super duper low action and sounds lovely.
So the dilemma, do I try and get a refund and send it back etc. Or do I keep it (and try and have the repair treated locally at the sellers expense) or file a "not sold as described" with PayPal/Ebay.
Is it possible that a finish crack could happen in shipping? It was well packaged. As far as I can tell the seller was genuine when he said it had no cracks, I mean it's not as if I would not have seen it!
It's a bloody great shame and has kinded soured the whole deal for me, I like my guitars to be in great shape and care for them. I know the crack will not affect the sound and is purely cosmetic but still...
I wonder how invisible a repair would be.
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November 2008
Posts: 1119
Location: Michigan | Man, if it were not for bad luck, you would none at all.
It really depends on how picky you are and what you really want the guitar to do. If you want more of a collectors piece I would probably seek a refund. If you want a "player" it might not be worth the hassel since as you say it plays like butter.
My guitars are all players, so as long as the crack is not though the top I really don't care.
I would be suprised if the crack opened up this time of year unless it was shipped via air freight where you could reach some pretty drastic temperature and humidity changes.
From what John B told me you can seal the crack with super glue and then buff it out. He told me the crack would probably still be visable but that it would be much less likely to get worse. I will be curious to see if anyone else has had luck getting rid of finish cracks in clear coated finishes. A lot of ebay sellers post that finish cracks are easily reparaired by a luthier but I remain skepical. |
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August 2006
Posts: 3145
Location: Marlton, NJ | Dweeze - that stinks! If it's going to bug you every time you look at it, then get a refund. |
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Posts: 4082
Location: Utah | Looks like just a finish crack, thus only cosmetic and not structural or affecting tone. It certainly could happen in transit.
If the seller had good pictures before shipment, he can prove when it happened. Perhaps you or he could file a damage claim against the shipper for loss in value. If it were me, I'd keep the guitar and try to get some $ back if it was shipping damage. If the seller misrepresented it, I'd ask for a reduction in price. |
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March 2002
Posts: 15682
Location: SoCal | How much did you pay for it (U.S. dollars)? |
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April 2008
Posts: 2336
Location: Brighty in Blighty | $750 |
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Posts: 3969
| Tough luck. Even with a resolution in your favor if you go that route, you'll still be out the return shipping costs. That looks like a fairly new crack (no dirt) so it may have happened in transit, probably as a result of temperature extremes. I agree with FlySig that if the seller can document no crack when shipped you might be able to get some money back on a claim.
As far as "repairing" it, barring a complete stripping/sanding to bare wood it's almost impossible to hide a crack on a natural guitar. With a color undercoat you might be able to mix some pigment in the Cya to match, but not with a natural. In this case "repair" just means "stabilize" so the crack doesn't worsen. |
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February 2004
Posts: 1634
Location: Warren,Pa. | I've seen this happen in shipping, and not through any fault of the shipper. We're careful to keep our guitars in a good environment when they're in our homes; it's absolutely impossible to have the same conditions during shipping. If you're determined to fix blame so that you experience no loss, that's one thing; but if you really want a reason why this happened, it's entirely possible that the reason is the UPS truck isn't kept at 70 degrees and 50% humidity.
I admit it sucks that this happened. It's just not ALWAYS someone's fault. |
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December 2006
Posts: 6268
Location: Florida Central Gulf Coast | Originally posted by dweezil:
I like my guitars to be in great shape and care for them. I know the crack will not affect the sound and is purely cosmetic BUT STILL... dweez,
I think your statement pretty much indicates which path to take.
I've purchased some 'checked' guitars, but I knew they were just that. I would be very disappointed in your case...
Good luck! |
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August 2002
Posts: 398
Location: So. Cal. | A few years back, I boarded a one-hour flight from LA to San Francisco. I was carrying my 87C in a Fender gigbag. It was perfect when I left it in the overhead bin. When we arrived, there was a finish crack about the same as yours. It's been until now.
As for repair, I had the factory "fix" a similar finish crack on the wood top Adamas prototype, and it's fine but still visible. |
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November 2006
Posts: 3969
| Originally posted by bauerhillboy:
...it's entirely possible that the reason is the UPS truck isn't kept at 70 degrees and 50% humidity. Nor is the cargo hold of a jet crossing the Atlantic. Recall Dweez is in the UK, so any guitars he buys from the US go through more extreme conditions than trucking them across CONUS. An extra risk you either accept or don't. |
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April 2008
Posts: 2336
Location: Brighty in Blighty | Well the 1763 has gone off to the guitar doc, waiting his diagnosis.
I think he's likely to say it's purely cosmetic, live with it but I will ask how much a refinish would cost. |
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December 2008
Posts: 1456
Location: Texas | dweezil,
Did you ever resolve that situation with the 7163? What did your "guitar doc" conclude? Did he repair the cracks? How's it look now? |
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February 2008
Posts: 747
| Originally posted by G8r:
Nor is the cargo hold of a jet crossing the Atlantic. Recall Dweez is in the UK, so any guitars he buys from the US go through more extreme conditions than trucking them across CONUS. An extra risk you either accept or don't. [/QB] Not to dispute what you're saying exactly but mine has gone from one end of Canada to the other a few times in the cargo hold of a jet and it always survived w/out incident even though it was in one of the worst brown cases that Ovation quality control ever let loose on the world..lol |
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April 2008
Posts: 498
| Originally posted by Joe Rotax:
Originally posted by G8r:
Nor is the cargo hold of a jet crossing the Atlantic. Recall Dweez is in the UK, so any guitars he buys from the US go through more extreme conditions than trucking them across CONUS. An extra risk you either accept or don't. Not to dispute what you're saying exactly but mine has gone from one end of Canada to the other a few times in the cargo hold of a jet and it always survived w/out incident even though it was in one of the worst brown cases that Ovation quality control ever let loose on the world..lol [/QB]
and if the door is left open for just sooooo long, more than a minute or 3 and the cold comes in, along with losing the heat we have inside...
you will a very minute "pop" or "tink" sound followed by the minute humming of the strings...
and voila! you go and inspect the instrument left hanging or sitting closest to the door... with just the thinnest almost invisible, fresh "check" or "finish only" split as is pictured above.
I've witnessed it twice and now know the sound, and reason, so when the temp here goes below 35 or so....and humidity outside goes to the bottom with no dew point, all guitars close to the door or hung on exterior faced walls go into their cases.
ymmv,
Glenn |
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October 2008
Posts: 489
| Dweeze, don't give yourself an ulcer. You like the guitar otherwise, and the seller will probably claim it happened in shipping. You didn't drop multi thousands on it, so just enjoy it.
Now, get back to making that outstanding music you make. |
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January 2009
Posts: 4536
Location: Flahdaw | Dweeze, I've heard your recordings. As good as your pictures are of your guitars, your playing is even better. In other words, don't worry about the surface crack. You'll always make your guitars sound beautiful, cracked or not. |
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January 2009
Posts: 4536
Location: Flahdaw | I'll tell you how little I know.....
About 10 years ago I decided to take my 25 yr old Takamine 360S with me on a ski trip out to Colorado. Flew out to Denver and drove up to Vail (elevation 9000 ft/ temp: 18 F.)Stayed 10 days, then flew back to Florida (elevation 0 ft/ temp 80 F)
Well, that's the whole story....nothing happened to the guitar at all. But, I guess I was lucky, huh? |
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April 2008
Posts: 498
| It is only a cosmetic issue, and if unnoticed by the seller which also could have been easy, as fresh as it is.. it's just as likely to have happened in shipping.
It's invisible unless hit by the light in just the right way... the MS will charge about 400 to remove the neck, bridge, and rosette to belt the top... which is the only way it will go away... and your shipping costs from your location are prohibitive.
it's a 1763, in excellent condition, I know how good it sounds I have it's twin here... from iffy.
if you want to pursue a claim go for it.
you might get some remuneration.. but it won't cover the proper repair costs.
String it up with some extra hard/high tension composites, I use Savarez, and do what you do with your music.
Things will be beautiful.
Glenn |
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October 2008
Posts: 489
| Same thing, darkbar. In 1973 a navy friend asked me to play the Wedding Song at his wedding in another city. I threw a Gibson J-50 (in a cheap case), a mic stand and mics into a duffel bag, checked it and flew. No problems either way. I Would never do that now. |
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March 2005
Posts: 5567
Location: Blue Ridge Mountains | It is only a cosmetic issue, and if unnoticed by the seller which also could have been easy, as fresh as it is.. it's just as likely to have happened in shipping.
It's invisible unless hit by the light in just the right way... the MS will charge about 400 to remove the neck, bridge, and rosette to belt the top... which is the only way it will go away... and your shipping costs from your location are prohibitive.
it's a 1763, in excellent condition, I know how good it sounds I have it's twin here... from iffy.
if you want to pursue a claim go for it.
you might get some remuneration.. but it won't cover the proper repair costs.
String it up with some extra hard/high tension composites, I use Savarez, and do what you do with your music.
Things will be beautiful.
+1 Glenn, and a very thoughtful post IMHO...
Dweez, I know how you feel...I had a beautiful 1657 from 1983 that I dearly loved...I bought it new and used that and my Pacemaker 1615 for 8 years nearly every night on the road...it developed a finish crack on the upper bout and I could never get past that...stupidly, I sold the guitar and I have missed it ever since...
The thing is that the crack on yours is nearly invisible... with your playing, no one will ever notice...sure, you’ll know it's there, but I hope if you love the guitar you'll overlook the slight imperfection and just continue to play great music...just my 2 cents... |
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March 2005
Posts: 5567
Location: Blue Ridge Mountains | correction: it was a 1667... |
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DILEMMA!!!
