Crack in my guitar!

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Crack in my guitar!

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duende

Posts: 3053
Joined: Dec. 15 2003
From: Sweden

Crack in my guitar!

Hello

I got a crack in my guitar from it being to dry. This was a few weeks ago and i still have a few more weeks before i can get it fixed.

So my question is. How can i fix it enough not to make it worse? It´s not a bad crack but it sort of getting longer and longer it seems. It could be my fears playing tricks on me as well.

/Henrik

ps Maybe Anders who made the guitar has some good advice

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Don't give up...
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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 8 2012 19:37:16

Doitsujin

Posts: 5078
Joined: Apr. 10 2005

RE: Crack in my guitar! (in reply to duende)

ewww crackedicrack. ^^ *sorry. It sucks when that happens.... I also owned one with a crack.. luckily I was able to trade it. :)

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 8 2012 19:39:05

duende

Posts: 3053
Joined: Dec. 15 2003
From: Sweden

RE: Crack in my guitar! (in reply to duende)

I also have a cracked Alhambra but i think that will survive any crack.

It´s a 10 kilo guitar. Im sure it will out last me

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This is hard stuff!
Don't give up...
And don't make it a race.
Enjoy the ray of sunshine that comes with every new step in knowledge.

RON

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 8 2012 19:50:56

Elie

Posts: 1837
Joined: Apr. 10 2010

RE: Crack in my guitar! (in reply to duende)

quote:

It´s a 10 kilo guitar

are you serious ? which model ? I think the heaviest alhambra i played was the 5P classical

I am sorry for you guitar mate ... I've seen some guitars in a very bad situation (worser than this) and they survived for couple years

good luck

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 8 2012 20:09:38

El Kiko

Posts: 2697
Joined: Jun. 7 2010
From: The South Ireland

RE: Crack in my guitar! (in reply to duende)

quote:

I also have a cracked Alhambra

you have 2 guitars with cracks !!!

...what are you doing to them , ??/
Do you live in an anti guitar climate ...¿

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 8 2012 20:22:34

gbv1158

Posts: 410
Joined: May 29 2009
From: Italy

RE: Crack in my guitar! (in reply to duende)

I am very sorry! Henrik,
but... where and how you use to store the guitar?...
could it have been a drastic change of temperature and umidity in the environment?

ciao,
giambattista

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 8 2012 20:24:04

Jeff Highland

Posts: 401
Joined: Mar. 5 2010
From: Caves Beach Australia

RE: Crack in my guitar! (in reply to duende)

Main thing is to avoid touching it. Oils and dirt from the skin will make it harder to disguise the repair.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 8 2012 20:28:58

TANúñez

Posts: 2559
Joined: Jul. 10 2003
From: TEXAS

RE: Crack in my guitar! (in reply to duende)

Hello Henrik. Long time no see. I would throw the guitar away and order another Eliasson

Do you not keep your guitars humidified? A good case humidifier helps this. I would try to introduce the guitar to some humidity. It may help prevent the crack from getting longer or opening up more until you can have it repaired properly. I may even loosen the tension and not play it until it is repaired.

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www.instagram.com/tanunezguitars

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 8 2012 20:47:14

Pgh_flamenco

Posts: 1506
Joined: Dec. 5 2007
From: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

RE: Crack in my guitar! (in reply to duende)

I saw a vid on YouTube by a guy who created a sponge that hangs from the sound hole of a guitar. He used it to close a wide crack on the top of an acoustic guitar. You could rig something like this together and try to close the crack.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 8 2012 20:47:28

keith

Posts: 1108
Joined: Sep. 29 2009
From: Back in Boston

RE: Crack in my guitar! (in reply to Elie)

sweden = cold winters in the north = indoor heating = low humidity.

bummer duende about the crack. i have read about guitars that are cracked and swell up enough in the humid months and close. the soundhole humidifiers might help this situation--along with other humdifying devices. if you are not comfortable with playing it then reducing string tension makes sense.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 8 2012 22:17:41

constructordeguitarras

Posts: 1675
Joined: Jan. 29 2012
From: Seattle, Washington, USA

RE: Crack in my guitar! (in reply to duende)

In addition to the good advice to keep it humidified now, sticky tape across the crack, especially at its ends, might help to keep it from growing.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 9 2012 1:48:07

duende

Posts: 3053
Joined: Dec. 15 2003
From: Sweden

RE: Crack in my guitar! (in reply to TANúñez)

quote:

Do you not keep your guitars humidified?

Yes i do, always.

But we got our selfs a new house witch is very VERY dry.

And i was a bit careless with the humidifier for a few days
looking at it going -naah i´ll do it later.

Not playing it is not an option. I use it 7 days a week 5 days for work.
I also got some gigs coming up where i wouldn´t play anything but my Eliason.

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This is hard stuff!
Don't give up...
And don't make it a race.
Enjoy the ray of sunshine that comes with every new step in knowledge.

RON

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 9 2012 2:47:19

Pgh_flamenco

Posts: 1506
Joined: Dec. 5 2007
From: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

RE: Crack in my guitar! (in reply to duende)

Here are links to the vids I mentioned:

Taylor - Understanding Humidity - Part 1 The Symptoms

Taylor - Understanding Humidity Part 2-1 The Solution

Taylor - Understanding Humidity - Part 2-2 The Solution

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 9 2012 3:10:45

duende

Posts: 3053
Joined: Dec. 15 2003
From: Sweden

RE: Crack in my guitar! (in reply to El Kiko)

quote:

you have 2 guitars with cracks !!! ...what are you doing to them , ??/
Do you live in an anti guitar climate ...¿

The alhambra cracked 10 years ago and was my first experiance with ackustic instruments so i didn´t know anything about humidity and stuff like that.

_____________________________

This is hard stuff!
Don't give up...
And don't make it a race.
Enjoy the ray of sunshine that comes with every new step in knowledge.

RON

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 9 2012 7:11:07

aarongreen

Posts: 367
Joined: Jan. 16 2004

RE: Crack in my guitar! (in reply to duende)

With all due to respect to Ethan, I have to argue against sticky tape across an open crack. It would seem to me to run a very real risk of contaminating the crack and therefore making it impossible to get a clean and invisible glue line (if the crack closes up). To keep it from growing, esp. considering it's location...humidify the guitar and remove the string tension until it is fixed.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 9 2012 11:25:50

Ricardo

Posts: 14801
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC

RE: Crack in my guitar! (in reply to duende)

quote:

ORIGINAL: duende

quote:

Do you not keep your guitars humidified?

Yes i do, always.

But we got our selfs a new house witch is very VERY dry.

And i was a bit careless with the humidifier for a few days
looking at it going -naah i´ll do it later.

Not playing it is not an option. I use it 7 days a week 5 days for work.
I also got some gigs coming up where i wouldn´t play anything but my Eliason.

Yeah man that sucks. Problem is you probably should have taken these years to SLOWLY dehumidify your guitar considering your environment, so that you don't need to keep in under constant wet conditions. Everyone I know in NYC has cracked guitars. The fact you always have the guitar under humidity makes it even worse if a drastic change occurs. Unfortunatly if it gets bigger and goes under the bridge, the guitar is done man. As others said, no strings keep in case with constant humidity to close it up till you can get it fixed.

I would say after you have it repaired begin to very slowly acclimatize your guitar to less and less humidity until it stabalizes. Once it adjusts to your super dry environment (might take a long time), be careful of the opposite where the guitar might have a chance to soak up some wetness (like near your bathroom shower or if you travel to a very humid environment with it). The problem with the humidity issue is not so much if the guitar is always more wet or dry, but when CHANGES occur.

Ricardo

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 9 2012 13:21:49

Anders Eliasson

Posts: 5780
Joined: Oct. 18 2006

RE: Crack in my guitar! (in reply to duende)

Scandinavia in wintertime is bad for guitars. Where do you live now and is it a concrete flat. They get so extremely dry in winter. The guitar was build in a controlled environment.

Henrik, there´s not really much to say besides what have been said... Play your Alhambra untill this guitar has been fixed. Humidify it and loosen the strings. Keep dirt out of the crack. Then it should close up fine and a repair shouldnt change its sound or playability.
Guitarists are very picky about cracks. Violinists are much more relaxed. They talk about an old violin being in a good shape because there´s no cracks going all the way through the soundboard from on end to the other. And even ef it has one of these cracks and it has been well repaired, its not a big deal.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 9 2012 16:28:18

duende

Posts: 3053
Joined: Dec. 15 2003
From: Sweden

RE: Crack in my guitar! (in reply to Anders Eliasson)

quote:

Where do you live now and is it a concrete flat.

It´s a house with a mix of wood and concrete. we have a "luftvärme pump"
(don´t know the english word for it.)

And a fire place for extra heath during the winter.

Im gonna get it fixed tomorrow. And i can borrow a guitar from a guy that makes nice flamenco guitars. I think you know him Anders.

His name is Gabriel and lives in Gothenburg. He know of you and has asked questions about making guitars in the past.

maybe you can recall who it is?

He will lend me a guitar for free.

_____________________________

This is hard stuff!
Don't give up...
And don't make it a race.
Enjoy the ray of sunshine that comes with every new step in knowledge.

RON

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 9 2012 17:44:04

estebanana

Posts: 9351
Joined: Oct. 16 2009

RE: Crack in my guitar! (in reply to duende)

Violinists are much more relaxed. They talk about an old violin being in a good shape because there´s no cracks going all the way through the soundboard from on end to the other. And even ef it has one of these cracks and it has been well repaired, its not a big deal.

Kinda, true, except that a soundpost crack on the back or top spells big trouble. If the crack is under the sound post it has to be specially mended by a patch on the inside. Usually a difficult and expensive job.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 9 2012 20:12:11

Anders Eliasson

Posts: 5780
Joined: Oct. 18 2006

RE: Crack in my guitar! (in reply to duende)

quote:

If the crack is under the sound post it has to be specially mended by a patch on the inside. Usually a difficult and expensive job.

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Isnt it so that all known Stradivarius violins exept 1 has a patch like that.

Henrik, that sounds like a very good solution. Yeah, I remember Gabriel. Its a while ago.
I know what a "luftvärme pump" is. varmepumpe in danish. Well here its called an airconditioner. "aire acondicionado" Thats not the worst. The fireplace is really drying out the ambient. It sucks in cold, relatively dry air from the outside when its frost, and then it heats it, menaing NO humidity is left.

The rule is clear in places like Sweeden. When the snot in you nose gets so dry that its difficult to take out, its time to be very carefull with your guitars.....

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 9 2012 21:11:43

Doitsujin

Posts: 5078
Joined: Apr. 10 2005

RE: Crack in my guitar! (in reply to duende)

quote:

Crack in my guitar!

SHERIUUSHLY?! WHO THE **** PUT THE CRACK IN THERE?!!!

I wonder why nobody pulled that joke of yet... :/

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 9 2012 22:11:45

hamia

Posts: 403
Joined: Jun. 25 2004

RE: Crack in my guitar! (in reply to Doitsujin)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Doitsujin

quote:

Crack in my guitar!

SHERIUUSHLY?! WHO THE **** PUT THE CRACK IN THERE?!!!

I wonder why nobody pulled that joke of yet... :/

That´s a cracking joke Doit!

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 10 2012 1:40:02

Ricardo

Posts: 14801
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC

RE: Crack in my guitar! (in reply to Doitsujin)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Doitsujin

quote:

Crack in my guitar!

SHERIUUSHLY?! WHO THE **** PUT THE CRACK IN THERE?!!!

I wonder why nobody pulled that joke of yet... :/

Anders is like damn dawg, you JUST found my stash now???? You was supposed to sell that shiznit years ago dawg!!!!!

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 10 2012 13:50:42

duende

Posts: 3053
Joined: Dec. 15 2003
From: Sweden

RE: Crack in my guitar! (in reply to duende)

so i went to the guitar store.

He told me that he wont fix the crack untill its the middle of the winter.
If he fix it now it will only crack again in the winter when it´s much more dry.

I feel a bit worried but it´s fine with me unless the crack gets biger.

He´s got years of experience so i guess im safe....

_____________________________

This is hard stuff!
Don't give up...
And don't make it a race.
Enjoy the ray of sunshine that comes with every new step in knowledge.

RON

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 12 2012 3:25:31

Anders Eliasson

Posts: 5780
Joined: Oct. 18 2006

RE: Crack in my guitar! (in reply to duende)

Hmmmmm
Thats a pretty radical attitude, I dont agree and I wouldnt feel safe. I would prefer that you get it fixed now, so that dirt doesnt enter the crack and it doesnt open up any more. What has been said about continuing the crack below the bridge is true. Then it´ll turn up being a very serious crack.
You could call Per Halgreen and ask his opinion:
http://www.hallgrenguitars.com/Per_Hallgren,_Gitarrbyggare/Hem.html

I hope some of the other buidlers here give their experienced opinion.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 12 2012 7:33:53

aarongreen

Posts: 367
Joined: Jan. 16 2004

RE: Crack in my guitar! (in reply to duende)

Get it fixed now. Do not let the guitar dry out again and the crack should not give you any trouble. The longer you wait the more likely that crack will always be visible, fixed or not. If it was the middle of July and someone brought me a cracked guitar I would leave it in the shop (which is climate controlled year around) for a month or so to let it really acclimate and then fix it. And tell the owner, don't let this happen again.

Given the location of the crack you can not wait till next winter to get it fixed unless you want to pay the guy to put a big splice in the top of your guitar.

over and out

aaron

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 12 2012 12:23:04

estebanana

Posts: 9351
Joined: Oct. 16 2009

RE: Crack in my guitar! (in reply to duende)

Roger that Mission Control.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 12 2012 15:10:02

shaun

Posts: 176
Joined: May 11 2012
From: Edmonton, Canada

RE: Crack in my guitar! (in reply to duende)

My first flamenco guitar developed a crack in the top two months after owning it in the Canadian prairies during a drought. When I brought into the shop they said that it would sound better with the crack than it did before. I didn't really notice a difference in sound. Since it was a student level guitar and the crack wasn't in danger of spreading I didn't get it fixed.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 12 2012 19:25:43

Anders Eliasson

Posts: 5780
Joined: Oct. 18 2006

RE: Crack in my guitar! (in reply to duende)

quote:

When I brought into the shop they said that it would sound better with the crack than it did before

So what can you learn from that experience? Never use that shop again. According to those people we, the builders, should build guitars with cracks right from the start. Then they would sound better?????

And a 100% parallel story: Henrik, dont ask that repairman again.... Its a very poor answer and a bad advice you got there.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 12 2012 21:50:07