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Greetings All, I received my new guitar today and saw this on the back of the guitar. Seems to be a split, but under the lacquer??? Can anyone enlighten me.
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Hard to tell. Assuming it is just a darker grain line, I don't know if it is more fragile (prone to splt or crack) than the rest of the board. I have never seen cypress with it, but then I have not work that often with cypress either (most of my flamencos are made of sycamore).
If you look inside the guitar, you should see a reinforcement patch (a thin crossgrain piece of wood runing along the back center seam). If the patch is large enough to cover the line, then I say your good.
Very dark lines in Cypress is pretty common. Here they are called "tierra", meaning earth. This one looks to contrasty to be like that and it could be a crack. But its difficult to judge from a photo. Also, tierra lines normally show up on both sides of the bookmached set of wood.
Tierra is not considered a flaw. Not even esthetically. You´ll find persons prefering cypress with tierra lines because it gives "life" to the wood.
Cracks on new guitars are flaws.
Did you contact the builder or seller?. And what did he/she say? Always remember to contact and discuss with builder/seller, before bringing things out on the web.
ORIGINAL: daffeey They are blaming the mail man said they inspected it before they shipped
Ok, so they can take that up with their insurers - I assume it was insured when shipped?
But still this is all irrelevant if there is no problem, and as you can see you cannot get a definitive answer from photos. Take the guitar to a local, reputable luthier/guitar tech for their opinion.
If the seller say "the postman did it" and at the same time they inspected it, you can conclude it was not there when they inspected it. Don't you have a return policy when you are not satified? Or a guaranty? If so, send it back and ask for your money, or another guitar.
It would be nice if you told us the name of this store so we know to be prudent if we buy there.
How could the postman (not the butler) have done it? He opened up the box, saw the crack, varnished it, repacked it and delivered it to you? There is 0 doubt that a varnished crack or line like was done at production time, or at the store....
This happened to me for a negra I had bought my son. It was an Alhambra, I spent the day at The 12th Fret in Toronto trying out guitars, finally I picked one and bought it. When I got to where I was staying, I played it and took a better look at it, the room was much brighter. I realized that there was a fold in the wood on the back of the guitar. A big spot where the grain was completely twisted, folded. Clearly it did not affect sound because this was the one I preferred but the only thing that stuck in my mind was resale value. The store was close and it was Saturday. I left the guitar with my friend, e-mailed the store about the problem. They e-mailed back saying they did not know and would have (and offered me) a discount. But I said I did not want it at all so they refunded me. As simple as that.
As Anders says dark lines in cypress are not uncommon. Here is one on a 2003 guitar that I have. It has a matching line on the other rib. No sign of a crack though.
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If it was a dark grain line the maker would have said so, and not to worry about it. Since you contacted them they should be willing to replace, give you a refund, or repair it and give you a good discount. Stuff happens, it really depends on how they deal with the situation, so give them a chance before running their name through the mud to make things right.
Dark grain lines in cypress are common but that just doesn't look like one to me...it isn't mirrored on the other side and it seems out of character with the piece of wood
Andy, as i wrote, I dont think its a dark line in the cypress either, the contrast is to high, but photos dont make things very clear.
quote:
Stuff happens, it really depends on how they deal with the situation, so give them a chance before running their name through the mud to make things right.
Greetings All, I purposely didnt address the name of the seller for the specific purpose as we are working towards a resolution. It was just the shock of spending quite a bit of cash on brand new, just built guitar. Opening the case and have my heart drop However, i do have an update. This specific model will not be built by the builder anymore and that the only replacment he could offer was an upgraded model, which he would discount, but i must cover out of my own pocket. Which is cool, due to te fact that my other option was making a claim with USPS - which i have heard can take up to a year to resolve. which is not okay, and due to the fact that the flaw was under the lacquer, i think wuld be difficult to prove it was damaged by the courier.
Greetings All, I purposely didnt address the name of the seller for the specific purpose as we are working towards a resolution. It was just the shock of spending quite a bit of cash on brand new, just built guitar. Opening the case and have my heart drop However, i do have an update. This specific model will not be built by the builder anymore and that the only replacment he could offer was an upgraded model, which he would discount, but i must cover out of my own pocket. Which is cool, due to te fact that my other option was making a claim with USPS - which i have heard can take up to a year to resolve. which is not okay, and due to the fact that the flaw was under the lacquer, i think wuld be difficult to prove it was damaged by the courier.
Upgrade at DISCOUNT? THat sounds like they acknowledge its their fault, they should just trade guitars for the better model 1 to 1 IMO.
ORIGINAL: Ricardo Upgrade at DISCOUNT? THat sounds like they acknowledge its their fault, ...
I believe that may be jumping to conclusion. It is quite possible that the builder/manufacturer just wants to avoid an unhappy customer. It doesn't necessarily means he acknowledges the flaw...
Just about every lutherie supplier I deal with will exchange any package I'm not happy with, for whatever reason, even if it's the postal service's fault. I think that is just doing good business.
I believe that may be jumping to conclusion. It is quite possible that the builder/manufacturer just wants to avoid an unhappy customer. It doesn't necessarily means he acknowledges the flaw...
Just about every lutherie supplier I deal with will exchange any package I'm not happy with, for whatever reason, even if it's the postal service's fault. I think that is just doing good business.
I do this all the time in construction, sometimes it's just easier that way then fighting. (Depending on the issue of course)
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