Crack Behind Nut.

[neocon58]

Hi, I just bought a Wizard II neck off of ebay, the item description goes something like this:

For auction here is an Ibanez RG Wizard II guitar neck. Very good condition with minimal fretwear. Light finish crack visible behind nut. No reserve.

1) When they say "finish crack visible behind nut", does that mean:

ON THIS SIDE?

OR ON THIS SIDE?

I assume it means on the back of the neck, and the pictures aren't exactly high res but I think I can see what they are talking about.

Now from what I am told, cracks in that area aren't exactly uncommon, but I was wondering how serious it actually is, or could become.

When I whack this neck on a project guitar and string it up, am I likely to open my guitar case one day to find the headstock folded over on itself?

Or am I just looking to far into it and being me usual ****, overcautious self?

Please do tell! Thanks.

[Mattia]

'behind the nut' indicates on the face of the headstock; there's no nut on the back, remember? Not that I can see one, mind you.

When they say 'finish crack', they mean just that: a crack in the finish. Not in the wood. Finish is fairly fragile, can crack, check, flake, yellow, degrade, none of it affecting how stable the neck is in any way whatsoever. A crack in the wood is a bad thing, and should always be repaired, but a crack in the finish is not only very common, but completely harmless. Go look at a few pics of 50's vintage guitars and check out the crazy amounts of finish damage some of them have.

Edited January 20, 2006 by mattia

[ToneMonkey]

I've just looked behind my nuts and there's a crack there too.

I'll get my coat then shall I.

[neocon58]

'behind the nut' indicates on the face of the headstock; there's no nut on the back, remember? Not that I can see one, mind you.

When they say 'finish crack', they mean just that: a crack in the finish. Not in the wood. Finish is fairly fragile, can crack, check, flake, yellow, degrade, none of it affecting how stable the neck is in any way whatsoever. A crack in the wood is a bad thing, and should always be repaired, but a crack in the finish is not only very common, but completely harmless. Go look at a few pics of 50's vintage guitars and check out the crazy amounts of finish damage some of them have.

Hahaha, yeah I know, I got myself mixed up, as I have heard cracks from over-tightening the nut are common.

Just a mix up!

Thank you for your help.

I've just looked behind my nuts and there's a crack there too.

Hmm, behind my nuts is some kind of pungent black hole.

Edited January 20, 2006 by neocon58

[neocon58]

Just an update. Got the neck today, and yes, it is actually a crack where the nut has been overtightened.

[thegarehanman]

So is it threatening the structural integrity of the neck? If that's the case, i'd send it back in a heartbeat. A "finish crack" should have absolutely no effect on the structural integrity of the neck.

[neocon58]

It dosen't look to be really effecting it. Looking at the nut, the crack looks like just the surface has been effected.

You can vaguely see it from this picture:

Edited February 9, 2006 by neocon58

[thegarehanman]

I see nothing, care to circle it for us?

[neocon58]

It's nothing major at all, really. I gave the neck a very quick scrub with 0000 steel wool and it's already just about leveled out, and the neck feels so much better now too. It felt like it had never been cleaned.

Other than that light crack and the dirty fretboard (before I cleaned it up), it's pretty good.

Edited February 9, 2006 by neocon58