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Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 143
Location: Shotley Bridge, Northern England | You may remember that I posted a little while back about scoring a 1758 at a bottom-feeding price on eBay. Well here it is!
The guitar took 2 months to arrive from the USA; sadly the auction experience was a disaster, 7 weeks delay in shipping from a very unpleasant (and untruthful) seller. Cost me my 100% record when he posted retaliatory feedback. I won't identify him by name here on the forum (that might be seen as an abuse of my posting privelages) but as he sells a lot of musical gear one of you may well come across him and I would like to forewarn you. If you are interested, check my eBay name 'firebird-ii' - his feedback isn't hard to find! MWoody; I think in hindsight you had a lucky escape!
On to more constructive information.
The guitar was listed as having a crack from bridge to binding. Yes, it does (see above). This crack also has 2 friends not mentioned in the listing; one from fretboard to bridge (just visible to right of centreline in above picture).
And lots of pick marks
It was also filthy!
The biggest problem is the crack below the bridge
The crack runs right through the soundboard (at least in some places) and the two edges of the wood have bulged up so that a straightedge cannot be laid across the soundboard. Paul Templeman very kindly had a look at this for me, and recommended a local luthier. He too has had a look (thanks Nigel :) ). His initial view was that the damage was very serious and related to excess humidity and moisture. His advice was to leave the guitar unstrung for a month in a dry environment to see if the wood moves to allow the crack to be glued. He's not sure about the long-term prognosis. We are now 2 weeks into the waiting period, and I think the soundboard edges have relaxed slightly. I've taped bags of silica gel to the back of the soundboard to help things along.
Not playing it is killing me!
But I have learned how to post pics for the first time! :cool:
So I need a little bit of cheering up and reassuring that all will be well. All you home luthiers out there: opinions please!
HW |
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Joined:
November 2004
Posts: 1374
| wow... sorry to hear about the troubles.. my hopes are that this one can be brought back.. I have had a couple of those over the years and they are really spectacular..
it doesn't look too horrible in the pictures, and you should be able to get it into playable condition and turn it into a decent "3 footer"
if you could pm me the seller's id I'd appreciate it.
Thanks,
Glenn |
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Joined:
February 2004
Posts: 548
Location: Up North | Glenn, I like that "3 footer"
I've had a few cars that I called "50 footers"
Dave |
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Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 143
Location: Shotley Bridge, Northern England | I know I'm going to regret asking this...
But what's a 3 footer please?
(Runs for cover)
HW |
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Joined:
February 2004
Posts: 548
Location: Up North | They look good from 3 feet away |
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October 2006
Posts: 5576
Location: big island | HW
~ both you and the seller had impeccable ratings before this fiasco. can you come to some sort of agreement and mutually retract the negatives? |
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Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 143
Location: Shotley Bridge, Northern England | Thanks Grif. Yes, that's about right. Actually the large crack disappears completely if you are facing the left side of the guitar.
So, I'll aim for a 3 footer!
HW |
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Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 143
Location: Shotley Bridge, Northern England | Lanaki,
Originally posted by Lanaki:
HW
~ both you and the seller had impeccable ratings before this fiasco. can you come to some sort of agreement and mutually retract the negatives? yes, he's already posted a request for mutual withdrawal. I'm a bit sore at the moment about this, but I can see that might be a way to resolve this. Maybe in a couple of days. Thanks for the constructive view.
HW |
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October 2006
Posts: 5576
Location: big island | do you think the extra "friends", as you call them, may have happened during the 7 week transit? |
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Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 143
Location: Shotley Bridge, Northern England | Hi Lanaki
yes, one of them (the crack from fretboard to bridge) may have happened this way. When the guitar was strung (as it arrived), this crack was all but invisible. It only became really obvious when the strings were removed.
Thanks again for your input; I think I need some impartial advice here, and that's just what you are offering. This wasn't intended as a 'bash the seller' posting, and your contributions are really helpful, allowing me to put this all in context.
HW |
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Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 1132
Location: NW Washington State | Originally posted by Lanaki:
HW
~ both you and the seller had impeccable ratings before this fiasco. Well, not really: http://toolhaus.org/cgi-bin/negs?User=+ogle420&Dirn=Received+by&ref...
I'm still amazed by how trusting people are. I'm a lot more paranoid.
-Steve W. |
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Joined:
October 2006
Posts: 5576
Location: big island | hi steve,
i shouldn't have referred to the seller's rating as "impeccable". i saw the 99.6 and figured that was pretty respectable based on how many ebay transactions he has had.
also, if a seller or buyer was to hoo-doo me and we could not solve the issue, i would not hesitate to give negative feedback even if it meant a retaliatory negative for me. others viewing my feedback would need to trust the track record. obviously, HW has reason to be upset. the extra cracks could have happened during transit, but the seller should have disclosed the significant pick scratches even if they are most common on a used guitar. i've never seen the "toolhaus" website before. thanks for posting it! |
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Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 143
Location: Shotley Bridge, Northern England | Thanks Steve W.
In a perverse way I feel better now.
Where DID you get that 'Toolhaus' programme from?
Great... :)
HW |
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Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 1132
Location: NW Washington State | Just go to toolhaus.org and you'll see their eBay tools.
Compared to the guitars some of the guys here buy, a $316 purchase (maybe $425 with shipping?) isn't a huge gamble. The guitar still has some value so you're not out that much even if you scrap it- small consolation, I know.
-Steve W |
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Joined:
December 2004
Posts: 4394
Location: East Tennessee | Hillwalker,
Sorry to hear of the cracks in the 1758.
Get it fixed and enjoy it. You will love the sound.
I have a 1758 Sunburst, they are a great guitar. |
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Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 143
Location: Shotley Bridge, Northern England | Hey there GGG
I've seen the pics of you and your 1758. Yep, that's the way to go! Thanks for the support
HW |
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1758 Problem Child: fixing soundboard cracks (longish)
