Acoustic guitar top cracks - How they happen, which ones are concerning, and what to do about them.
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- Опубликовано: 3 авг 2024
- Folkway Music's Mark Stutman offers some thoughts on cracks in the tops of vintage guitars. You'll learn why they happen, which ones are more concerning than others, how to spot them, and what to do about them.
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You fixed my J45 soundhole / fingerboard crack like 8 years ago. It's doing great!
Clever Canucks! There are a whole crop of you guys here on RUclips, and I'm thankful for it! I guess the weather fluctuations require luthiers north of the border to be particularly adept at dealing with these shrinkage and cracking issues. Back in the mid 70s a lovely Larrivee that I owned cracked on me when I was living in Toronto. I was so upset that I ended up letting it go and replacing it with a Ramirez (from Spain) that seemed to be able to weather the weather without difficulty. So you never really know, even with a locally sourced instrument, just what is going to happen. Guitar husbandry is sometimes a bit daunting; above all humidify!
Immensely informative video. Well explained. You know what your doing for sure!
Thank you, for explaining this crack.
I have a 1969 Gibson Dove with that crack from the binding down to the sound hole.. the pickguard is screwed on.. the guitar has been in the case with the strings loosened for 40 years. I have repaired several guitars getting the confidence to tackle this repair.. i have owned this guitar since 1970, so i have a lot of attachment to it and want to play it again a few more years while i still can. I am glad that i have found your page.. Billy from Mississippi
The best explanation of humidity , stress and cracks in guitar tops I have heard on you tube. After four decades of guitar work I have seen all of the things that were discussed in this video and hold the same conclusions that were presented.
Thanks very much!
I learned something new today...I’m grateful for you sharing this
Thanks for the info. I have a “37” Washburn Dreadnought with that crack in it. I can definitely see the crack. I have no experience with these types of problems, so you have just made my heart sink into my lower extremities. Now I have some decisions to make. Thanks again.
Another fantastic and informative video, thanks for sharing your time and expertise Mark.
Thanks for sharing, Mark. Very insightful as usual. I love watching your videos and I almost always learn something new. Your detailed explanations and visual aids make it easy to understand and follow. :)
I am about to attempt fixing a crack in my guitar top. Your video has includes info I never thought about. Thank you for sharing.
Great video! I learned a lot and appreciate you sharing your knowledge with us.
Thought this was new.. 2yrs ago?? HOW did I miss this great video!? (tho I was a little distracted by that awesome shirt) Another great video and another great plaid flannel shirt.
Excellent explanations, well presented, very useful....Thank you.
This is an excellent video, great job - thank you so much
Never woulda thunk of the Jimmy trick with the lighter fluid- very clever!
Excellent video! Thank you so much for the thorough explanation.
Glad it was helpful!
Great video Mark.
Great explanation Mark! Thanks
great video Mark.
Very informative! Thank you.
I really appreciate how you explain things. Espescially shrinkage forces in respect to the soundboard being perpendicular to the braces. As a "repair guy", that tells me alot. that which doesnt always meet the eye, can now be a primary suspicion, and a good one.
Thanks for the feedback, David.
Mark please continue to make vids... you guys repaired the top crack in my Taylor 614ce, an invisible repair. I will take my guitars nowhere else.
Thank you for the video. I’m working on a vintage Gibson with severe open cracks along the fretboard extension. The shrinking pick guard cracked the top all the way to the bridge and curled the wood upward, separating it from the bracing. I’m in for a challenge. The only thing that preserved the neck angle is that the bridge came off, so the owner filled the bridge pin holes and added a tailpiece, thus decreasing the torque on the top.
I am dealing with the same problem on my grandpa's 59 gibson j45. I've been debating for years on what to do. No rush tho. Do you have a channel? I want to watch. Thx
Great Video👍🏼
Thanks Mark and best wishes from Wuppertal/ Germany >Lutz
such a great vid i HAD to subscribe!!
Funny and sad at the same time for ME. In the early seventies I bought my first Ovation (BEFORE they had electronics!) LOVED it, so in 1975 I bought 3 MORE (a 6-string GC Custom, a 12-string GC Custom, and the NYLON 1624 Country Artist). In 1980 I purchased a GORGEOUS Natural Custom Legend. I then had FIVE (5) Ovations that I loved... By 1984 I had FOUR (4) Ovations with SPLIT TOPS, in the SAME PLACE!!! (from the bridge to the bottom of the lower bout, STRAIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE on 3, STRAIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE, then turned right towards the treble side and lifted about 3 inches on the CUSTOM LEGEND!) The ONLY one that hasn't split is the NYLON one, which I still play TODAY. Sorry Ovation, ONE would be a "FREAK THING", TWO would be a "COINCIDENCE", but FOUR is way BEYOND acceptable... I had no choice but to take my business ELSEWHERE, and never looked back. Still love my NYLON, and on the 'bright side", believe it or not, the CUSTOM LEGEND with the "lifted top", STILL holds TUNE! LOLOLOLOL... GO FIGURE!
That was wonderful! Thank you!
I wish i lived near so that i could bring you my Alvarez!!! I have the very crack you were revealing in your demo!!!
Glad to hear it, Thanks!
Just got a crack in my beloved Taylor on top sheet right down center of body. Breaks my heart. Prob happened in my house as it often goes from cold to warm. I’m so mad. Actually at my friends house. I should’ve had a humidifier in it. 😢
Fantastic wisdom.
"Forces of shrinkage" may be my new favorite term. :)
Good stuff. Love that naptha trick.
Great video! I’ve got a couple of guitars that are around 50 years old that will likely need some service soon.
Educational and professional, many thanks! But, wouldn't it be easier to shine a flashlight on the area where the fluid would have dripped directly below?
The Naptha doesn't drip. It gets pulled through by surface tension and then quickly evaporates. It's a great trick for when you can't actually see a crack.
My only concern once repaired is the pickguard will continue to shrink in the future. If it was my personal guitar (depending on what it was) and the pickguard didn't appear it was going to curl if removed. I'd remove it, clean everything up and brush lacquer on the bare wood then reinstall the pickguard with modern 3m pickguard tape. I've done it once before and you could not tell. Some wouldn't want it done that way and I can understand that as well.
A totally viable method as well. We prefer to look of the glued-on pickguard over a double-stick tape version, which tends to peel loose over time. After 50 years the pickguard has done most of its shrinking, so gluing it back on with PVA or similar glue is less of a concern.
Great video...
I'd like to see a repair like this. Mine is a 59 gibson handed down from grandpa. I've been wanting to repair it for years. But mine is the kill crack you describe. My grandpa still played it in church back in the late 80's with the crack. I haven't put strings on it EVER. I have watched thousands of videos and practiced on many. But still haven't done anything.
Awesome explanation on diagnosing and repair procedure. How about a surface crack in the finish on the top and perhaps through the top of a Martin D28 where to two top pieces meet. Do you have a lesson on that repair? Is it a death wish if it's not repaired?
Cheers, Dave
Great video, thanks. On vintage guitars, do you re adhere the pickguard with the 3M tape to stop the different tensions of top/pickguard working against each other... or do you (and the market) prefer to glue the pickguard to the top like it originally was?? Thanks again.
We glue pickguards back on with PVA glue to untreated top wood. They look and sound better that way, and much of the shrinkage that has caused the problems has already happened.
Thank you for making this video! Is the Ronsonol you use the same stuff you can buy at Canadian Tire today? I've read that it is no longer naphtha-based, but maybe that's only in the US?
Same stuff. We've not noticed any changes in the chemistry.
Hi, thank you for your presentation on acoustic flat top guitar cracks. Interestingly, my interest is the cracks that occur on the belly of a flat top which was not discussed. My 1942 flat top with two belly cracks is 80 years old. Ok, I get it. But, my cherished luthier made 1981 flat top just developed a new belly crack and I was hoping to find out why here? I live in the Northeast and humidify them with hygrometer; that's checked every day. Oh well.
If they've just cracked, there's a good chance that your hygrometer isn't accurate, or your guitars were built at high humidity and need to live in higher humidity as a result.
Very informative video. Thanks a lot. Are there certain guitar manufacturers that are a little more durable? I’ve been I’ve been looking for a new acoustic guitar and I’ve been thinking about buying a Taylor The only thing is I warm my house with a woodstove and it gets very dry and I’ve been seeing some guitar forms about Taylor, guitars, drying out and cracking I don’t know if that’s true or not.
Any guitar you'll buy will crack if dried excessively. Best bet is the buy the guitar you want and be sure to keep it humidified properly to about 45% RH. You can buy a case humidifier, or you can humidify the entire room with a humidifier. With your wood stove heating you'll just need to add water more frequently than you would with other heat types.
Thanks for this Mark - very informative. I keep my guitars properly humidified so I hope to avoid this problem. I have a ladder-braced Waterloo. Just wondering if it is more susceptible to cracking over time.
Not any more prone to cracking, Larry.
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Hello Mark, I recently purchased a high end Japnese guitar that shipped from Japan but sadly developed some nitro cracks during transit in the area of the edge of the bridge as you were explaining. Two on each side that run across to the outer binding. Is there any possible way to buff the cracks out without refinishing the whole guitar top? Guitar shines bright and was made in 2007.
It is possible to spray amalgamator over the areas to heal the cracks. You’re essentially melting the finish when you do so.
hey thanks so much for taking the time to share with us. LMI use to sell the best white glue for luthiery but they can't get it anymore it dried clear now they have the yellow like tite bond original .what white glue do you guys use in canada i'm in the states searching for a good white glue to use for acoustic guitar construction
Mark - We use hide glue on 99% of our repairs. PVA is used for gluing pickguards and sometimes bindings. We don't use white glue. Hope that helps.
I love Bringing on my inner Jimi Hendrix.
I really appreciate your detailed explanation of how you repair the cracks on the sides of the fretboard where it meets the body.
I had a question though - I follow you about releasing tension via the pick guard and whatever braces are under the top - but would you also not remove the fretboard from the wood it's glued to as well? If you did that and then glued the freed top wood from the neck you could potentially reglue what you need to do inside and when it's all stable THEN glue the fretboard back in place?
Alternately I am guessing it's total madness to remove the back and gain access to all the neck joint and top that way? Still, all things considered (imagining money is not an issue here), wouldn't that be the ideal way to repair/restore that neck area if the cracks move that chunk of the top downward?
Loosening the fretboard is sometimes necessary, but often not. Definitely way too invasive to remove the back. That's making a mountain out of a molehill.
Great video. So, the question is how do you prevent the pick-guard from shrinking and causing the guitar top to crack? Does it just require diligent attention to keeping the guitar properly humidified?
Today, manufacturers apply pickguards overtop of the finish with double-stick adhesive.
cool thx
Hello love your vid! I have a question, I was changing the strings to my guitar and polished it. I noticed there was some smudge from the fretboard oiling and so I was wiping the smudge off and put some force to the sound hole area. After doing so noticed a very small crack from the hole to just about the sound hole inlays so it’s very small probably a centimeter. Is this something I should address ASAP?
Yes, this small crack can possibly lead to larger issues down the road. Best to have it glued sooner than later to ensure that it remains a negligible issue.
@@TheFolkwayMusic thank you for the reply! I actually took it at my local guitar center to have it looked at and they said to not worry about it and that it was more of a finish crack because it didnt go all the way. He says the "crack" doesnt go pass the rosette of the sound hole and that its more of a finish issue. My guitar is properly humidified so he says to not worry about it getting any bigger than it is. Any thoughts on this?
Very informative video! Thanks! Practically speaking, I don’t think pickguards have to be “Gibson-large” to serve their intended purpose effectively,
right? Maybe having one big enough to cover the downstroke side of the rosette, unless you are a crazy strummer like Richie Havens a la Woodstock circa 1969, do you really need a pick-guard apart from its aesthetic appeal? How valid is the “diminished resonance” argument if using versus not using a pick-guard? Is there truth to this claim that the guitar resonates slightly better without a pick-guard? And what about older Ovation guitars: why their very prevalent and infamous centerline cracks? Why always in the center? Pray tell.
Pickguards certainly add stiffness to a top and will affect tone. That's why many lightly built fingerstyle guitars don't have them. Size matters. But, ultimately, the guitar works as a system and sounds the way it sounds.
Ovations crack for many reasons. Low humidity, poor design and questionable QC are chief among them.
@@TheFolkwayMusicRight. Is it because the Lyrachord material of Ovation bowls are inorganic whilst the top is wood and organic, causing an irreconcilable tension? One moves, one is static; one breathes, one doesn’t. Right? I would imagine the Lyrachord material traps water whereupon the guitar can’t “breathe” as a whole. I wonder why they didn’t just make the whole guitar out of Lyrachord and slap a thin wood laminate on top like they do for some carbon guitars?
Have you worked on Ovations or are they too much of a nightmare?
How to prevent guitars from cracking? The only keeping humidified and hoping for the best?
I have the famous pickguard crack on a 42’ LOO.
I’d hate to be that guy....on either side of that conversation.
would a finger board which flares out as it overlaps with top help, effectively stopping the parallel grain/edge of fingerboard weakness? It would look weird and a bit more work, but as that bit of the top is mainly dead anyway, maybe....? Perhaps shaped such there is half a disc worth of fingerboardboard either side of the straight bit. ...
It would certainly help, yes. I suspect though, that there are few people who'd get excited about how it might look; and a refret would be made more complicated!
Great video. I’m actually doing this exact repair on a Gibson B-25 and I (successfully) removed the entire pick guard. I’ve made a new custom one out of modern stuff w/adhesive backing made to fit exactly the same way. My thinking was why would I reglue the old one when it would continue to shrink, when I could glue a new one on instead and prevent this problem? Do you think a non-original pick guard would negatively affect the value of the guitar? I see it as an upgrade, but all the “purists” out there probably want a potato chipped pick guard since the plastic in the 60’s is way more resonant, dude (sarcasm).
Glad you enjoyed the video. We always glue the pickguards back on, even if we make a reproduction. A few reasons for this: First, it's how it was done originally, and therefor limits the depreciation effect on value if done well. Second, we find that pickguards look better when glued to the top rather than stuck with tape. Third, taped-on pickguards tend to become loose over a fairly short period of time; and fourth, glued on pickguards (arguably) sound better than taped on ones. All that said (and vintage value aside) a new thin celluloid pickguard, made nicely and aged, would likely do good things to a post '64 J-45's tone. Those thick acrylic pickguards definitely can rob a lot of acoustic presence from a guitar.
@@TheFolkwayMusic hey thanks for the detailed reply. Didn’t think of it from this perspective. Glad I saved the old one (Clamped up to stop the “potato chipping” as much as possible)! I may change my mind and install the old one after all, despite all the time I put into making a new one.
If a luthier built an acoustic guitar top so that the grain formed a 45 degree angle at the center joint instead of being parallel, wouldn't that solve the problem of cracks? I'm imagining the grain looking like a column of V's, one above the other, instead of a row of I's. Do you know if anyone builds guitar tops like that? Been enjoying your Channel. Thanks
Maybe less cracks, but way less strength as well. It’s been tried at times in the past.
Should I be overly concerned about a minor though visible crack about 3" below the bridge on the centerline of the top of an otherwise clean '70's Takamine F-365S?
Not overly concerned, but do have it looked over by an experience repairperson.
How do you reglue a pickguard that you have not removed and taken thr old glue off of it and the guitar top?
Each repair is dealt with in a unique way. I can't answer this question without seeing the guitar in question, sorry.
@@TheFolkwayMusic I was referring to the guitar you worked on in the video. You stated that you did not fully remove the pick guard due to issues of bonding with the rosette. So how do you securely re-glue the pick guard without scraping the old glue off?
I have a Taylor that has developed a long, jagged crack from the center of the bridge to the end of the guitar. It was never dropped or anything to my knowledge. Is this a major concern?
Cosmetically, it's a major concern. In terms of resale value it's a major concern. But in terms of tone, playability, or structural integrity it's not a major concern. That said, it's still best to get it properly repaired to prevent further damage. Moreover, this type of top crack is the result of dryness. Dryness can cause many much more concerning damage to your guitar.
@@TheFolkwayMusic thank you for the reply!!! Just ordered some humidifiers for my guitar room (fuck New England)! Going to get it repaired as soon as I have the cash. Thanks again for the peace of mind.
Hello. I recently bought a 1997 Larrivve C-05 with a crack in the center of top board down from the bridge and all the way to the edge. Should I be concerned? And if it needs to be fixed, can you, please, recommend a good shop in Winnipeg?
It's certainly worth looking into. Perhaps get in touch with Al Beardsell in Winnipeg.
there must be a better way to prevent crack on the outline of the pickguard. do not use it and replace with a PVC sticker which may cause the finish worn out but easier to paint back.
Modern guitars have stick-on pickguards and do not develop this crack.
Great video. You have an ASMR channel as well right?
Likely not as I don’t know what ASMR is!
Ha! Just looked it up!!!
I have a guitar that’s dear to me but not worth even a couple hundred bucks… do you have a video showing how to fix that crack? I’m going to have to try to do it myself. (There’s no pickguard involved, crack likely caused by dryness and other punishment… this guitar has been with me everywhere)
Hi William -
I'm sorry, we've not shot a video about how to repair the crack, as each guitar presents different challenges.
Hey Mark, do you work on guitars from the States? Or can you recommend someone as good as you In the states 😊
Thanks for the compliment! Give us a call next time you need some repair help.
What does a crack, rather tight, from the saddle to the bottom. Only crack in the guitar, a new D28?
Please clarify your question, @jryan2313, thanks.
@@TheFolkwayMusic cost to fix?
I would love to talk to you and see if you would be willing to take on the job of helping me fix a guitar crack. Please let me know
Feel Free to get in touch with the shop whenever you'd like.
R u in Ontario I’d like to get you to service my Gibson acoustic
We are in Waterloo, thanks.
.....it can cost many of thousands of dollars to make it look like that crack never happened. It think you are either exaggerating or charging way to much for the work you do.
Neither, but thanks for your comment. A quick repair can be inexpensive and possibly all one needs; however, making a crack disappear is an entirely different job and exponentially more time-consuming. I'd certainly not opt for that style of repair on a guitar of lower or average value, but on a $30,000 instrument, the stakes are different.
Shrinkage 😫!!!
Guy buying used guitar: Gee I think I wanna buy it but hold on just a minute while I go back to my car and grab my lighter fluid! I just want to pour a little around the neck where it meets the top!
Guy selling guitar: FU
Yes, there are surely those kind of people out there. Thankfully there are also lots of other guitars to buy.
@@TheFolkwayMusic lol yes true!
I'd like to see a repair like this. Mine is a 59 gibson handed down from grandpa. I've been wanting to repair it for years. But mine is the kill crack you describe. My grandpa still played it in church back in the late 80's with the crack. I haven't put strings on it EVER. I have watched thousands of videos and practiced on many. But still haven't done anything.