NGD but the neck is coming loose (with pics, sadly not MIJ after all)

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Ceylon
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NGD but the neck is coming loose (with pics, sadly not MIJ after all)

Post by Ceylon » Tue Jan 22, 2019 1:08 pm

So this Epiphone SG came up for sale cheap on a Facebook page and the reason for it being cheap was because it has been pretty badly dinged and even a little bit reliced. It doesn't look too bad though, and when I say cheap I mean 70€. The sad thing is that what the seller told me was only finish cracking turned out pretty quickly to be damage to the neck joint once I got it under bright lights, sadly not before I paid. I'm guessing it took a hit or maybe wasn't properly glued in the first place because the front of the neck heel has started lifting upwards, cracking the finish and leaving teeny tiny gaps on the bottom and treble sides of the neck pocket, if you can even call it that on a set-neck guitar.

It seems stable for now but I also have it tuned in a C so not to stress it too much. How difficult of a fix is this, and is the guitar even worth paying someone to attempt it? The seller seems reluctant either to take it back or refund me some of the money, but he said he'd consider both options. What would you do, try to get a bit of money back and keep the thing or just wash your hands off it? I don't mind the cosmetic issues at all but if the repair would end up being expensive so that I could never get the money I put into it back I think I'd rather pass it up.

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Last edited by Ceylon on Wed Jan 23, 2019 12:52 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: NGD but it's up in the air (Fuji-Gen Epi SG)

Post by eskmsaul » Tue Jan 22, 2019 7:58 pm

I think a Japanese SG would definitely be worth a fix, especially if you got it for so cheap. Some of the MIJ Epiphones are starting to go for almost-Gibson prices here in the states, at least.

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Re: NGD but it's up in the air (Fuji-Gen Epi SG)

Post by Ceylon » Wed Jan 23, 2019 12:46 am

Well, it turns out the "F" is for "Fine Guitars" and hence Korea rather than Fuji-Gen and Japan. Some of the serial number decoders provided different information but it seems mostly the Elitist models were MIJ and this has the standard Epi headstock rather than the Gibsonesque open book.

That makes the repair seem less worth it, right?
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Re: NGD but the neck is coming loose (with pics, sadly not MIJ after all)

Post by andy_tchp » Wed Jan 23, 2019 1:25 am

Return it, broken junk.

:(
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Re: NGD but the neck is coming loose (with pics, sadly not MIJ after all)

Post by mynameisjonas » Wed Jan 23, 2019 1:32 am

Yeah, having the neck reset will likely cost you a lot more than the guitar did.

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Re: NGD but the neck is coming loose (with pics, sadly not MIJ after all)

Post by Ceylon » Wed Jan 23, 2019 1:52 am

Thanks guys. It sucks because I really liked it otherwise but yeah, in the shape it's turning out to be in I really do not want to get stuck with it. The previous owner has already floated his doubts about whether it was really like this when he sold it to me or whether I might not have caused it myself by taking off the neck pickup, the pickguard-bit above it and the strap button :fp: He himself is not a very technical guy, he says, so he never took it apart and thus "couldn't have known" about this. Part of the blame is obviously on me for not checking it out properly before buying it, but a couple of circumstances (not a very interesting story so I'll save it) made that difficult so I took his word for it being all right.
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Re: NGD but the neck is coming loose (with pics, sadly not MIJ after all)

Post by mynameisjonas » Wed Jan 23, 2019 6:24 am

Seeing as how cheap it was, it might be a good opportunity to learn how to fix it yourself?

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Re: NGD but the neck is coming loose (with pics, sadly not MIJ after all)

Post by fuzzjunkie » Wed Jan 23, 2019 10:09 am

mynameisjonas wrote:
Wed Jan 23, 2019 6:24 am
Seeing as how cheap it was, it might be a good opportunity to learn how to fix it yourself?
That. Or I have seen some real hack jobs on vintage guitars where someone just drilled in some long wood screws to hold it together. That’s a horrible thing to see on an old Gibson or Gretsch or even a Silvertone, but on this guitar, maybe not so much?

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Re: NGD but the neck is coming loose (with pics, sadly not MIJ after all)

Post by Ceylon » Thu Jan 24, 2019 4:40 am

mynameisjonas wrote:
Wed Jan 23, 2019 6:24 am
Seeing as how cheap it was, it might be a good opportunity to learn how to fix it yourself?
That's probably going to have to be it. I'm not too confident in my ability to do a good job of it but tool-wise it should only require a heat gun and some clamps, right?
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Re: NGD but the neck is coming loose (with pics, sadly not MIJ after all)

Post by MechaBulletBill » Thu Jan 24, 2019 5:13 am

give 'im da clamps
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Re: NGD but the neck is coming loose (with pics, sadly not MIJ after all)

Post by Larry Mal » Thu Jan 24, 2019 6:50 am

mynameisjonas wrote:
Wed Jan 23, 2019 6:24 am
Seeing as how cheap it was, it might be a good opportunity to learn how to fix it yourself?
You might as well just view this as a learning experience, you know? It won't be a useable guitar unless it's fixed, it isn't worth paying a luthier to fix it, you could buy a new one for that money.

I'd take the outlook that you'll be able to learn how to do a neck reset when you are done. That ain't nothing.
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Re: NGD but the neck is coming loose (with pics, sadly not MIJ after all)

Post by NickD » Thu Jan 24, 2019 7:00 am

Ceylon wrote:
Thu Jan 24, 2019 4:40 am
mynameisjonas wrote:
Wed Jan 23, 2019 6:24 am
Seeing as how cheap it was, it might be a good opportunity to learn how to fix it yourself?
That's probably going to have to be it. I'm not too confident in my ability to do a good job of it but tool-wise it should only require a heat gun and some clamps, right?
You may not even need a heat gun, steaming the joint may work, especially as it has started coming away already.

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Re: NGD but the neck is coming loose (with pics, sadly not MIJ after all)

Post by Squirrel » Thu Jan 24, 2019 1:10 pm

Yeah, steam would be the way to go if you wanted to do it properly. A heat gun would just mess up the finish I think. Seeing as it's only a 70 euro guitar I wouldn't even go that far-I'd just pry it open as far as you can without breaking it even further, wick as much glue in there as you can, clamp it and be done with it.

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Re: NGD but the neck is coming loose (with pics, sadly not MIJ after all)

Post by Ceylon » Thu Jan 24, 2019 11:16 pm

Well, I'll try to pressure the seller a bit more over the weekend and if that doesn't work out, expect to see this in the Mods & Projects section by next week. This could actually turn out to be a bit of fun even if I would have wanted to know it was a project going into it ::)

How do you steam a neck? Electric kettle? Pot of water on the stove? Iron?
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Re: NGD but the neck is coming loose (with pics, sadly not MIJ after all)

Post by NickD » Fri Jan 25, 2019 4:54 am

I've done a neck on an acoustic with a kettle, although it was far from a professional setup.

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