https://i.imgur.com/ioXhu7o.jpg[/img]Bradley-Jazz wrote: ↑Wed Jan 06, 2021 4:23 pmVery hard to say from the pictures - the ones in the head, from what I can see, don’t follow the grain and are in what seems to me a weird place. They look more like they are in the lacquer, particularly as the look to run into the end of the rosewood board, but a photo can only show so much
The ones in the heel look to be running from the neck screw holes, which could be a bit of a worry, but I don’t see why they couldn’t be repaired if need be. Can you remove the neck and see more?
Do you have a trusted luthier who can give it a look over?
Oh, and is it a right hand trem sausage in backwards?
The sausage turns out to be a lefty unit, I guess it has to be a replacement? The crack goes both ways (towards the headstock and the neck pocket), but it seems to only be in the lacquer on the pocket side. Not sure about the neck side, but it looks like it either goes deeper than the lacquer or, maybe, some dirt got into the crack and made it look darker. I don't know any luthiers in my town, I'd have to do some research. I'm not sure if I'd be able to take it to a shop any time soon, though (Covid is worse than ever on the West Coast + I'm on a budget right now).
The dates all line up. The date stamps on the pickups look different from one another (one is in red, one is in black). I know it's hard to see in the pictures, but do the soldering joints look like they could be original? As for the paint, it must be a refinish (just as the seller said). It seems to be well done. Probably a long time ago, judging by the checking. It's actually a bit brighter in real life. I'd say it almost looks like Daphne Blue plus a tad of Surf Green. No idea about the original color or the wood, can't tell much after looking in the routing cavity or the neck pocket.
I knew I was taking a risk, but I'm a bit bummed that the seller wasn't quite transparent about the fret wear on the first 5 frets (he claimed there was barely any), the cracks in the headstock (he described them as "minor headstock damage"), and the cracks in the heel. These things weren't clearly reflected in the pictures either. But it could have been worse I guess. Keeping in mind todays prices, would you pay a thousand bucks for this guitar?