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What make is the guitar?
Just to clarify, the half-inch mark right above the 2nd fret I believe is just a natural indentation in the wood grain. When I was playing it in the shop I noticed it immediately and wondered if it'd bother me for the rest of the guitar's life but since it was the only one they had in stock I decided just to take it anyway and live with it.
The mark I'm enquiring about runs right down from the nut to at least the 4th or 5th fret then lessens and it's a thin line score such as could be made with a Stanley blade.
I can see what you mean now.
It looks like it's an imperfection in the wood that's made it past QC.
It's probably been like that since it was a blank.
If you haven't checked your nut height and you find it needs doing (On a brand new guitar it probably will need it) then while a tech is recutting your nut, ask him if he can affect a repair on that.
It might be able to be filled with rosewood dust and sanded yes but I would guess that the person who does it needs to have done it before and knows how to do it properly.
The short answer is yes I reckon it could be repaired by a skilled luthier/tech.
The nut did need lowered but I actually filed it down myself.
So you think it might be a natural crack in the wood itself?
The fact that there seems to be a score on the nut that lines up with it makes me wonder if it was scratched by a tool or surface after the guitar had been assembled.
I've mentioned in other threads that I'm struggling somewhat to get on with the shape and feel of a Les Paul in general but that's purely personal. This score mark and the more obvious indentation at the 2nd fret are probably the main reasons I feel the quality of it isn't as good as my PRS SE which doesn't have anything like this. It does have an opaque glossy finish on the neck though - I'm not sure if things like this could be hidden by that kind of finish but is exposed on the light transparent coat on the LP.
If it looks like a score mark it probably is and what I meant is that Gibson aren't known for being ultra picky with QC so it's likely been done as the neck has been made, maybe with tooling etc and if it's been noticed it's been "That'll do".
The comparison with the quality of PRS is night and day really and you're right.
The mark should be fixable and if that's your bag then off you go.
If it's not though, speak to someone professional about a cosmetic repair.
The real pros would make it look invisible if it's possible to.
Have to admit to feeling a bit saddened by the QC; it might be one of Gibson's cheapest guitars but it's not exactly in a budget price range. Only got myself to blame mind you, it's not as if I had no warning about their quality problems! I did even play it in the shop but I never find that short time enough to really get a proper idea of the guitar and I think the fact it was the only one in stock and there was no other LP model that I liked the look of that I could realistically afford made me feel it was either take that one or don't have a Les Paul.
Adam
There's some rather non-straight grain in that neck too! Luckily it's in roughly the direction that strengthens the headstock a bit, rather than the other way round which I've seen too. It does probably weaken the neck significantly around the second fret though.
All sadly typical of Gibson.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Would I be able to sand that down to be smooth without ruining it?
If so, what grade of sandpaper would I use for that?
On a serious note, I would just ask your tech to do it the next time you take it for a setup - They will probably charge nothing to do it for you (or the ones I use wouldn't).
Re: the image - it is indeed terrible that one of the most expensive manufacturers, possibly the most expensive of the "household names" puts out this kind of quality. It might be one of their cheapest models but it's still a lot of money to have that kind of issue.