Would this fretboard put you off? (Gibson SG Jr)

StruanRobertson

Yeah, Revered guitars look really cool. Great value too I've read. 

There were lots of keenly priced Les Paul juniors and specials on Reverb when I was deciding to get the SG. TV yellow ones too, which look ace, but I decided on the SG as it's so light. 

Maybe one day I'll have the funds for an original sixties SG shaped Les Paul Junior in TV yellow, but for now this one is so enjoyable, I can't complain. 

Enjoy the search man! 

StruanRobertson

So....

I spent a long time playing the SG yesterday, and while I really like how it sounds, I have decided that I cannot overlook to poor bit of craft around the seam between the finger board and neck.

It's going back to GAK tomorrow.

Back on the hunt for a guitar to take my playing time away from my strat occasionally....

Musicman20

Shame man, I love that board, it has character. But, I wouldn't overlook bad craftsmanship on what was meant to be a budget model SG which is now £1k!

TINMAN82

StruanRobertson said:

So....

I spent a long time playing the SG yesterday, and while I really like how it sounds, I have decided that I cannot overlook to poor bit of craft around the seam between the finger board and neck.

It's going back to GAK tomorrow.

Back on the hunt for a guitar to take my playing time away from my strat occasionally....

Can we see a pic of the issue?

StruanRobertson

Already gone back, sorry.

If you were holding the guitar, looking down, the seam where the fretboard met the neck at about the 12th fret was slightly wonky and had an inch or so long indentation that the nitro (I think it was a nitro finish) had settled in to.

It didn't effect the playability. It played great, pickups sounded good, and I thought I could everlook it, but then my eye was drawn to it every time I picked it up.

Luke at GAK has been super helpful, he arranged courier collection for today. They have a 30 day return policy, so I'm hoping I'm all good.

It's a shame. It's the second Gibson I've bought (although first new one) that had little niggly finish issues. I thought I was the kind of person who could see past those, but it turns out I'm as pedantic as most other guitar lovers.

Saying that, I'm about I pull the rigger on a relic'd guitar, so I'm also wildly inconsistent! 

tomajoha

Was the seam in the binding?

Brize

StruanRobertson said:

If you were holding the guitar, looking down, the seam where the fretboard met the neck at about the 12th fret was slightly wonky and had an inch or so long indentation that the nitro (I think it was a nitro finish) had settled in to.

I'm afraid that's Gibson. I've a £5k Les Paul Custom that has that all the way down the board.

Philly_Q

Brize said:

StruanRobertson said:

If you were holding the guitar, looking down, the seam where the fretboard met the neck at about the 12th fret was slightly wonky and had an inch or so long indentation that the nitro (I think it was a nitro finish) had settled in to.

I'm afraid that's Gibson. I've a £5k Les Paul Custom that has that all the way down the board.

Likewise.  It's the same on just about every Gibson I've ever owned.  If it's not there it almost feels like there's something wrong.

TINMAN82

I had that (very noticeably, like a shelf) on a 2011 Flying V. My R8 is smooth though.

skunkwerx

Same here on an LPj. 

Infact on most of my guitars I feel like I can feel where the fretboard meets the neck now haha.. maybe its to do with the different woods, or sections of wood shrinking or whatnot at different rates once made?

Philly_Q

skunkwerx said:

.. maybe its to do with the different woods, or sections of wood shrinking or whatnot at different rates once made?

I think that's part of it, but doesn't explain why it's so much more prevalent on Gibsons than other brands!  On bound necks in particular, I think they scrape coloured paint off the binding before spraying clear coats, and that adds to the ridged effect.

I've got an SG with a bound ebony board and when you look closely the finish is cracked along the bottom edge of the binding, all the way down both sides of the neck.  I assume that is due to the ebony shrinking a bit.

tomajoha

The custom shop had seemed to have nailed this on most of the 13/14 R8s/R9s. It's crept back in since at the custom shop end. I've played some where the ridge is quite unacceptable and there is evidence that the person doin the binding scraping has slipped -real sloppy, rushed work.

StruanRobertson

No binding on the SH Junior. It looked more like a tool had slipped and made a dent.

I should have snapped a pic. 

WezV

Doesn't matter if it's bound or not.   

It's layers of finish.   On the neck shaft you have a layer of colour, then clear.  On the fretboard edge you just have clear.    

You have to either mask or scrape that edge, and both processes can add a ridge in what should be a thin finish, either by lacquer pooling up against tape, or an overenthusiastic scraping technique.   You then add clear and it enhances it

Ideally you add enough clear to the fretboard edge that it evens out when you level.  


Wood movement can add to it too, but I think with Gibson it's mostly their finishing process and choice.. nitro can sink in to reveal something that probably didn't stand out quite so much in the factory


If it's an actual crack then it's definitely wood movement