Crack in head stock veneer or just in poly finish?

[fritferret]

hey everyone:

i'm trying to figure out if the cracks in the pics below are just in the poly finish of the headstock of my rs-4 or if the veneer is cracking making the finish crack, too.  i don't too much care about the crack as cracks, but i am worried about the cause of the cracks.  any ideas?  the veneer is pulling away from the mahogany is it?  guitar is less than a year old stored in case in a temp and humidity controlled room, fyi.  i know the pics aren't good.  these are cell phoen pics, which are actually a little better than w/ my digital camera.  the glossy finish makes it hard to capture the crack.  oh, what makes me think it's the veneer is that the first crack on the face of the headstock is about 4" long and runs up kind of through the "i" in larrivee and goes over the to the top of the headstock and stops right at the mahogany.  in the second pic, the crack is just otthe left of my finger.  that one is about an inch long and much harder to see.  i've contact larrivee twice this week, but no reply yet.  hopefully you guys can give me some insight in the meantime.

[unclrob]

Though hard to say for sure with out having it in hand they appear to be finish marks.

[fritferret]

i'm certain these aren't scratches.  is it possible for just the finish to crack?  perhaps the finish is coming away from the veneer?  something else?  the cracks have depth, which you can't see from the pics.  not depth like something's been scrapped away like w/ a scratch.  these are fissures.  if i can find a way to get better pics, i will.  thanks for the reply!

[Danny]

i'm certain these aren't scratches.  is it possible for just the finish to crack?  perhaps the finish is coming away from the veneer?  something else?  the cracks have depth, which you can't see from the pics.  not depth like something's been scrapped away like w/ a scratch.  these are fissures.  if i can find a way to get better pics, i will.  thanks for the reply!

BETTER PICS PLEASE. These don't reveal anything, of course I don't see to well either.

[Mikeymac]

Like Danny, I'm not seeing anything - you really need to provide better pics if you want to get an opinion here.

Did you buy the guitar locally? If so, it's under warranty; I'd take it to your dealer and have a tech look at it. Even if you didn't buy it locally, if you know a good guitar tech (who knows about finishes) have him/her look at it.  And again, it's under warranty if you bought it new, so Larrivee will repair it, but you need to go through the dealer where it was purchased. 

[fritferret]

it's a custom order through a great shop in new york.  i'm not really looking for a repair unless it's a problem.  i'm trying to find out if it's a problem that needs attention.

i think i will have to take it to someone to look at, because i don't know how to photograph the cracks.  it's a bit of a pain to get it to a tech, beacuse the two best that i know of are only open til 5pm m-f, and closed on the weekends!  any tips on how to photograph something like this?  it's tough.  in less light, sing the veneer is so dark, you can't see anything, and in more light the shine makes it card to capture the cracks, too.


i have no doubt larrivee will attend to any problems.  they've always been great, especially matthew.

[ducktrapper]

Confucius say, "Man who cross border with crack in guitar, spend time in jail." 

[JOYCEfromNS]

Confucius say, "Man who cross border with crack in guitar, spend time in jail." 

[fritferret]

Confucius say, "Man who cross border with crack in guitar, spend time in jail." 

tghat made me laugh out loud!

[ducktrapper]

I'll be here all week. 

[fritferret]

ok, so here's a couple of better pics. again, not gret, but you can at least definitely see what i'm talking about.  when i try to focus the camera better, it's tougher to see the crack.  i still can't get a pic of the smaller of the two.  anyway, at least you can see something rather than nothing.

[Danny]

  Yup, serious problem. Don't try to focus the camera, just take a pic and then cut and paste an enlargement. It will show up clear as daylight.

[unclrob]

Can you feel it?

[ducktrapper]

Can you feel it?

This is no time to be singing Jackson 5 tunes, Rob. We have a serious problem!

[fritferret]

Can you feel it?

yep.  it's deep enough and there's enough space on either side of the crack that is catches your finger nail if you run it across that crack.  catches enough to make a clicking sound.  i'll try taking a clear pic and then just zooming in as was suggested above.  hopefully that will show more detail.

thanks for taking a look everyone.

[Danny]

  It may be just the finish, but either way this one needs some work.

[unclrob]

OK this is going to get me yelled at  at least twice.

Duck can i at least dance to them.

Get a magnifing glass and try to see if you can see a seperating of the wood.I don't believe the the veneer is two piece's but from your discription it sounds as if you have a dipping of the finish between two piece's of wood.If not that then something  got on the finish before drying and was removed and it got thru the QC.

[fritferret]

OK this is going to get me yelled at  at least twice.

Duck can i at least dance to them.

Get a magnifing glass and try to see if you can see a seperating of the wood.I don't believe the the veneer is two piece's but from your discription it sounds as if you have a dipping of the finish between two piece's of wood.If not that then something  got on the finish before drying and was removed and it got thru the QC.

i'll try the magnifying glass, thanks for the tip.  also, the crack or seam or whatever it is is new.  this wasn't there in any noticeable way a couple of weeks ago and i'm certain it's not a scratch.  if it's just a finish issue, do you think i should get if fixed?  the crack itself doesn't bother me that much, but i don't want the headstock to start flacking off or something a few months or years from now and then be stuck repairing out of my own pocket (a wear and tear type thing).

[broKen]

I'm gonna guess you have a crack in the wood.

[abalone at last]

I'm going to take a wild guess and say it got bangged or..........................didn't use a humidifier.