[Mark Trites]

found a Gibson hummingbird acoustic but has a couple a cracks. Should one steer clear? Or for the right price should one buy and mend it? Will attach a few pictures

 

[Mark Trites]

 

[Guest]

Luthiers charge by the crack. Can be fixed by the right guy.

 

[mawmow]

Did she suffer climate stress ? How is humidity % in the house ?
I ask because you could the same problem again if you don't care about environment.
That's the problem with solid wood acoustics : great sound but great care to take of. I have some and so had to become "maniac" (according to my wife, relatives and friends !) about humidity control after one of my classicals showed a thin line in the finish on the top besides the neck.

Luthiers are great at curing that and she should deliver same sounds after the cure as it did before. First, they would look inside the guitar with scrutiny for (more important) structural defect. Before any intervention, they would let it lay in humidity controlled area (some 45%) to see wood come back in place. Then glue some diamond shape little pieces of wood under the board. You would probably still see a little line on the site of the crack as you see on the midline of an intact top.
A pricey instrument probably deserves such a cure. Dana Bourgeois did rebuild the "Banjo Killer" of a reknown american player after his guitar suffered a flood immersion...

 

[Steadfastly]

That is totally repairable. And the hummingbird, IMHO is a really good acoustic. Let me know if you choose to not fix it.

 

[Steadfastly]

Mark, it looks like it cracked due to lack of humidity. I have a similar crack in my Alvarez MD60. It was received that way by the dealer. He repaired it and it is only noticeable if you look really close or it's pointed out to you.

So, get yours fixed. You'll have a guitar that will give you pleasure for many years to come.

 

[Mark Trites]

Thanks! Yeah lack of humidity for sure. Going to leave it in a humid environment for Awhile until wood takes in some moisture and see if the crack will close up somewhat. Take it day by day, not in any rush at all. Still sounds fantastic, but to bad it had to happen.

 

[Steadfastly]

Thanks! Yeah lack of humidity for sure. Going to leave it in a humid environment for Awhile until wood takes in some moisture and see if the crack will close up somewhat. Take it day by day, not in any rush at all. Still sounds fantastic, but to bad it had to happen.

That's a very good idea. Keep us informed of how it goes. We're always interested in progress reports.

 

[Ship of fools]

is that cracked roughly in the same area as the front because it does not look like a humidity problem to me looks like someone may have dropped it on the butt end cracks generally follow the grain and while the front looks close the back is all over the place I would go with someone dropping it and cleating costs are anywhere from $10 per cleat up to as high as $25

 

[Guncho]

Unless you are doing it yourself, no repair costs $10-$25.

 

[High/Deaf]

Guitar crack? Do you need a special pipe for that?

 

[sambonee]

THOUGHT this was going to be a pissing Match about how addictive guitars are.

 

[Ship of fools]

I believe I said it was per cleat and yes you do need a special pipe wonder if he managed to close up the gaps oh and thats much more then 1 cleat needed

 

[harrym]

For the right price I would definitely buy it, repair or have it repaired. Keep a humidifier in it and you will have a good guitar for life.

 

[Mark Trites]

Amazing what humidity will do. Hasn’t been glued or cleated yet, but so far crack is pretty much gone on front and back

 

[Steadfastly]

I was going to ask, where's the crack?

 

[Dorian2]

I don't know much about guitar repair at this level, but I'm assuming you're still going to bring it into a qualified Luthier for the fix. Hummingbirds a really nice guitars when aged well.

 

[Mark Trites]

Going to talk to a guy today and see what he charges. If was a cheaper guitar, would attempt, but not this one yet. The Simon & Patrick songsmith I fixed turned out quite nice for my first attempt, and it was quite the crack.

 

[R.S.Fraser Sr.]

OP, in your crack photo it is worth mentioning that the crack is dead in line with the low E pin hole.
It may be that that pin was brutally driven in at one time in the instrument's life.
Something to watch for when you restring?

 

[Mark Trites]

OP, in your crack photo it is worth mentioning that the crack is dead in line with the low E pin hole.
It may be that that pin was brutally driven in at one time in the instrument's life.
Something to watch for when you restring?

Yeah exactly my thought too. But being that there is a crack in the back, maybe humidity and being to forced when restrung?