Jp Stress Crack Issue??

[maddgary]

alright i ve heard a lot of people talking of stress cracks with the ebmm jp and im thinking of buying one and the thought of stress cracks scares me more than dropping the soap in prison
so i have a few questions
what are the chances of my guitar coming with a stress crack
is it preventable
does it happen less than it seems
are stress cracks inevitable

thanks in advance

 

[bing4sons]

All I know is what I've read and that is every time someone called EB with a stress crack issue, they corrected it, free of charge. I wouldn't let that stop you.

 

[Jimi D]

It is true that Ernie Ball have been ver proactive in dealing with the stress cracks that have appeared on these guitar since the issue was first identified - that being said, this is really a non-issue, imho...

These "stress cracks" are in the finish of the neck pocket, not in the body wood. They are caused because the thin, brittle finish doesn't "flex" as much as the wood its sprayed on at the corners of the neck pocket - the wood flexes a little bit, the finish can't, so you get a tiny little crack. This problem plagues many bolt-on guitars with dressed away or contoured neck pockets in soft wood (basswood is pretty soft) - it is found on a large percentage of Jems and RGs for instance. It is purely cosmetic and in no way effects the tone, playability or stability of the instrument... If you pick up your guitar by the neck, then there's probably no way to avoid them for sure; if the conditions are right and the finish is a certain way and the wood flexes a certain way they will occur. Of course, you could always go out and buy a nice Korean Epiphone somethingorother with a machine applied finish that's ¼" thick - that won't crack...

 

[NorM]

I set my Korean made Somethingorother Quiturbitchin on fire once at a performance and it burned for days. The finish didn't crack one bit. This concert was on the top of Mount Wannahawkaloogie for the Slapahoe tribe in celebration of their split from the Semihole Indians. The split was necessary after an outbreak of the Russian venereal disease Rottchucockoff that was made worse by the girls wearing the new German bras, the Stopemfloppin. I can't figure out how to put the German word for constipated in this story. Farfrompoopin. Thus ending the sophomoric humor portion of the thread.

 

[mesavox]

These "stress cracks" are in the finish of the neck pocket, not in the body wood.

When I called MM about my JPM I was told that it was for sure in the wood. I mentioned that it looked like a mere finish crack and he said "No, it's in the wood, trust me."

Why else would they have redesigned the neck pocket on the JPMs twice?

After I got it back(with no stress crack I might add) I spoke with Dan and he said they were still convinced that it is caused during shipping in cases that just aren't foam fitted to that specific guitar. He said the problem is that they don't make thier own cases and SKB doesn't make a case for each guitar specifically.

I have a 94 Jackson Dinky and it fits perfectly in the case. But, there are several different models of Dinky so SKB can make one case for litterally 20 different model number of Jackson Guitar. MM only makes one Petrucci shape. I can't see SKB ever being interested in doing a one off case that fits two variations of the JPM(6and7string) in any way that would be cost effective.

So, we will shortly be getting the guitars shipped in foam. Which I think is totally fine except that any case that is bought for them will have the issue anytime the guitar is needed to be shipped after purchase.

 

[fsmith]

I guess I am one of the lucky ones or they've figured out the problem. I recieved my JPM on 2/13 and it has no stress cracks.

fred

 

[Jimi D]

When I called MM about my JPM I was told that it was for sure in the wood. I mentioned that it looked like a mere finish crack and he said "No, it's in the wood, trust me."

That's an interesting assertion coming from someone on the telephone who isn't even looking at the guitar... Anyway, I've seen a lot of these things - in fact, I have some on my guitars; I've yet to see one "in the wood".

Why else would they have redesigned the neck pocket on the JPMs twice?

Redesigned the neck pocket? Who told you they redesigned the neck pocket? First I've heard of it... I know that they have played around with the case design... Any Mods care to comment on this? Oh, Rumor Control... over here, please!!

 

[mesavox]

That's an interesting assertion coming from someone on the telephone who isn't even looking at the guitar... Anyway, I've seen a lot of these things - in fact, I have some on my guitars; I've yet to see one "in the wood".

Well, he said that based on the others he had seen. He said that while they may look like they are finish cracks, when they sand them down and analyze them, they are always in the wood. I would think the people in repair that repair all of them would be able to easily make that assertion without seeing a specific guitar.

When I was a mechanic, I knew that when someone complained about a small oil leak from thier LT1 motor in either thier corvette, camaro, transam, or caprice, that it was caused by the design flaw in the motor where the exhaust header bolts up. All of them have it , and I didn't need to see thiers to know that it was likely the cause of oil around thier rear main seal. It is safe to say "trust me, it isn't your rear main seal." Two reasons for that. 1. The design flaw is all inclusive. 2. A rear main seal leak wouldn't be burning off your headers for you to smell.

Redesigned the neck pocket? Who told you they redesigned the neck pocket? First I've heard of it... I know that they have played around with the case design... Any Mods care to comment on this? Oh, Rumor Control... over here, please!!

Dan at MM told me that. I can even physically see the difference in the pocket from the old body.

I also heard mention of the first time it was reworked at the Petrucci forum over a year ago.

 

[jongitarz]

Hello....I am an EB/MM repair tech, and just to put my 2 cents in here, I have taken the finish off of JP models that have been returned down to the wood, and have NEVER seen the cracks down to the wood. Every one was in the finish only. Its just cosmetic

Jon.

 

[OrangeChannel]

Stress cracks = character.....you never hear of someone who owns a '54 strat birchin' about stress cracks...

 

[mesavox]

Hello....I am an EB/MM repair tech, and just to put my 2 cents in here, I have taken the finish off of JP models that have been returned down to the wood, and have NEVER seen the cracks down to the wood. Every one was in the finish only. Its just cosmetic

Jon.

So why the two different stories? I'm confused. When I first called, the warranty guy was off that day. So, I spoke to someone else. I can't remember his name now. I just remember we talked at length about flying with guitars, shipping them, setups and other whatnots. He said that it likely wouldn't cause any major long term problems but that if I could part with the guitar for a bit it would be best to get it fixed.

From what I gathered he was a department head type person. Everyone I have talked to has been really nice and gone out of thier way to keep me informed of what was going on. I've only ever experienced tech support like I have gotten with EB from Mesa Boogie and George L's cables. So, I'm definatly not wanting to spread anything bad here. I'm quite pleased.

 

[guitar99]

I have heard a variety of explainations with both to the wood and to the finish. I have seen a crack on a new EB that started a the neck pocket and went around and the back to the trem cover. This is not a non-issue.

 

[Shnook]

I was watching Steve Vai's Live At The Astoria DVD the other night and noticed HUGE stress cracks on his FLO and EVO guitars.
Doesn't seem to effect their tone or playablity. Made me kind of rethink the importance, or lack of, about the stress crack issue.

 

[Jimi D]

Ya, stress cracks plague Jems like they do JPs... When I played Jems and RGs a few years back, I had five Jems and UVs and a handful of various RG models, and maybe half of them had finish cracks around the neck pocket. I refinished two of them for a lark (developed my own line; the Ibanez Jim! ) and didn't see any cracks in the wood.

 

[musikarero]

I'm getting a stress crack in my own neck from reading all this... Just a little humor!

 

[jongitarz]

I would love to know who you talked to....But I can tell you this in all honesty...I have PRESONALY taken almost every JP that has been returned down to the wood. It is finish only. I am not being paid to say that, I am at home on my own time posting this because I am a guitarist/repair geek, and if there was a big problem I would know about it...it is cosmetic, and nothing more. We will still replace bodies with the cracks if the customer wants to, but because of these forums, it all gets blown out of proportion. If any of you have questions, my email address is [email protected]

Jon

 

[guitar99]

I remember last year or the year before when the was a lot of talk about this problem, a few people said that they were told by EB techs that the cracks sometimes go down into wood and therefore EB was replacing the guitar's bodies to be safe. Hopefully, (by the sound of Jon's current experience) it just rare situation.

Also, I have seen a crack on a new axis that went from the tip of the neck joint, around the back of the guitar, and all the way down to the trem plate. That particular guitar may have had more than a cosmetic problem. Again, may be just a rare situation.