Luke 1 with back bent neck

[Kvaksalver]

Lately I've been on the hunt for a Luke 1. I've now been offered one with a back bent neck. Seller, who has been open about this from the start, says that it can be adjusted and played with .10's as they provide enough tension for the neck to have relief. As I play .09's and the neck isn't guaranteed to not warp any further, I'd like to know if any of you has any experience with something similar.

My local luthier says he can't asses the damage without having the guitar on his workbench (if he'd said otherwise I would have been suspicious anyway), so:

Do any of you know if MM will fix/make a replacement neck/ be helpful otherwise? I could just contact customer service but wanted to hear if you guys had any experience first...

 

[beej]

That's a tough one. I've owned a guitar or two with a neck that was backbowed significantly. If it's not controllable by the truss rod or string tension, sometimes you can refret/fret level it so it works. I've had one neck heat steamed to bring it back as well. But I wouldn't suggest getting into that unless it's a guitar you can't pass up and you're willing to take the risk.

You can buy a replacement neck from MM, but they're not inexpensive. (They can't really fix a bowed one.)

Anyhow, there you go. Unless you love it or the price is right (knowing you might need to replace it), I would be inclined to walk away.