one of my Luke's stress cracked on it's own!!!!

[lespaulreed]

so I've got 2 new Luke's. A envy green limited piezo and a radiance red limited piezo. All of my guitars are hung inside a climate controlled studio where humidity is not only monitored but also adjusted to the proper percentage and no one but me has access to the building.

I have had the radiance red Luke about 3 weeks and have not played it in about 3 days. Last night I take it off it's wall hanger and lo and behold inside the upper bout I see a 1 1/2" (that's right, one and 1/2 inch long!) crack!!

Believe me, this crack was not there when I recieved the guitar as the radiant red makes the crack look 'black'. I would have noticed this as we all know the stories about the Petruccis and I always go over any guitar I purchase with a fine tooth comb (kinda picky about my guitars but I do buy them to play them also).

Don't get me wrong, my Luke's are 'keepers' and whether I have this repaired or not I am keeping the guitar. Dings are no concern to me (I don't 'love' dings but I do believe guitars should be 'played' and dings just go with the territory sometimes.)
It's just that this guitar is 'new' and only about a month old!! (kinda irritating)

So my questions... (sorry if these have been asked before but now it's serious... now it's 'MY' guitar..!!!)

1- Can a guitar hanging on a wall just have a stress crack 'appear' from nowhere? (these guitars hang in music stores for months sometimes. Do they get stress cracks hanging there also?)

2- Will or can the crack get larger? 1&1/2" is pretty large if you ask me but if the length doubled it would look really bad...

3- have Luke's been known to have this problem also?

4- is the crack only in the clearcoat or is it under the clearcoat or is there a chance it's in the wood as well?

5- what does trhe repair involve? A new body or paint job?

6- can I repair the crack myself or prevent it from becoming larger?

Anybody?

Again, I'm sorry as I know the stress crack issue has been beat to death but has it been covered or noticed in the Luke line?

Help!! My Luke's cracking under the stress...!!

 

[PeteDuBaldo]

Call customer service, and ask them what they recommend

1-800-543-2255


EB is made up of a very nice group of people who take a lot of pride in their products. Most likely they will just ask you to ship it back for a new body, but call them to figure it out

 

[jongitarz]

The stress cracks are only in the finish. I have never seen one the was all the way into the wood. They can happen on any guitar with a bolt on neck. (Look at the Oct. cover of vintage guitar magazine Satriani's axe has a HUGE crack). If you would like us to take care of it we will replace the body. 1 866 823-2255

 

[Raz]

This is why I gave customer service a 10 on my Sub1 review...way to go!

 

[kbaim]

I got a tiny one (about 1/4") on one of mine. Not big enough for me to worry. I only remember about it when others write about it. 1 1/2" seems long though, and might freak me out too.

The other thing I wonder about is what happens if a stress crack develops on an already discontinued color? What would happen in that case Jon?

KEITH

 

[jongitarz]

We keep discontinued paint colors around for situations like that.

 

[zyx345]

1- Can a guitar hanging on a wall just have a stress crack 'appear' from nowhere? (these guitars hang in music stores for months sometimes. Do they get stress cracks hanging there also?)

My Petrucci has this as well & I noticed it after it was on an Ultimate Genesis 100 guitar stand which works similiar to a wall hanger. I've owned an Ibanez RG that had this same problem.

I know that the finish cracks are caused by the wood expanding & I am not 100% sure on this but I am starting to see a correlation in guitars hanging on the wall & stress cracks. I've looked at several "super strats" at Guitar Center & Sam Ash which had this.

 

[jongitarz]

I don't see how hanging a guitar would cause neck joint cracks. Nope.

 

[zyx345]

I don't see how hanging a guitar would cause neck joint cracks. Nope.

Yeah, I wasn't 100% sure on that. Maybe its just the guitars I've looked at, i.e. Ibanez, ESP, & some EB MMs. I'm glad to know that its safe to hang my EBMM on the wall or guitar stand.

 

[Warg Master]

You'll replace the body?

Does that mean you'll replace the body on my Axis?

 

[jongitarz]

Is it under warranty? (1 year from the date of purchase and you are the original owner with a copy of the receipt) Yes we will.

 

[jongitarz]

Yeah, I wasn't 100% sure on that. Maybe its just the guitars I've looked at, i.e. Ibanez, ESP, & some EB MMs. I'm glad to know that its safe to hang my EBMM on the wall or guitar stand.

Yeah, I would not worry about hanging your guitar, or using a guitar stand.

 

[Warg Master]

Yes, it is, woooo! I thought I was stuck

 

[jongitarz]

Warg...You can call 1 866 823-2255 for a return authorization number when you want to send it in.

 

[lespaulreed]

thanks Jon & guys. I'll call. Any of you guys just live with your stress cracks and how big are they?

Also Jon, if you would... my date of manufacture for this Luke please.
the serial number is G25053

And what about this crack issue Jon?

Would or could it possibly be from a music store not having enough humidity and then my putting it in a proper humidity setting and the wood expanding and causing the crack or am I speculating too much?

 

[jongitarz]

thanks Jon & guys. I'll call. Any of you guys just live with your stress cracks and how big are they?

Also Jon, if you would... my date of manufacture for this Luke please.
the serial number is G25053

And what about this crack issue Jon?

Would or could it possibly be from a music store not having enough humidity and then my putting it in a proper humidity setting and the wood expanding and causing the crack or am I speculating too much?

DOB 5/13/04 It was made for country act Jo Dee Messina I don't know how it got to you instead
I suppose it could be because of the lack of humidity, then going to a room with humidity, but it would just be speculation on my part. It's hard to say.

Jon

 

[lespaulreed]

wow, a celeb's guitar... I think it plays better now...

what's the turn around on a body swap for that stress crack Jon? Any Idea?
thanks

 

[jongitarz]

Usually its about 4 weeks

 

[lespaulreed]

One more question Jon if you could...

What do the guys in the repair dept. do to prevent this type of thing from happening again once the new body is put on?
Do they enlarge the neck pocket a little?
Make sure there's no paint coming into contact with the neck itself in case it shifts?
What exactly?
Just curious...

thanks & I appreciate your time and info here on the forum.
Jay

 

[jongitarz]

Jay...I just got the work order for your guitar from Aziah. When we get the new body we check the fit, and if needed we will route out the neck socket. I also soak the corners of the neck pocket with super glue. Let me know how you like the guitar set up and I will dial it in for you.

Jon