Sterling MM Majesty X: Opinion on Small Crack Near Neck Pickup

[gtrnut22]

I just picked up a second hand Sterling Majesty X. Really liking the guitar so far. When I was cleaning it I noticed a small crack above the neck pickup near the neck pickup. It appears to be a superficial crack in the finish/clearcoat, and it seems like it continues down a little bit into the body, but I can't quite tell. I don't see any evidence of a crack at the base of the pickup cavity, or on the back of the body, or anywhere around the neck. I'm wondering if this is something I should be concerned about & thought I'd get your guys' opinion (I hope this is the right forum to post about a Sterling by MM branded guitar)/

 

[jayjayjay]

Don't know about Majesties, but finish cracks around the neck pocket have been known to happen to EBMM instruments from time to time. They're entirely superficial and have no impact on the instrument's sound or playability.

My guess is over time slight neck flexing in the neck-through resulted in a finish crack. If the wood were significantly involved, I'd imagine you'd experience tuning instabilities.

 

[gtrnut22]

Thanks for chiming in - that puts me a little more at ease. This is my first ernie ball style guitar (although not officially EBMM) so I'm trying to become familiar with the guitar and what to expect. It is having a little trouble staying in tune so far, but I assume after greasing the nut and putting a fresh set of strings on, I should be in better shape. I'm seeing a lot of different opinions on what to use to grease the nut, so I'll just have to choose one lol.

 

[DrKev]

Welcome to the forum!

I have no worries about that little crack at all. It all but one of those photos it looks to me like a scratch more than a crack. in any case, there is no structural issue at all here, very far from it.

For lube, I just stay away from liquid oils (us etoo much and it will seep into the wood and could cause problems in a few years). Any kind of grease is fine. Lip balm, vaseline, I like white lithium grease for bicycles, and you could use graphite from a pencil too.

 

[PeteDuBaldo]

The SBMM Majesty models are a set-neck design (the EBMM are neck-through), and the crack is likely due to the neck experiencing some type of force that it didn't like. Will it keep moving or cause problems down the line? Likely not, but personally having seen those cracks while unpacking brand new Maj-X guitars immediately put them at "B-stock" level or worthy of return/refusal. They simply shouldn't be there on a brand new $1500 guitar. On a used guitar the cracks should be reflected in the price.

 

[Astrofreq]

That looks like a little finish crack on a gorgeous guitar. Don’t sweat it and make awesome music. Post more pics if you could so we can see the whole guitar.

 

[Century_road]

Thanks for chiming in - that puts me a little more at ease. This is my first ernie ball style guitar (although not officially EBMM) so I'm trying to become familiar with the guitar and what to expect. It is having a little trouble staying in tune so far, but I assume after greasing the nut and putting a fresh set of strings on, I should be in better shape. I'm seeing a lot of different opinions on what to use to grease the nut, so I'll just have to choose one lol.

I use Tune-It from Music Nomad for lubing the nut and saddles on occasion. Pretty simple and comes with a few fine tip applicators for smaller jobs. However most of the above mentioned items will work as well. Love the majestic purple Majesty. I just grabbed the cerulean paradise last month.

 

[gtrnut22]

That looks like a little finish crack on a gorgeous guitar. Don’t sweat it and make awesome music. Post more pics if you could so we can see the whole guitar.

Here she is. Detailed the bridge, hardware and body yesterday. Now I plan to polish the frets, and put some new strings on. Already plays great as is.

 

[gtrnut22]

I use Tune-It from Music Nomad for lubing the nut and saddles on occasion. Pretty simple and comes with a few fine tip applicators for smaller jobs. However most of the above mentioned items will work as well. Love the majestic purple Majesty. I just grabbed the cerulean paradise last month.

Congrats on the new majesty. Now I already want a seven string version after playing this for a day. Love how light weight it is and how comfortable the neck feels. I had seen that tube of tune-it before. I’ll probably give that a shot.

 

[Astrofreq]

Nice!! Gorgeous color!