PDA

View Full Version : Oh My God!



mmukav
Mar-21-2004, 8:19pm
Changing strings on my Gibson A9 today and found a sizeable crack on my fretboard!! I'ts between the 12th and 15th frets, and runs from the edge of the board to about 1/3rd onto the top of the board. The mando is 1 yr. old, taken care of meticulously, I just couldn't believe my eyes. I immediately e-mailed Gibson and will call tomorrow. What else should I do? Has anyone else had a similar problem? Has anyone had to deal with Gibson about something like this?? Will they fix it? I'm freaking out!!! Help!!!!!!

Mar-21-2004, 8:29pm
Shouldnt be a big deal it can be filled with fretboard ebony filler and fixed in less than an hour if it is not a big crack. Yeah I am almost 100 percent they will fix it but you can probably get it fixed cheaper if you have a local luthier than what it will cost in shipping.

mmukav
Mar-21-2004, 9:53pm
But why did it crack, will more cracks develop? I use a humidifier, and take keep it in the hardshell case it came with. I'ts only 1 year old, I don't understand why it happened. I've owned several mandos with ebony fretboards, and this never happened to any of those.

Charlie Derrington
Mar-21-2004, 10:02pm
Hi Mike.....

Not a flip answer, but wood is wood and sometimes wood cracks. The best way to keep it from happening is to use a good quality oil on the fingerboard about every third time you change strings. This keeps the unfinished fgbd from drying out and cracking.

Of course we'll fix it for free, but in the future, remember the oil thing. Send an e-mail to oaiwarranty@gibson.com and let Sherry know I said we'd take care of it.

Charlie

mmukav
Mar-21-2004, 10:30pm
Charlie, thanks. I did e-mail Sherrie,I really hope this can be taken care of. Just so you know, I do oil my fingerboards regularly, I take really good care of my instruments. If you ask my wife, she'll tell you I take better care of them than I do her. Thanks again, and I'll keep you posted on how it's going.

mmukav
Mar-21-2004, 10:52pm
Charlie, the link you gave me to use to send e-mail to Sherrie did not work. Is there another one?

BigJoe
Mar-21-2004, 11:48pm
I you e-mail me I will tell Sherri for you. My e-mail address is: jvest@gibson.com

mmukav
Mar-22-2004, 8:10am
I've contacted Gibson about the crack in the fingerboard of my Gibson A9. I'm waiting now for their response. Has anyone else run across this problem? If so, how was it rectified by the company? (Gibson, Weber, Rigel, whatever)

om21ed
Mar-22-2004, 8:31am
charlie, what is a good oil. can you reommend one ? 'sems like putting the wrong thing on could turn into a real mess

mmukav
Mar-22-2004, 8:38am
I used Gibson's fretboard conitioner on mine.

Mar-22-2004, 9:22am
Don't fret......LOL! It's not a big deal & you couldn't be in better hands for warranty work.

* After rereading the above I hope no one took that as a jab. "Don't fret" was a joke. You don't have to "fret" when Charlie & Big Joe are on the case...... http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif *

John Jesseph
Mar-22-2004, 9:55am
I had a crack develop in the fingerboard of a Carvin electric guitar. They fixed invisibly and it was no big deal. Wood is wood, and that's what warrenties are for. I should take care of my instruments like you do!

Charlie Derrington
Mar-22-2004, 10:22am
Any good lemon oil will do. I personally take linseed oil and mix it 1/3 linseed to 2/3rds lemon oil.

Charlie

sunburst
Mar-22-2004, 12:02pm
The lemon oil that "they" sell for wood is usually just mineral oil diluted with a solvent and with some lemon fragrance added. You could dilute your own mineral oil with mineral spirits or turpentine or whatever you can stand the smell of.
Go easy with it, too much is a mess. I haven't seen much evidence of crack prevention from oil on the board, proper humidity is more important, but even the best cared-for ebony boards can crack especially if flatsawn. These days, that's about all you can get and a crack isn't a big deal, especially with Gibson willing to stand behind their product.

Big Joe
Mar-22-2004, 12:28pm
I should add a word about humidity. If you keep your room at the correct humitity and then put your instrument in its case it can still be too dry because its environment is now the interior of the case. That environment has nothing to do with the room it is kept in. I always keep my house properly humidified and keep my instruments on stands rather than in the case. If you keep it in the case you need a humidification system that does not put water directly on the instrument. I cut a potato in half and put in in the pick pocket. It is over 90% water and will emit the humidity as needed without harming the instrument. When the potato gets shriveled up and looks dry, just replace it with another.

John Bertotti
Mar-22-2004, 3:58pm
Big Joe have you ever had the potato start to rot? I ask because I just pulled some out of the pantry and they were seriously gooed. Usually I see them sprout, not goo, just curious. John

Big Joe
Mar-22-2004, 5:17pm
I usually take them out before that occurs. I've not left one in that long. I normally keep my instruments out and have not had any problems from lack of humidity. You could also put the potato in a baggie and poke a few holes in it to let the moisture escape or put it in a small tupperware (or similar brand) container with some holes in the top to allow moisture to escape and it would keep the potato out of the fur in the pocket.

craig
Mar-22-2004, 5:41pm
potatoes in the mandolin case . . . now we know how gibson does that "distressed" look . . . and smell http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

but, what types of potatoes work best? Russetts? Yellows? Yukon Gold? Peruvian Blue? Superior? Kennebec?

Mar-22-2004, 5:51pm
charlie, what is a good oil. #can you reommend one ? #'sems like putting the wrong thing on could turn into a real mess
Something I got from a clarinet BBS (and they OBSESS over these things)...
If you are oiling vegetable matter, use a vegetable based oil. #Take your pick for wood; almond, lemon, linseed, even walnut or olive if you want, but stay away from tung oil. #Organic food stores are the best sources. #DON'T use mineral, baby, or other petroleum products on wood if you really care. Makes sense to me, your mileage may vary.
...now is a nut oil "better" for a tropical hardwood, or is a fruit oil better... hmmm... ask a clarinetist for an opinion.

Luthier
Mar-22-2004, 6:04pm
Do not...Do not use raw linseed oil....Use only boiled linseed oil. #Raw linseed oil will not dry! # # Don

Mar-23-2004, 1:20pm
Luthier,
Aren't we talking about a THIN coat to protect the wood FROM drying out? We aren't talking about a durable linseed oil furniture finish. I would not use the oil I finished my workbench with on my instrument.

Martin Jonas
Mar-24-2004, 10:55am
Big Joe have you ever had the potato start to rot? I ask because I just pulled some out of the pantry and they were seriously gooed. Usually I see them sprout, not goo, just curious. John
Seriously off-topic now, but here you go: potatoes going gooey (and VERY smelly) is caused by bacterial soft rot and it happens when you cut the potato off from oxygen. If it happens in a pantry, it's typically because you kept it in a plastic bag (which is not recommended) and it's used up all the oxygen in there, but it can also happen when the potatoes are stored too wet and there is moisture film on the skin cutting it off from oxygen. The bacteria responsible for soft rot are anaerobic, they will not grow when the potato is in open air, regardless of how long you store them.

Martin
(I give advice on this sort of thing for a living...)

sunburst
Mar-24-2004, 11:06am
(I give advice on this sort of thing for a living...)
Just one quick off-topic question. What is it that you do for a living?

Martin Jonas
Mar-25-2004, 6:37am
(I give advice on this sort of thing for a living...)
Just one quick off-topic question. What is it that you do for a living?
I'm a freelance scientific consultant specialising in investigating the causes of damage to ship's cargoes. It's very spectacular when the soft rot I was talking about affects a few hundred tons of potatoes in a ship's hold as opposed to two or three potatoes in your pantry. I've seen it happen and am still trying to forget the smell...

Martin

sunburst
Mar-25-2004, 9:41am
I've seen it happen and am still trying to forget the smell...
Thanks Martin.
I've never seen that, but I'm already trying to forget the smell http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif !

creekwader
Mar-26-2004, 9:28pm
potatoes.....mandos......a natural progression if you ask me!
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif #not to make this TOO terribly off-topic but martin, what did you major in?

mmukav
Apr-09-2004, 8:18am
Just wanted to let you all know Gibson did repair the crack on the fingerboard of my A9. Looks good as new.

Martin Jonas
Apr-09-2004, 4:15pm
potatoes.....mandos......a natural progression if you ask me!
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif #not to make this TOO terribly off-topic but martin, what did you major in?
Creekwader: sorry for the wait for my off-topic answer (I'd been away). I am a physicist, which may not sound like the obvious background for my line of work, but happens to provide a usefully wide background for the vast variety of things that can go wrong in a ship's cargo.

Martin

HUMISTAT
Apr-29-2004, 9:52am
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif Hi to everyone!
My name is David (Berliner) and -- for full disclosure -- my firm is the HUMISTAT® Company. Over the past few months, I have been delighted to hear from a number of you who have tried our humidifiers and recommended them to friends and colleagues both offline and in Mandolin Cafe's Message Board discussions.

I've noticed that, from time to time, questions about humidification and/or HUMISTAT® Company products have been posted (and, sometimes, answered) by Board members.

I'd like to invite you to send any questions you have to me personally (whether or not you post the question on the Board) at dcberliner@humistat.com.

Allow me to share with you why HUMISTAT® Company products have been so popular with professionals, non-professionals, and students for so many years and why we have developed such a loyal corps of repeat customers. Our products are:

* Unique, with a patented mechanism
* Fully and easily ADJUSTABLE
* NEVER touch your instrument (much less are inserted inside them)
* Easy to fill using tap or, if you prefer, distilled water
* Clear, so you can see when a re-fill is needed
* Compact; no bulky or involved tubes or containers
* Priced very affordably. They're a small investment to protect your big investment -- your mandolin(s).

Thanks once again to those of you who have used and recommended our products, and we invite everyone to visit our Web site.

A special thanks to Scott, who runs this terrific site.

mcmando
Apr-29-2004, 9:58am
David is a great guy to deal with and his product works well. I keep a humistat in each of my mandolin cases. I have no financial interest in Humistat at all-- I just think it's a great product and a real bargain for the protection it provides against instrument damage.

labraid
Apr-30-2004, 8:55am
I am curious about that crack, was it going with or across the grain? Sounded like across the grain which must be quite rare?