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I have an opportunity to buy a very nice used Eastman guitar from someone where I live. It has a small 1" hairline mark that appears to be a crack on the heel. See first attachment.
When I run my finger on the surface of the guitar from the area to the right of the crack to the area to the left of the crack, I can feel the crack ever so slightly.
There are also a number of white-ish spots at the very bottom of the heel near where the heel meets the body. See second attachment. The surface feels completely smooth at this location.
Does anyone know if these flaws are likely to be problematic in the future? Thanks for your help.
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Would better photos be available? It's really hard to tell anything from those.
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in the first picture the crack is very straight forward so I think it is along the glued line of the pieces of the neck. If this opens up in future it may become a problem. Better pics would be helpful as already mentioned.
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Could I see the neck where it's NOT a dark lacquer finish (middle)? If it's a multi ply neck (made up of several pieces running the length of the neck) and the glue line follows to the presence of that finish check, I'd fear an insufficient or imperfect glue join before the neck was even carved. I would err on the side of caution.
Note that there are different methods of construction: 3 piece, 5 piece, stacked block heel, tongue and groove, tenon, dovetail... and different ways things might have gone wrong. Dark colour finishes do cover up deeper inspection, so in the lack of seeing deeper, I am suspicious of anything that might seem amiss. It may very well be stable, and it could be evidence of a momentary trauma that put torsional stress on a previously sound glue join.
That's my opinion, and only one person. But I'm a luthier and these things happen. If someone brought one of mine back and it was evident that the neck was delaminating, I'd know the join was not clean on that block. I'd take it back and re-neck it. Ouch!
Hey could I see a photo of the neck at the nut? Just below where the nut is set and the headstock meets the neck? I'm looking for tiny radiating finish checks. I won't get more into this request except to say if there's anything up there, then there's a history and my vote for a pass becomes stronger.
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That looks to be an Eastman 808 John Pisano model? See if you could bring it to a qualified luthier for an opinion. You might be able to negotiate these issues into an attractive price.
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Thanks to everyone for taking the time to provide your helpful insight.
I took the guitar to a luthier today. The luthier stated that without opening up the guitar, he can't tell if the crack is in the wood and whether it will cause problems in the future.
He stated that if the neck had to be fixed in the future, it would probably cost around $500 or slightly more to fix.
The guitar is an Eastman AR880 John Pisano. It sounds great and to me it sounds similar to a 16" Steven Holst guitar I recently heard. I've had numerous Eastmans like the AR805, AR605, ER2, and I prefer the tone of this AR880. To me it sounds better than any of my 16" guitars, and the only 17" guitars I have that sound as good are my Martin CF1 and my Landscape AR1. But those two are less comfortable to me.
The price I can get it for is $1600, which I think is well below what a used AR880 without the stated flaw would cost. Because of the sound and price, I am probably going to take my chances and keep the guitar, while hoping the guitar will be stable.
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Yes, it's the AR880 Pisano. Great eyes to figure that out.
IMO, a fantastic guitar. I played both a Benedetto Bravo and a Sadowsky Jim Hall for weeks, and to me, the AR880 sounds just as good.
The luthier can't tell whether the crack is in the wood without opening up the guitar. I like the guitar better than all of my 16" guitars. Besides the flaw, the guitar is in excellent condition. The price is $1600 with the case. I believe one of these in the same condition but without the flaw would probably cost $2000 or more. I think there is a good chance the guitar remains stable, but even if it ended up requiring repair, I think I would only loose a few hundred dollars overall versus getting a different one. I will probably be keeping it.
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Best wishes for a long and musical partnership. Play each day as if you're playing forever and I hope it stays stable for as long as you can play.
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I had 2 different JP880 models in the past. The first one had developed major finish peeling on the headstock. But it had a great neck profile slightly fatter which I like.
They replaced it with a new one which was comparable tone wise but the neck was too slim for me.
Lovely modern 16” Carved Top, but a bit brighter tone than I prefer in an Archtop. I prefer Gibson and Epiphone of the 40’s and 50’s with thicker plates,which translates to more mids.
Best of luck with your purchase,I’m sure it will work out just fine!
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