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I dinged my pristine guitar on my metal guitar stand this morning. It put a small ding/cut right on the corner of my ebony fretboard, around the 5th fret, next to the 6th string (the heaviest string on top). It is pretty much cosmetic but still left me a little distressed. I have dings and sweat spots on all my guitar bodies, but my fretboards are all free of damage.
Are you concerned about guitar damage? If so, what kind? Fretboard? Body? Frets? Cracks in the finish?
Is the fretboard the worst spot to get a ding?Last edited by AlsoRan; 11-08-2014 at 01:24 PM. Reason: spelling
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11-08-2014 01:23 PM
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If I can feel it when playing it will bother me and will get addressed. After that is something that I think will affect the guitar's life long-term like a crack or fracture that I'll get fixed. PUP's or controls will get fixed, but if guitar is usage it becomes a low priority.
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I "baby" my guitars, so they're pretty clean. I've bonked a nice one before, and it hurt my soul. I know they're "just instruments," but it still hurt.
Dings are fine, cracks are bad, and need to be addressed by a qualified luthier.
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Naw. I don't baby them. I have dings all over them. If they play well that's all I'm concerned with.
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I have a good friend who is a very accomplished female vocalist. Once I commented about the fact that I had dinged my guitar and she responded, "Those are signs of use and love". Upon reflection I have to agree. Small dings are going to happen and that's okay. It's a working musical instrument not a piece of the true cross.
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Small dings and scratches are no bother. I have a 70s Washburn Falcon that has a few very small dings, and that's alright. I also have a 1963 Maton Supreme 777 which looks quite distressed - This was my father's first proper guitar and one he bought new.
My 'main' guitar, my 'baby', I am not overly cautious with. I love its so-far pristine looks but as jazz.fred pointed out, dings and scratches are signs of use and love. I like a guitar that's "lived a life", so to speak; one that you can tell has been used plenty, and has perhaps been on the road. I'd never relic a guitar, but I wouldn't go out of my way to keep a finish in as-new condition either =)
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I would love to hear from some of our guitar collectors.
How would you feel if you toppled your Gibson WesMo or your Super Eagle over and its fretboard got a knick on your metal magazine holder. Would it distress you or would you feel the knick gave it character?
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The first one or two dings to the body suck. Once you get a few more, it looks fine.
I hate neck dimgs though...i definitely try to avoid those.
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I don't ding my guitars/amps. I have a keen sense of space. When other people use my guitars/amps...yikes. Oh well.
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I think dings hurt the most when a guitar is pristine. Otherwise it's usually not a big deal. Dings or nicks in the neck - where they can be felt - are a pain. Otherwise, even some of my most valuable guitars can be dinged without too much angst. My '28 L-5 has enough wear that I wouldn't even notice a new blemish. I am careful with my vintage guitars, but don't consider them museum pieces. They get played first and foremost. I take care of them because they are both valuable and meaningful to me. I don't buy into the "I treat 'em rough cause they're just tools" BS. I think that's machismo.
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I think we can all agree that "Trigger" is a beautiful guitar
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Rpguitar, to me, you said it best. They get played but afterward they get wiped down with a microfiber and spray detailer because they are valuable and meaningful to me. When I die I'm not getting buried with them. I want my son to have a choice whether to keep them or sell them as mint collectable instruments.
Great topic.
JD
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Cool. Welcome, JD. There are a few of us Jersey fellas here so you'll fit right in!
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Dings, scratches, finish wear all over the place. It means that the guitar is doing its job.
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the nicer the guitar, the less tolerable the dings. yes, they impact resale.
you can always get a new fretboard, you can't get a new body.Last edited by fumblefingers; 11-08-2014 at 08:11 PM.
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My Paul Reed Smith Hollowbody once got knocked off a stand during a break at an outdoor gig on a concrete stage and fell flat on its face. Knocked the "P" right off the headstock, so now it says "aul Reed Smith." Ouch. I played the next set and the guitar was fine other than a couple scrapes.
I take my guitars out to gigs and rehearsals all the time and I try to be careful, but stuff happens. I try to avoid dings, but I don't cry over them. Guitars are tools.
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I think guitars with playing wear are cool, and I have a few. But I don't play out and tend to keep my stuff in as-found condition. The pristine guitars almost always stay that way, but the natural relics stay that way too. I keep one guitar out at a time, the rest are in cases. I wear my shirt tail out to prevent buckle/button rash. The edge of my desk where I play has a sharp corner which I have inartfully but effectively padded. I have a Hercules guitar stand that has only fallen once (it wasn't me). :-( But stuff happens and when it happens I wince and move on.
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dings are gonna happen. the first is the worst, then it's yours
I've had a couple of guitars that were new, but dinged in the shop before I bought them -- oafish shoppers!
One is a neck ding on a Gibson Midtown Custom. I went through an annoyed phase, but now I think of it as a beauty mark . . . LOL
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Longways, midtown custom - Great guitar! Most under rated. Playability, sound and the custom bound headstock. Amazing. Sorry about the ding. JD
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When I went looking for my present Martin (2005 D18V), I specifically went after a player guitar. I had a series of Martins that were pristine when I got them and they were great for the couch but I was afraid to take them out of the house. This one belonged to the guitar player for a Virginia state champion bluegrass band - he bought it new and it had probably 300-400 gigs on it when I got it. It's got capo marks on the neck, pick scratches above the soundhole, a worn spot near the pickguard and a light sweat stain from a suede jacket on the bass side of the lower bout (under your arm). To me it's a thing of beauty - sounds like a million bucks and I don't have to worry about taking it out of the house.
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^^^^^^^^
Originally Posted by Flyin' Brian
This.
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Yep, the first ding or two is distressing but a well used and loved guitar is beautiful. (I don't care for 'relic' guitars though, the wear has to be REAL.)
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I think of guitars like cars. If I buy a new one, i want to keep it looking nice as long as possible, but if it does get dinged, que será será. As long as it's rolling, it's doing its job.
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Although play wear and dings are unavoidable, mine get few. I keep a beater for other people to play.
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I am super anal which really bothers me that I am like that. If I get a ding I will get it drop filled with lacquer. A ding on the neck that I can feel will drive me nuts. I love a super slick neck. I put carnuaba wax on my necks all the time to keep them feeling slick and non sticky. I got to hold Herb Ellis' '53 ES175 once and his neck had these 2 giant goughes on the back that would have drove me insane. Obviously it didn't bother him a bit. I have a couple small dings on the back of my L5's neck but I was able to buff them down with rubbing compound till I couldn't feel them. You can still see them but you can't feel them. Oh ya I hate lacquer checks too. I would never sell one of my gits because of a dig or scratch still I don't like them. If I broke a headstock I would fix it and sell it though. I wish I was more like Barney Kessel. His old ES350 was beat to crap and he could care less. He did have his neck refinished a couple of times though just because he wore off all the lacquer. He was very anal about his fretboard and frets though.
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