Cracked top on flattop--opinions requested

[Doctor Jeff]

I have a problem with my Voyage Air guitar--it is an OM-size flattop with a solid Sitka spruce top. Like all VA guitars, the neck has a hinge, and it folds for travel. I got it about 7 months ago, and initially thought it was a great guitar, well made and with great tone and playability.

I did notice some slight buzzing around the 14th fret--above where the hinge is--and thought maybe it needed a minor truss rod adjustment, given the time and weather changes since I bought it.

I took it up to Wisconsin last weekend to play with some family members. I noticed that virtually all strings buzzed at higher frets, and some notes just below 14th fret were unplayable. Not good, I thought. I couldn't get an Allen wrench over the weekend, but got one when I got home. I was not able to fix the problem, and noted that the fretboard below the hinge was a hair proud of the upper part. And then yesterday I noticed a crack that definitely had not been there before.

I hang the guitar from the wall. Our house seems to have average humidity--my hygrometer seems to have disappeared, so will need to track one down, but it doesn't feel like a desert indoors. (We have an AprilAire humidifier for the HVAC which I don't think is functional.)

However...I have never had a solid top guitar crack ever. And I have a couple of them right now.

I am wondering if there was a problem with the guitar--small crack or weakness in the top invisible til now, or possible some bowing of the top due to inadequate bracing or a brace coming unglued? (I have not had a chance to look inside the guitar yet with a camera.)

Needless to say, I'm disappointed. I had a prior VA guitar with a laminate top which I (perhaps foolishly) gave to my daughter and her boyfriend before getting this solid top. The solid top sounds a lot better, in fact as nice as any flattop I've owned. It would probably be bad of me to ask for the laminate top back...

There is a 12-month warranty on the guitar, which states that it does exclude damage due to humidity issues. So I may be out of luck, but I am contacting the company anyway. I would be willing to spend a couple hundred to get it fixed so it's playable, but otherwise it doesn't really work for what I play, so I might as well just give it away. (Trying to decide if I should get another just like it...it is a very nice guitar to play...)

[Doctor Jeff]

Here's the guitar shortly after I got it. Beautiful guitar, beautiful top. I replaced the tuner buttons with some ambers and thought about replacing the pickguard, which I'm not a fan of, but otherwise it looks good.

[John A.]

Fixing a crack in the top of a flattop is usually not a big deal. Usually, all it takes is gluing/clamping (sometimes some cleats underneath). I had one on a classical guitar that looked like the one in your photo. It cost me $25 to get it fixed. I don't know what's going on with the neck joint or whether that's connected to the crack. I guess my approach would be to take it to a good repair tech to get a diagnosis and repair estimate. If the tech says the guitar is unfixable (or that a fix would run into the hundreds), I'd go for a warranty claim and try to get either a factory repair or replacement. OTOH, if there's away to nudge the two pieces into alignment without major effort and the crack is a cheap repair, I wouldn't bother with the warranty angle since that would be more time and hassle than it's worth.

[Jonathan0996]

Yes, a good tech can repair the crack. It looks like the hinge on the neck isn't closing completely. I suspect that both issues may be attributable to a lack of humidity. If you're in Wisconsin without a humidifier, that seems likely. I'm in Ohio and need the room humidifier on all the time. At the very least you should get one of those cheap guitar humidifiers. I've had guitars crack from dry air. Your neck problem may go away with a humidifier, or with the coming of spring. It is coming. It is.

[deacon Mark]

This is a common area for a crack on a flattop and the guitar structurally is probably fine with the braces on top doing what they need to do. It is actually a relatively easy repair to do. The guitar might need at bit of tweaking and set up just due to it being a hinged type neck and movement. Dr. if you lived closer I would be glad to get this puppy back in top shape with a but of surgery for your guitar. One thing I do on a guitar like this is to make sure the repair is very sturdy with plenty of wood on the cleats used. This will not detract from the sound at all and sometimes been know to improve the sound because now the guitar top is not fighting the crack and the week spot. i don't what this thing cost new and I don't have it in my hands but to me if I would charge $130 for the repair and this would include setting up the neck and action. It would not include a fret dressing as such and I doubt it needs that. Just looking at it I would probably apply 3 cleats to the top all with grain going at 90 degree angle to the top.

[Doctor Jeff]

Thanks for the opinions. The humidity in my music room right now is 30%. I ran a room humidifier awhile, and the hygrometer didn’t budge.

I have been reading a bit about cracked tops and how to fix—I might end up fixing it myself, but I will probably take it to a shop nearby and have them look at it.

Waiting to hear back from VA—no response to my online request or phone call yet. Disappointing. I’m traveling for a few days and don’t have time to deal with it right now, so it’ll have to wait. Maybe the crack will fix itself, or my cats will surreptitiously do the job for me. That would be purrfect.