I got my first Strat today and pretty excited when it arrived although there were a few issues. First it looks like there was some kind of roller nut installed at one point which has been removed and the holes filled in. The seller never mentioned this.

Second there is a small neck pocket crack on each side which he didn't mention either.

Question: Do these neck pocket cracks cause any issues, should I return the guitar, are they anything to be overly concerned about? I know these are common with Strats but I wouldn't have bought the guitar had I known they were there. I contacted the seller and let him know about the issues and said I looked forward to reaching some sort of compromise regarding either a partial refund or full refund.

Any thoughts, info or advice about these cracks?

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Blues with a feeling.

GUILD GUITARS: MADE TO BE PLAYED!

I bought a HSS Strat on eBay in January in a beautiful Sage Metallic Green. The Strat was 7 years old so i expected some wear and tear. It does have the neck pocket cracks that you talked about but they are minor and have not affected the Guitar in any way.

I say enjoy your new Guitar, these cracks are just part of the journey that your Guitar will take in it's lifetime.

Thanks for the info, I know many people have Strats with these cracks and they are common I was just highly upset the seller didn't mention them, that is unless they happened during shipping.

"Torresfan" as in Fernando? If so me too! Torres is the best! You a Liverpool fan?

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Blues with a feeling.

GUILD GUITARS: MADE TO BE PLAYED!

Hello!

Some pics would be nice. If there are cracks around the neck its either had an over sized neck squeezed in or its been dropped. If the seller failed to mention the issues you've listed above i'd be looking for a Full Refund.

Hope this helps

Andy

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Pending Greatness

Virtually impossible to see them since the color is Shoreline gold and they are hard to foto, the topside one is about half inch and the bottom side is only a few cms. The seller said they werent there when he shipped it and he insured the package. I really would rather keep the guitar than to have to ship it back and wait for FedEx to handle the insurance claim. Maybe he will just refund me partially but either way I have finally learned my lesson about buying guitars online! never again!

I guess the main question is: do i need to be concerned about these going forward should I keep the guitar or is this just something that happens to a Strat sooner or later regardless? Are these going to become a problem if I take care of the guitar going foward?

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Blues with a feeling.

GUILD GUITARS: MADE TO BE PLAYED!

Yes, Torresfan is because of Fernando Torres, the best striker in the world today, playing for the greatest football Team, Liverpool FC!

Those cracks have happened either because the wood is weak around the neck and it's movement has cracked the paint. Or the guitar has taken a knock that was hard enough to jar the floor of the neck pocket.

You dont like what they've done to the neck either. Get it gone and buy one from a real shop.

Theres going to be a million people pop up now with 'my guitar has cracks around the neck pocket and its fine' statements. Would you put them there if they weren't there already? No of course not. They shouldnt be there full stop. It could just be paint cracks due to some unharmful movement. It could be that the neck pocket floor is breaking off. You just dont know and cant tell.

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No no and no

My Jeff Beck Strat devloped a little neck pocket crack a few weeks after I got it. It did not have it when I got it, and I got it used, a year old. I do remember "bumping" the neck slightly while playing once, but I would have to say that the crack means little or nothing. The neck is straight and tight, and the intonation great.
Don

Agreed! When he is healthy and playing he is the best striker in the world hands down.

West Ham United fan (sadly enough) here but I root for the Scousers as well.

_________________
Blues with a feeling.

GUILD GUITARS: MADE TO BE PLAYED!

good point and the people I know who have Strats with these types of cracks, well lets just say I would never buy one with it a defect like that nor do I want to own one. I already contacted him and he is going to file a claim with FedEx, but I am sure that'll take forever! I only bought it online to begin with because I can't afford a Shoreline gold Fender Strat and I got a nice deal on a Standard Squier in that color. From here I guess I will just save up until I can get a Fender from a music shop.[/img]

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Blues with a feeling.

GUILD GUITARS: MADE TO BE PLAYED!

BlackcatBone,

Nikininja's post is spot on. Thanks for posting the pics! (I agree they don't show but a thank you anyway!).

Good luck with the dispute!

Andy

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Pending Greatness

thanks man, well this is only my second time getting burned buying online but there wont be a 3rd strike. From now on I'll either get it from a shop or from Clist so I can inspect it first. I'll have to be patient and save up a long time for a 50's Shoreline Gold Fender now!

_________________
Blues with a feeling.

GUILD GUITARS: MADE TO BE PLAYED!

I haven't read all of the other responses (at least not thoroughly) so please forgive me if I add anything terribly redundant here...

It's been my experience that there are two types of neck cracks...actual cracks in the wood and stress cracks in the finish. Usually with most Strats you don't usually see cracks in the wood...it can happen, but not often. Most of the time where you see this is with less expensive plywood/laminate bodies where the plys start to separate at the neck joint and this can and will cause problems with neck stability.

Now honestly, I'm not really seeing the cracks in the pictures there so my guess is it's just a finish crack...the poly finishes can be rather subject to this because the finish is so "hard". If that's actually the case...no actual crack in the wood, it's not anything to worry about at all.

Personally I'd keep an eye on it...-if- the crack starts to penetrate the wood, you may need to address it at some point otherwise, just accept it as the natural aging of the instrument (kind of like some of those little cracks some of us get around our eyes as we get older! LOL).

Just my $.02 worth,
Jim

Just wanted to revive an old post and relay my experience with FMIC guitars.

I have a bunch of USA Charvels, mainly pro mods from 2008 and a 2005 reissue.

I have found the neck pocket fit isn't always tight, either side of the neck heel, but around the corners of the heel they mostly always are. My experience is this:

The metallics/candies have an extra thick layer of rock hard poly paint so they commonly have small cracks on the underside of the neck pocket, where the wood is thinnest due to body wood/humidity movement. Cold temperatures make the hard as nails poly paint even more glasslike and any thermal movement of the wood will envitably cause slight cracks from the corners, which concentrate the stress as they are a sharp 90 degree angle.

The solid colours of the FMIC USA Pro Mod Charvels, commonly exhibit sunken paint, which makes me suspect the bodies are not as low as they could be on the moisture content when the guitars are made, and it is the bodies shrinking around the necks, rather than the necks expanding that causes pocket cracks, especially as the necks are quartsawn. I have had one which cracked and lifted the poly laquer, through to the primer on the face of the guitar around the corner of the neck heel, which I suspect was due to the body contracting due to temperature change or drying out with regulated humidity. I also had a paired FMIC USA Charvel body and neck lying about separately for six months. When I went to reassemble the neck did not fit and the pocket needed extensive sanded and filing. I think that speaks volumes really about the stresses that are going on, as the temperature is regulated between 17 and 21 C and humidity at 40-50%.

If you have a floyd or do big bends you do have to the neck screws up fairly snug, otherwise the neck will move but no more than necessary.

My advice is if you are buying a new or used 2008+ Fender or USA Charvel, take out the neck and check the fit and file of you have to. It should be snug but not tight. Especially check the tolerance around the paint on the top of the guitar, any projecting paint from masking will be the first to pop and check the side of the heel fit, especially around the bottom of the pocket and file where necessary.

One of my favourite playing and sounding guitars, a mexican strat, actually has a huge crack in the body wood which runds under the stratchplate but doesn't go through to the back of the guitar, as the wood has dryed and opened up, but it is still totally stable.

The thing about neck screws being too tight or abuse or knocks etc. is generally a myth, cracks happen on their own, in the case, especially with recent FMIC bodies, which I suspect have a higher moisture content. I have never experienced neck cracks with guitars I have built myself and I do get them snug in there. So for the little bit of extra hassle it is worth checking the pocket fit on a new production guitar if you don't want cracks to develop in the future.

I haven't had any crack occuring in Japanese made Charvels and I believe this is because of the extra care taking in final fit and the lower moisture content of the body woods.

I do get annoyed when people immediately point to abuse by the user for neck pocket cracks, when in actual fact the guitar has never been gigged and kept at controlled temperature and humidity conditions. But personally cracks do not bother me.

A lot also depends on which was the grain is facing, when the body was glued togther and routed. If you imagine several flatsawn pieces of wood glued together, like a decking board, they will want to expand or open up slightly on the heartwood side and shrink on the side nearest the bark.

If you are unlucky enough to have a Fender that had a neck that was reasonably tight in the pocket as it was assembled in the factory, then that is way too tight and asking for problems IMO, depending on grain orientation.

I'm sorry you had a problem with the strat. It's disappointing to see unexpected issues and kinda spoils the fun of getting a new guitar to play.

I've seen a few neck pocket cracks and I've even had the misfortune to cause one, so I've given it some thought. The one I caused was because I was careless in tightening the neck that I swapped out, not making sure I was tightening all 4 screws at the same rate.

My theory of neck finish cracks is that the curve of the finish on the body meets the corner edge of the neck pressuring the finish which response by cracking. That's what I think happened to mine.

The second crack I saw was apparently the result of a previous owner overtightening to correct for a warped neck. Not only was the finish cracked, but the wood adjacent to the screw hole as well.

All that said. I'm assuming yours is a finish crack and unless you see signs of the wood cracking as well, it's trivial and cosmetic.

Your seller really didn't have to disclose it to you if he said something to the effect that it was in used condition, likewise the filled in holes in the headstock. Some sellers seem to feel that if you don't ask about problems they're not obligated to point out every flaw in the guitar they're selling.

I think it's highly unlikely that the cracks happened in shipment. I can't fathom how the neck would have been hammered around inside the case to make the cracks. The neck would have to move laterally for that to happen and the body is braced enough to prevent that.

I also think it's highly unlikely that you're going to have a successful claim versus FedEX. I've read up on this and it's really tough to get them to pay. They will weasel out via several issues. If it was signed for and no report of damage to the box was made to the delivery person, you are totally out of luck because they will claim the problem was due to improper packaging. Since the seller paid for shipping the burden is on him to prove he packed it properly and I dunno how you prove that unless you take pictures while you package it.

My advice, (since you asked) is to just inspect the neck pocket for cracks in the wood by removing the neck and if it's ok, just let the whole issue go as you're unlikely to gain anything. Next time you buy eBay you'll need to ask specific questions and if they don't get answered you'll know not to bid.

Just forget it and enjoy playing your Stat!