On my 57 Hot Rod, there are two seams across the body near the top and bottom of the pickguard that run across, it is visible under light ( the seams diffuses the light), is this due normal? Due to the thin finish? ( candy red btw)

So ... you're talking about an opaque finish and you can detect the glue lines? No, that's not normal. Maybe it's not glue lines you are seeing. Perhaps the guitar was frozen at some point and now there's a shallow crack along a grain line under the surface.

_________________

Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

it is the glue lines, it is a perfect horizontal line

I think if it were mine I'd be pulling the pickguard and examining the cavity walls looking for evidence of some kind of woodworking fault. The lamination lines should have been sanded and blended smooth at the factory prior to finishing.

_________________

Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

wow cant believe this problem is on a 57 hot rod avri.

Although that problem is pretty rare, my theory is that the glue wasnt properly set, and that humidity and aging/shrinkage create this problem (oftentimes the combination of the three). The slightest shift will create a visible line, and you might not be able to feel the seam, but its there. Its nothing to worry about structurally, and I would just consider it a beauty mark Its happened to one of mine as well, a 50s Vneck Mexi reissue with a thin nitro finish.

My theory is this... these guitars are high demand, therefore I think they might get rushed just a tad to meet consumer demands. No excuse, I know, but rest assured its not a structural problem (or not that ive ever seen anyway, and ive encountered some real basket cases).

Nice axe, btw... ive been waiting for one to materialize for a while so I can give it a whirl...

is humidity due to a hot to cold setting or cold to hot temp setting?

Its tough to quantify, but humidity changes from location to location... even as much as from your basement to your bedroom. So, if you live in Cleveland (I wouldnt wish that on anyone, just making an example) and the guitar was built in Corona CA, not only is there a huge temp change, the CONSTANT humidity is drastically different as well.

Im no meteorologist, so perhaps some research on your part would help you understand it more. I do know, however, that guitars are VERY fickle about temperature changes and humditiy changes.

But to answer your question, humidty content is literally the moisture content in the air, and while it may affect things in different ways being hot or cold, its not relative to temperature in the strict sense of the word.

Well you live and you learn..

On every guitar I've seen where a joint is visible, the body parts have been joined vertically rather than horizontally.

_________________
Fender Highway & Classic 60s Strats, Fender Toronado, Telecaster, Gretsch Projet, Charvel 3, PRS SE Soapbar II & Custom 24, Burns Batwing and many others!

Perfectly normal with thinskin finishes. I've not heard of a hotrod where you cant see the body join. It's not glue lines, it's paint sink into the join. over time you may notice sink into the woodgrain too. I have glue lines on my powerhouse body, they look completely different.

Mine has it, so does Mr Bill's. Even my customshop guitar has a visible join.
It's entirely die to not having 1/8" of paint ontop of a load of urethane/fullerplast filler, on the thing. Thinskin really is thin on them guitars.

What suprises me more is that the body is a 3 piece. I've only ever seen 2 piece on them.

_________________
No no and no

Hi, so I assume your glue line runs along the centre of the guitar horizontally thru the neck joint?

That will depend on how many pieces the body is made from but yes the orientation of the seams are in the same direction as the neck lengthwise.

_________________

Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

sorry meant paint line or what ever it is called.

It's just a body seam. Yes it does run along the neck pocket too

On the custom shop guitar.



Not so visible on the hotrod (bad photograph) but it is there.



As you can see theres no visible glue anywhere. These bodies are glued together then carved and shaped. The body will then undergo sanding several times. It's entirely down to the lack of paint.

_________________
No no and no

Nothing unusual at all about a 3pc body on an american Strat. My AVRI and my John Mayer Sig are both 3 pieces, and I can see the seams through the paint sometimes if I look close enough