My lovely girlfriend recently surprised me with a 2007 Standard USA Olympic White Stratocaster. I was over the moon with the guitar. Recently it feel from my strap and now has a classic "neck pocket crack" I'm totally gutted. I've included a picture, maybe somebody could give me some insight into how badly damaged the guitar actually is. I can't get this off my mind!

Nothing to worry about

Thanks for the feed back! I must say, the guitar still stays in tune perfectly. I'm just worried about how deep the crack goes, and if it may get worse over time. This is my first fender so I'm new to the forum! I look forward to posting here. Just a shame my first post had to be this!

The damage is beyond repair, your guitar is completely useless.
Now you are just lucky that I read this, because I collect useless & completely damaged broken guitars So at least you have the chance to make someone happy no ?!

That should just make your day !

and now serious : buy straplocks !

The finish crack is semi-normal but what's up with the big gap between the neck heel and the back of the neck pocket?

I've definitely considered strap locks, now it's a given that I need them!

And Sean, I assumed that gap was normal. The angle and close up definitely exaggerate it.

As for the surface crack, it's no big deal. For the gap - Tune up the guitar, place the rear of the guitar on a solid surface with the neck pointed straight up, loosen the neck screws a turn or two and let the neck settle into the rear of the pocket. Make sure that both E strings are parallel to the edges of the fretboard. Then tighten the neck screws and re-tune. You may have to adjust the intonation.

if you don't think Strap Locks are essential, you WILL after you see this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTiaAZcZ ... r_embedded

Ouch!! Poor guy.

SNick - Thanks for the advice. I'm not comfortable moving the neck around myself, I've no experience with that - I don't want to risk cracking the body any further. If this is a real issue I'll have to take it to a professional. The guitar sounds great/stays in tune fine and the action seems fairly low.
I've posted a few more pictures to help give a clearer view.

Lossen your strings and tighten the neck screws alittle. No big deal

Sorry, I don't understand how tightening the neck against the pocket will close the gap at the back of the neck. I'm clueless with Fender necks, I've always had set necks till now.

they are talking about shifting it down in the pocket for a tighter fit, its really not necessary if it plays fine as is. its just us OCD fender nuts being ourselves
sometimes a bump like that can cause the neck to shift a bit in the neck pocket and throw things out of alignment. kinda like if you hit a big bump in your car and the car starts to slightly pull to the right. there is no major damage but its not necessarily perfect.

these cracks are most likely only in the paint so i wouldnt worry about that. wood in a sense will "give" or stretch a little, but the finish is quite hard and quick impacts cause it to crack.

if you aren't comfortable doing it yourself It couldn't hurt to have a Tech inspect and re position your neck in the pocket. and if you don't it wont cause any more damage.
( unless you drop it again)

and yes get straplocks I prefer the dunlop brand personally.

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I don,t see that as a gap at the back of the neck. Im just not seeing it. The fretboard extends over the pickguard so seeing the fit at the back of the pocket is hard to do from a pic.

Lay the guitar down on it's back. Now look at the two outer strings along the neck. Is one string closer to the edge of the fretboard at the 17th fret? Or are they both exactly the same distance from the edge of the fretboard all the way up and down the neck?

If both E Strings are perfectly aligned with the fretboard edges your OK. Do not do anything else if you are afraid to touch anything. You need to know that you now own the most adjustable, fixable, and modifiable guitar ever made. You cannot screw up a Strat to a point where it cannot be fixed, unless you purposely destroy it.

If you feel a need to take it to someone else ask them if you can watch while the adjustments are made so you know how to do it yourself if the need ever arises.

Strap Locks should be the first thing to get and install.

That "GAP" could just be the Pick Guard not correctly shaped for the pocket, and the neck is fitting just fine in the pocket under it.

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GUITAR: Fender USA JazzMaster.
BASS: Fender USA 58'AVRI
AMP: Fender USA SuperSonicTwin - Blonde.