New to Jackson - problems

[Tiddles]

Guys, I’d appreciate if you’d take a look at this Jackson which I just bought on eBay http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=016&item=260008890636&rd =1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1. Maybe the seller is a member here?…anyway…

Guitar arrived this morning, but there are couple of probs . Main thing is fretboard is cracking away from the neck next to the nut … is that common on Jackson’s? …here’s a photo (no mention of this in eBay adv. ).

In eBay adv. he says “only other slight imperfection is on tip of headstock”, and he shows a photo which looks like a crack or a “line”. Actually the tip of headstock had been broken clean off & glued back -

Should I return it? It plays OK, not great…but OK … fair bit of wear on upper frets ... cosmetically the body is fine etc., but I’m just concerned about the structural problems.


Should explain I’ve been playing for 30 years, so I’m well used to all sorts of faults on guitars, though all my other guitars are traditional types (Les Paul, Strat, Tele’s etc.), and I just bought this because I wanted something with a locking trem. for EVH type dive-bombs ... OK, I’ve never used a Floyd before & have to admit after a few min. fiddling I can’t get all the strings properly in tune, nor can I get the whammy to have anything but horrible sloppy/wobbly action…but maybe all that’s just because I need to know what I’m doing with setting-up a Floyd?

Any help/comments much appreciated.

Ian.

[rjohnstone]

The fretboard is an easy fix, just fill it with glue and clamp it for a day or two.
And no, fretboard lifting is not a common thing for Jacksons.
The tip repair is not a big deal as it doesn't go through any tuning peg holes, it just looks like crap. But it is clearly visible in the auction pic.
The real issue is the fretboard issue was disclosed to you in the auction.
That alone would be reason enough to send it back.
Floyds are trickey to get used too when it comes to tuning them.
Takes a bit of practice.
The Performer series is pretty much bottom of the line and the trem on it is decent, but not real durable.

[Bengal65]

It's possible that happened in transit. That is a weak spot on just about all guitars and especially on tilted necks. Check the scarf joint as well. You can have a luthier, or yourself if your handy, and you have some clamps, pieces of wood for protection and a glue syringe with a glue like Titebond II to make the repair. Remove the string tension and better yet remove the strings. The watered down glue is shot in the crack by the needle and the clamps put on to compress the two pieces. Let dry over night. Good luck

[5074charvel]

If you compress with a clamp, make sure not to put too much pressure on it. Otherwise the clamp might start to work into the wood.

[Otränad]

well.. it's sad that people has to be dicks like that.. but it's fixable after all.. rock on

[zeegler]

It's very likely that the fretboard separation was caused by the same blow that broke the chunk off the headstock tip. The exact same thing happened to a Rhoads Pro that was shipped to me. The same exact headstock damage, and the same fretboard separation. With the strings on, you would not even see it, so perhaps the seller was simply not aware of it. If he was, then it's downright scummy to not mention it. However, having said that, it's a simple enough fix. Just get a syringe and some superglue. Open up the crack a little, and inject as much glue as you can, and clamp it up.

[Sunbane]

Just a thought of causion: What would happen if super glue leaked into the truss rod canal? Wouldn't the truss rod stick? (I'm sorry, I'm not a guitar repairman, this just hopped into my mind.)

[mm2002]

Bane, you're not supposed to pour a quart in there!

About the crack, it's highly possible it was done in transit. Have you asked the seller about it? It's hard to imagine he would be so detailed about the small ding in the finish, and the headstock repair, and not mention that fretboard crack. Still a very easy repair though, and if done correctly it will be 99% invisible.

[Tiddles]

OK, thanks guys .

Yep I can glue the Fretboard back, of course. But I think sellers should disclose stuff like that.

The tip of the headstock doesn’t really matter. But again, should say so more clearly if it’s actually been completely broken off and roughly glued back lol.

As I say, I’m not even sure it stays in tune more than 10 sec., or that the trem works properly…but I’ll read up about Floyd’s and do a careful set-up before declaring that bad … still the good news is it was cheap, it's light, and playability is actually quite nice…someone else obviously thought so too, because there’s plenty of wear on upper frets 12th to 20th .

Ian.

[Tiddles]

Hmm, …well I don’t think it was done in transit, there’s no sign of any damage to box or packing, and loads of bubble wrap around headstock. I think Zeegler may be right thinking both bit’s of damage due to same impact (& as he says, he had exact same looking damage).

No I haven’t replied to seller yet…wanted some opinions before deciding what to say…thanks for the input, appreciate it .

Ian.

[Bengal65]

Yea, to me I'd look at it if it's worth sending it back. If you like the guitar and was cheap enough, I think it would be worth fixing and keeping it. If stuff like the tip was broke, and the fact the fret board is lifting with the Seller giving bad information you might want to send it back. Just some ideas. I hate getting surprises like that

[Newc]

Not all Performers were bad - the few I've played and owned were structurally equal to the Professional models, they just had fewer cosmetic upgrades (dot inlays, no binding, etc).

As well, that's a Japanese-made model as opposed to the India-made models - big difference in terms of construction/material quality.

[VoiceX3]

I have a PS3 Rhoads that I actually play a lot around the house. I bought it new, and it's always been a hell of a player. Great neck! The things I didn't like about it were these.....The pickups just made it sound like a toy all feedbacky and tinny so I switched the pickups out for a Bill Lawrence 500xl in the neck and a Jackson J90 in the Bridge with the EMG preamp that came out of my DKMG and now it has great tone. The other issue was the fine tuners on the trem. They were sloppy and had alot of play in the screw holes so I swapped it out for a JT590 Schaller which was a perfect drop in swap. The construction and wood quality are very good...from there, with these, the sky is the limit.

[straycat]

I would think your tuning stability problems are made worse by the damage once you fix that I'm sure it will be a solid player.

[mm2002]

Not all Performers were bad - the few I've played and owned were structurally equal to the Professional models, they just had fewer cosmetic upgrades (dot inlays, no binding, etc).

As well, that's a Japanese-made model as opposed to the India-made models - big difference in terms of construction/material quality.

I agree with that. The Jap Performers were very well built guitars.