Cracked Maple Fretboard On 4 Month Old Bass

[Session1969]

I was wiping down a bass that I bought new from GC almost 4 months ago and I noticed a hairline crack in the fretboard on the 15th and 16th fret. I'm curious as to what I can expect when I call the manufacturer on Monday. It's a U.S. company with an excellent reputation but this is unfamiliar territory. My thinking is that they should replace the neck seeing as it's been well under a year. My question is this, what's a reasonable expectation ?

 

[JIO]

So.., this happened over the 4 months or you never noticed it until recently? Also - hard to tell from your pic, but this crack is open? It looks to be filled but aside from that it looks to follow a natural grain line which to my eyes doesn't look like a crack. I'm not sure this would a deal breaker as long as it's stable - it looks simply like a grain variance. Wood is organic and certain imperfections are part of its nature. On any given maple neck I have there are minimal 'imperfections' (i.e., not perfect) which as long as they are stable are just part of the deal.

looks similar - wood is wood, perfect in its imperfections

 

[PortlandBass77]

It doesn't really look like a crack to me, more like wood variance.... Maybe this is one of those cases where it doesn't really show up in photos?

 

[Session1969]

Thanks for the input but it is a crack. The question I have is if it seems reasonable for a manufacturer to replace the neck in an instance like this when the bass is only a few months old.

 

[Mattster]

Probably not reasonable.

 

[96tbird]

Can you actually feel it with your fingernail?

 

[Session1969]

Can you actually feel it with your fingernail?

No, I can't

 

[pcake]

are you sure it wasn't there when you bought it?

if so, do you know the humidity in the room where you keep your bass? if it's dry - say under 30% - that could be the problem.

 

[PeaveyPlayer]

I Have that at the bottom of my warmoth neck.. its not a crack it's just the wood figure

 

[Big Hoss]

What is it you are seeing that make you think there is a crack in your fret board?

 

[SirMjac28]

I doubt they replace the neck they'll probably just fill it.

 

[mmbongo]

I don't see a crack, I just see what maple normally looks like, asssuming that little brown line is what you're talking about.

Seems to me that if it were a crack, it wouldn't go right through a fret since there is a valley cut there for the fret.

 

[Haji]

That's not a crack. However, if it were a crack, the manufacturer's warranty shop would fill it, not replace the neck. If that was a crack, it wouldn't be significant enough damage to put a whole new neck on it. That's not cost effective.

 

[Mugre]

If you can't catch a fingernail on it, it ain't a crack.

 

[Session1969]

Hmmm. Well, I hope you guys are right. The next step is to take it to a luthier and have it examined.

 

[96tbird]

Your finger nail doesn't catch in it and it's brown. Cracks are black.

 

[mmbongo]

You can examine it yourself. See if you can stick the end of a business card or something in it. If not, it's not a crack. If it's smooth, it's not a crack.

 

[Session1969]

My neighbor is a woodworking expert of over 30 years and we just looked it over. He's saying their was a little more sap in that particular part of the grain line than the others ,known as pitchy grain. He said when you look at it under light, with a magnifying glass, which he and I just did, the color of the dark line isn't black from a shadow depth, just a dark brown from the grain, just like you guys are saying. He also said it ends right in line with the grain where as a crack wouldn't do that.

I'm such a noob but better safe than sorry. It's funny, I was saying to myself , " I should've bought one with a flat maple board with no grain lines. He took one look at it and said , " Whoa ! What an awesome looking fretboard."

Whew ! I'm feeling good , now. I stopped the process of selling this badboy because I didn't know.

 

[Haji]

That's a nice lookin' bass you have there. Congrats!

Just play it till there's no finish left. That oughta take you about, oh, 30 years.

 

[Session1969]

I frickin' love this forum. Thanks, everyone.