I picked this up two nights ago. Apart from the cosmetic finish chipping damage and weird checking near the control knobs, it’s very nice…Lightweight, but not a featherweight, resonant, a full medium chunky neck, plenty of fretwire left, and it sounds like a Junior should. The fretboard could use some conditioning, and the B tuner is a bit stiff, but it’s good otherwise. Any guesses to what could have caused the “rippled” checking near the controls?
With the finish flaked like that, it looks to me like that part of the guitar was under water for some time, in a flood or something. Where does it come from ? Check if pots seem original. Probably not.
definitely water or moisture damage. Possibly extreme humidity with that pick guard warping. I think it looks killer!
Pots are original Centralab, with a orange drop. Someone did put in a 2nd orange drop on the tone pot. I’m going to pull that. No issues with the funtionality though. Someone else guessed water damage and another person guessed heat. Maybe I’ll never know. It came from the Knoxville area.
It looks concentrated around the control cavity. I would guess it was water/humidity that was trapped inside. If it was in a flood, maybe they didn’t remove the cover (or long enough) to dry it out and the moisture stayed in that area. Very nice otherwise, congrats!
Somebody has to say it . . . Insect infestation through the output jack hole . Complete inspection ASAP !
My experience indicates water damage. Anytime you get that wavey look, it is because moisture has gotten into the wood, caused expansion and thus pushed against the finish outwardly from the inside. humidity is possible, but normally when we see damage from humidity it is not concentrated. It’s odd for one part of an instrument to get humidity damage, and not the rest. Do you have the original case, or at least the case it was being stored in? That would tell as much of a story as the guitar.
It's a Beauty, to be sure. Looks like my first guitar back in 1963. My parents bought it for me for $165.00. Bravo.
