Black Kelly Owners - In Here Please!

[Treachery]

I bought a black Jaskson Kelly back in 1991 from the custom shop. Beautiful guitar! Except for one "minor"(?) issue.

Starting from the neck, there are 2 faint lines that travel from the neck, down past the bridge throughout the lengh of the guitar. One can clearly see how the body was constructed. The body is not a solid piece of wood. The body is not smooth and if you run your finger along these lines you can feel a lump.

Here is a picture of what i mean:

http://rapidshare.de/files/26839828/kelly.jpg.html

The lines are in yellow.

When i got the guitar, i did not think twice about it but this is not exactly what i was expecting from the Custom Shop.

Question: Is your black Kelly also like this? Clearly, this would be a warranty issue and if this is NOT normal, i will be giving Jackson Guitars a phone call.

Regards to all.

[shreddermon]

It's perfectly normal. Doesn't matter whether your guitar is black, white, or polka dots. Over the years, eventually the paint lines on a neck-through guitar will slightly sink into the wood consturction lines, and start to show this. The only neck-throughs that won't eventually show those lines are those that have some sort of wood cap on the top of the body. i.e., Like a transparent finish guitar that has a flamed-maple top.

[maxboost]

Your link isn't working for me.

I don't have a black Kelly yet but, got a few black production guitars from early 90's and I can see lines like you describe on most of them. i think it is a sealing/ finishing problem that shows up over time as the finish is sucked into the body. I have Gibson Explorer with a very faint line and a Ibanez RG560 with 2 very destinct lines where the body woods attach. i have a Black Charvel 275dlx you can clearly see the Wood Grain texture with the light shining on it. I like it tho- at least i know it was made from real wood.

[petedz]

Actually, I believe you should be happy about that. It means they didn't put so much paint on the body that it would cause the tone to suffer. Not a defect.

[Grandturk]

I've got a line like that down the middle of my SG. These days, people pay more for aged paint - you could sell it as a distressed, or road worn Kelly and get twice as much.

[maxboost]

I think a thick coat of paint could do that also. The chunk o paint my son chipped of my RG560 was about 3/16" thick

[RobRR]

I've got a line like that down the middle of my SG. These days, people pay more for aged paint - you could sell it as a distressed, or road worn Kelly and get twice as much.

Maybe true in the case of Gibson, but NOT Jackson. To most Jackson players, a beat guitar is a beat guitar, not a vintage treasure.

[toejam]

I could also see the neck line on my old '87 black cherry Model 6. I don't remember about my old '88 black cherry Model 5A, but definitely the Model 6.

[Grandturk]

Maybe true in the case of Gibson, but NOT Jackson. To most Jackson players, a beat guitar is a beat guitar, not a vintage treasure.

I agree - some guitars look better beat up than others. I think anything with a graphic - like an airbrush graphic such as my Fusion's Bikini Beach or a Pile-of-Skulls - looks better when its in mint condition and freshly polished. I think you can get away with a beat-up stencil graphic like a Rising Sun or a bullseye. The more traditional a guitar looks, the more it can be beat up.

[NextInLine]

Hey Treachery welcome to the JCF! You may want to check my kelly;

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...i%20MMF/12.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...i%20MMF/13.jpg

[secks]

that's called paint shrinkage. totally normal when glue is involved.

[RacerX]

I could also see the neck line on my old '87 black cherry Model 6. I don't remember about my old '88 black cherry Model 5A, but definitely the Model 6.

We're talkin' KELLYs you interloper you!










J/K

[levantin]

Hey Treachery welcome to the JCF! You may want to check my kelly;

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...i%20MMF/12.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...i%20MMF/13.jpg

I can see the paint lines only on the back of my kelly. Yours looks like the centerblank is skewed! (J/K)

[toejam]

We're talkin' KELLYs you interloper you!










J/K

Well, I never noticed it on my old black Kelly XLR. I guess because it was a bolt-on. :ROTF:

[Matt Crooks]

I have the same thing with my '85 Rhoads. It was originally all black, now it's beat-to-hell-and-chipped-up and black Too many small stages for too many shows will do that though...