I more than kinda want this...

[Blackbird]

Maybe this would be too hard to tell, but it looks like by the crack, it has some dark paint chips missing that might have shown up in the packaging if that's where it occurred.

[Denis]

So I wrote the seller Monday night, "Hello, The bass arrived while I was out of town and I unpacked it this evening. The packing was in perfect condition, but there are cracks in the neck of the bass on both sides at the nut. The fretboard is either separating from the neck or there is a break in the neck itself. This was not mentioned or shown in photos in the auction. Considering how well it was packed I don't think it happened during shipping. Did you notice this damage? Please let me know so we can discuss.
Thanks,
Denis"

Here was his reply, "I certainly did not see any fretboard seperation or anything of that nature, breaks, etc. It is in the wood or just in the finish? It was fully insured so if it was from shipping it should be taken care of.
- underworld_dreams"

I replied with the following and attached the two pics of the cracks, "Hello, Definitely through the finish on both bass and treble side of the fretboard. The crack on the treble side runs from down into the neck from the fretboard. That it's on both sides indicates that the bass sustained some sort of hit or the truss rod was adjusted incorrectly. I've attached a photo of each side so you can see the damage.
That's good you insured it. I would like to keep the bass but having spoken to someone who's familiar with this sort of damage (and shown him the pics) he estimates at least $175 in repairs would be required.
Thanks for your quick reply.
Denis"

I've heard nothing back. After work, I'm taking it to my luthier so he can take a look at it and see what he thinks and how the damage was done.

[Psycho Bass Guy]

IMO, he knew what he was sending. I just bought a sextet of Sovtek 6550WE's. They were packed very well but I noticed one had a little 'getter fade' compared to the other five, which meant it had been significantly hotter for a little while. Upon firing it up in my tester, it arc'ed so much that it glowed bright purple inside the plate structure and, of course, tripped the short warning. When presented with this info, the seller refunded me for that tube less than six minutes after I contacted him, no questions asked. Did he know it was shorted before it shipped? If he used or tested it at all, he HAD to.

The lesson is to be well-informed, which you have covered here, and to be polite but firmly insistent that the product you received is what was advertised.

[godofthunder]

Bionic-Joe herewith receives the "Vulture of the Week" award:

LMFAO priceless

[Denis]

Is it just me or does it look like they are fighting over meat panties?

[TBird1958]

Is it just me or does it look like they are fighting over meat panties?

 I hope.....really hope you're wrong 

[Bionic-Joe]

Definitely meat panties. I know...I'm terrible, huh???

[Dave W]

Good name for a punk band. They could put out an album called Fresh Meat From Rotting Carcasses. Then the DKs would sue them.

[uwe]

Meat panties - what a comforting thought. I really would like mine rare.

[Denis]

How about meat in a cone ala "Something About Mary".

On a positive note, the luthier at my guitar shop inspected the Epi and told me that the only damage is the fretboard separating from the neck, which itself is not cracked. He said it's a straight-up repair requiring only glueing, clamping and minor refinishing where the cracks are, and gave me a price of $75. I can live with that! And for the price, I don't even want to spend my time contacting UPS and filing a claim.

All this said, now that I see first hand how fragile these things can be, will a fitted Gibson HSC fit this Epiphone? I'm kinda nervous now about the case the bass came in. Also, because this is shaped differently than the Epis, it wants to slide right out of the bass stand. Suggestions for a stand more suited to this?
Thanks!

[uwe]

A hanger from Ultimate or Hercules. Or one of those old-fashioned ones with the flexible fork underneath.

I'm glad the repair works out. I didn't comment because I found it really hard to say whether bad shipping handling was the cause, it might even have been change of climate or maybe "the time had come". I've seen a headstock repair of my Epi Embassy become unglued from it just standing in a stand, no outside effect whatsoever. A reglued fretboard is no issue.

Uwe

[OldManC]

Denis, a newer Gibson case should work fine with that bird.

[chromium]

I second the Hercules stuff.  I use the wall hangers here, and I *would* buy something like this for gigs:

http://www.amazon.com/Hercules-GS414B-G-Guitar-Stand/dp/B000EEHKVY


...but I'm still too paranoid someone will back into it and knock it over, etc...  In my previous band I used a Hercules wall hanger that's bolted to the side of my SVT cabs to hang the bass between sets.  I figure its out of the way, its secure due to the Hercules locking mechanism... what can happen, right?  *Still* somebody managed to shove a road case up against the body of the bass (my 68 EB3) and put a nice deep gouge in the front of it with one of the clasps.  Had it not been for the locking hanger, the bass would have hit the floor.

Now if not playing it, it goes in the case.  Always.

[Highlander]

Is it just me or does it look like they are fighting over meat panties?

I found the owner, and man, was he p*ss*d over loosing them or what...

[Dave W]

I prefer Hats of Meat.

Good to know that the repair is relatively minor.