CE BCS

[CantankerousCarl]

So, performing body cavity search on recently acquired 1991 CE, is it wildly assumptive that this means "the man himself" worked on this guitar?:

Also, any idea what the "W" means?

And, thirdly, just curious, is the following something that would be formally considered "finish checking?" There are a series of cracks that seem almost below the surface, not running with the grain of the wood. You can see it more in the first shot, but there is some on the back I tried to capture as well:

 

[John Beef]

And, thirdly, just curious, is the following something that would be formally considered "finish checking?" There are a series of cracks that seem almost below the surface, not running with the grain of the wood. You can see it more in the first shot, but there is some on the back I tried to capture as well:

If that's an alder body CE, which it looks like to me, I had a MIJ Fender Jazzmaster made of alder for a while that had very similar marks in the wood. I think it's natural. The finish was raised slightly in those spots IIRC.

 

[CantankerousCarl]

John - as far as I know, based upon the date, it is indeed an alder-bodied CE; not good at ID'ing wood by sight, so I am not sure if this is all alder, or a maple top that's just non-figured. I know my other CE has a 3-piece back and figured maple top. Maybe this is all alder and 2 halves of wood? Don't know...I posted another pic below. The crack lines on the top seem to be 100% isolated to the right half of the top; on the back, they are minor and uniform across the entire back.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Want!

 

[garrett]

If that's an alder body CE, which it looks like to me, I had a MIJ Fender Jazzmaster made of alder for a while that had very similar marks in the wood. I think it's natural. The finish was raised slightly in those spots IIRC.

I had an alder sunburst Strat with similar lines in the wood grain. That's what it looks like me, but it can be hard to tell by pics alone.

Hard to tell in the pic of the back, but it looks like either finish settling into the grain or could be the poly cracking.

 

[CantankerousCarl]

Here's another shot, it's blurry (sorry) but if you look at the reflections of the lights, you can see the lines, which do not at all look like they are running with the top grain:

To my questions #1 & 2 at the top of the post, does anyone know if "Paul" in the pickup cavity = Paul worked on the guitar, and what the red "W" means?

 

[CantankerousCarl]

So on closer inspection, I guess this is indeed all-allder (ALLder?) 2 pieces, unlike the 3-piece backs on the maple-capped ones. The lines are happening only on the right piece, even on the back I now see that they are isolated to that body half.

Anyway, this one might sound even better than my first CE, so no matter what it looks like it's not leaving my posession...

 

[Goldtop]

Nice grain on that fingerboard.

Goldtop Lloyd

 

[Mayfly]

About a year ago I acquired a 1992 CE 24. The body and neck are in great shape, well-preserved for its age with hardly a mark on them. To cut a long story short, the previous owner had made a ham job of installing a new bridge pickup, and over the holiday season I'm working on putting it right. As part of the general electrical overhaul I took out the neck pu as well, and, to answer your initial question, CantankerousCarl, I too found a "Paul" signature plus a date in the cavity. Does anyone know if it was standard practice for the man to do this (if it is at all his signature?). Quite cool if it was...

I prepared a pic to attach, but cannot find the "pictures and albums" link referred to in the FAQ under my user profile. Help anyone?