That's not a bad idea, Scott! It is not one that I had yet found enough brain cells to rub together to see yet
Hi Dave, you didn't miss anything.
JB, I can't wait! That 66 4005 WB is in its original state of MG now, a little ambered I am told, but I do not have any photos of it yet from Dale...will post as soon as I receive any!
Peter, your question is a good one. A short answer is that it would look bad, because the repair is noticeable now as a FG, and might be very noticeable once the MG finish clarity reveals the full grain of the wood. A long-winded answer:
I don't think the sanded-off heel will matter much, that is hidden and it will be a player and show bass anyway. I will get a closeup taken of the headstock and post soon, if you want to see it. The headstock was broken off just above the A-string tuner. It broke off most of the crest of the wave, sorta. The visible portion of the repair is two-fold:
One is the fact that new wood appears to have been spliced in, instead of just regluing the old piece of wood that was broken off. Second is that the joinery was not tight enough for the seam to be invisible, and it was not sealed properly with clear sealer before applying the dark pigment portion of the FG paintjob. So the seam has soaked up more dark hue than the face of the wood on either side. Consequently, when sanding is done, the dark seam will still stand out.
Daryl had the refin done by Dan Shin at Lay's Guitars in Akron OH, so it was not exactly a known-artisan luthier like a Paul W. or Dale F. who did the refin in the first place. So it is possible that with the FG pigment removed, the seam will still stand out as very dark and noticeable. Plus, the grain will be very dissimilar.
At present, with the FG finish on, the seam and repair is very noticeable, and stands out to the naked eye.
If, however, a Paul W. could sand enough thickness off of the headstock to eliminate the pigment soaked down into the repair seam, then it is a no-brainer to take it back to MG
And if it is ambered MG, so much the better, thanks again, Scott!
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, and sit in with the band whenever you can, to keep your chops up!