Are cracks in the neck pocket of the guitar structural?

Guitar cracks around a neck pocket. How to identify whether they are in the paint or are structural cracks.

The short answer to this is sometimes.

If the guitar is held sideways by the neck, over time it is possible that the weight of the body can put strain on the edges of the guitar body neck joint and cause cracks. This was a problem on older cheaper guitars from the 70s and beyond due to wood quality, poor cutting or sometimes just the guitar having a hard life.

I have seen videos and forums that claim the damage is always structural but this is not always the case. Sometimes the issue is just in the paint layer with problems in the manufacturing process such as primer and sealer drying times. There can also be issues with how the wood shrinks over time.

There is only one sure way to find out.

Take the neck of and inspect the offending area. In this video the neck is taken off of a 2005 Fender USA made Telecaster and inspected and fixed. So if you are having this issue with your guitar have a look this problem might not be that hard to fix.