Natty Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 This morning while practicing, i tried adjust the Strap on my 1960s Tribute Plus, unfortunately it somehow came loose from the Straplocks and fell to the floor smashing the headstock clean off . is this capable of economic repair or will it be an insurance write-off. I suspect it will be the latter. Anyway I'm gutted, it was my first guitar and was loving the tones I was getting from putting it thru my new Yamaha THR10c. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L5Larry Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 A "clean" break can be effectively and permanently repaired. Any resale value the guitar may have had has been destroyed, but you may decide you liked the guitar enough to get it repaired. To save some money on the repair, I would forego any cosmetic touch-up, and let it's battle scars show proudly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenan Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 unfortunately it somehow came loose from the Straplocks My biggest nightmare.. :D Anyway, I hope you manage to fix your guitar! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPS1976 Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 yikes! sorry for your loss. the first thing I did with my Tribute LP was remove the Epi buttons and locks and installed Schaller strap locks. the Epi ones didn't look safe to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 1st off, !!!OMG!!! I'm so sorry this happened to you.. also my worse night mare!!! But don't despair, while it's a buzz kill, it's 100% fixable Around these parts (Central Mass USA) it's anywhere from $250 to probably $500 depending the cosmetics involved. My son had his Epi headstock broken off too (a standard he's had for some time) $250 out the door. if you look, you can see if, if you didn't know what happened, you'd never know it was busted. If you want it to be repaired to the extent than you will see no visible trace, it's going to be more on the higher side. if you just want it fixed, with some trace visible, won't be as expensive of course. Once repaired properly it can of course always break again, if fortune is not on your side, but it will NEVER BREAK in that spot. Depending on your insurance policy, to be reimbursed for a loss claim, I think it would need to be considered a total loss, (like theft, or fire etc) you have to check with your insurance company or check your terms. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve112 Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 Oh crap, so sorry to hear of your disaster, Natty. As has been stated, it can be repaired successfully but will have a vastly reduced resale value. I've come ever so close a couple of times in fifty+ years of playing but was lucky to catch the guitars just in time. Hang in there man it's a guitar, not someone's life! Someday it'll make a dramatic guitar story, if played well!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fromnabulax Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 Yup, been there. It's an awful feeling, one that you're never liklely to forget. Thing is an expert luthier which is a term used far too randomly these days will be able to set it right for you. I have a Taylor acoustic that suffered a terribly uneven broken neck I could swear would be good for nothing but toothpicks, took it to a true luthier, not a repairman, not a tech, but an actual guitar builder and he seamlessly repaired the neck in such a way that you could swear it was original from the factory. He even matched and aged the binding expertly. Thing is, since I know it was broken, I can't honestly sell it even though the repair is completely invisible. I do have a conscience. It'll cost you a few bucks, and from now on you will always remember to sit down when readjusting your strap. Best of luck Natty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 I'm so sorry for your loss, Natty. A skilled luthier will be able to perform a repair restoring the full function. I too love my 1960 Tribute LP very much and instantly did what LPS1976 described here: ... the first thing I did with my Tribute LP was remove the Epi buttons and locks and installed Schaller strap locks. the Epi ones didn't look safe to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natty Posted December 31, 2015 Author Share Posted December 31, 2015 Thanks for the sympathy and advice guys. I'll contact the insurance company and see what they say. They may have some they use in repairs of this type, I'm too new to the scene to have built up any contacts, if the insurance company don't have anyone I'll contact the shop I purchased it from. I'll also be fitting a better Straplocks to either this guitar or any that replace it! I guess we all learn from our mistakes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pesh Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 Oh, dude...I winced when I read that. I'm so sorry; that is truly unfortunate Hopefully something can be done; if it's a musical instrument insurer then chances are they will opt for repair if they can, otherwise it'll be a write-off and replace. Have you got any photos to show the break? Some of the guys here might be able to hint as to whether she can be saved or not if we can see it (painful, I know). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 I would certainly get it repaired. You probably know that Gibson/Epi mahogany headstocks are well known for this weakness. Hence, its a 'common' repair. Obviously this guitar is important to you. I had a similar narrowly averted disaster myself before Xmas when I picked up my Hagstrom case with guitar inside. I failed to notice that the lid wasnt fastened. It tumbled out with a crash onto the floor. The guitar (Deuce) also has a mahogany neck. There was a crack at the headstock but fortunately seems to be only the poly finish that has suffered. I sanded this down of course (but wont bother to restore the finish). It seems strong enough and plays just as it always did. If it had snapped I would certainly have taken it to my luthier. He has certainly done many such repairs before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcwillow777 Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 Sorry to hear the bad news. I almost had that happen to my Gibson Custom Les Paul. Fortunately I caught it before it bit the dust. I have strap locks on all of my guitars now. I am very careful to make sure they lock in now, especially on my LPs. The good news is that it is repairable. As far as resale value, it won't be worth as much when you sell it because of the break. I've seen the finished repair on a few guitars by pros, and I could still see where the break was. I'm sure there are luthiers that can do such a good job you can't tell, but by the time you pay for it you could probably buy a Gibson. On to the problem at hand. I bought a G-400 on E-Bay several years ago with a broken headstock. I bought it just to learn how to fix it, there were several guys fixing broken headstocks on the forum at the time. I got it for a reasonable price. Since getting it, the price for guitars with broken headstocks on E-Bay has gone thru the roof. A clean break will be much easier to fix. The one I got wasn't a clean break. They put up a pic with a clean break, but this is what I got: After some time and a little bit of work this is how it ended up looking: I could still see where the break was, but it sure looked a lot better. I'm by no means a luthier, but with some great help from some members on this forum, and YouTube, I was able to get it back to being usable again. I wound up selling it a few months after getting it fixed. I made some upgrades to the guitar, new tuners, pickups. I came out ahead on the project. I just looked at it as a learning experience. If your insurance will replace the guitar and doesn't want the broken one, you may want to try to fix it on your own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Scales Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 my luthier friend would fix perfectly for 250, and I'd have to pay the first 500 as excess on a claim anyway, so it would be 'fix or bin/sell as is/give away' decision for me rather than thinking about claiming and risking any 'no claim bonus' on my insurance premiums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeman Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 My G400 snapped where the neck meets the body 10 years ago. I glued it up myself and it plays as good as it ever has. Get some wood glue, a clamp, and after it dries take it in for a set up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natty Posted March 26, 2016 Author Share Posted March 26, 2016 Silver lining and then some Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 Is this new Les Paul 1960 Tribute yours? She looks pretty close to mine! If so, congrats, and always use strap locks like I do. Les Paul guitars badly need them - the upper strap button is located quite risky! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natty Posted March 27, 2016 Author Share Posted March 27, 2016 Is this new Les Paul 1960 Tribute yours? She looks pretty close to mine! If so, congrats, and always use strap locks like I do. Les Paul guitars badly need them - the upper strap button is located quite risky! Yes this the insurance replacement for my previous 60s Tribute Plus though I changed the finish to the Heritage Cherry from the Vintage Sunburst, in the meantime, I am having the neck fixed on the broken one, so I'll have two for a short while at least. i think the new one plays even more nicely than the old one. I'm new to guitars so the strap locks weren't really a point of focus, but they are now and I've bought a pair for fitting. i did contemplate buying something from the Gibson range with a bit more additional spend, but I think the VFM on these is too good to pass bye. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted March 27, 2016 Share Posted March 27, 2016 ... i did contemplate buying something from the Gibson range with a bit more additional spend, but I think the VFM on these is too good to pass bye. I'm sharing your opinion. In their presentation Epiphone even advertises this model as "far and away the best Les Paul for the money you can find anywhere in the world" to which I heartily subscribe: http://www.epiphone.com/News/Features/2013/The-Epiphone-Les-Paul-Tribute-Plus-UG.aspx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeman Posted March 27, 2016 Share Posted March 27, 2016 Wow, i'm surprised insurance covered it. I would figure any sort of deductible would make it silly to file a claim but hey, i'm dumb. Congrats. It looks great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iankinzel Posted April 6, 2016 Share Posted April 6, 2016 Natty, what became of the old guitar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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