SaintJonah Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Hey there. I've been playing my beautiful blue LP Standard plus top for years now, and it's the best guitar I've ever owned. A couple years ago I had a strap lock fail and she bit it hard on the concrete and the neck snapped. I got it fixed at the time and it's been solid ever since. So this past weekend my brother-in-law set the guitar down wrong and it fell over and the head snapped off, kind of sheared off behind and above and truss rod cover. I was wondering if it would be practical to get it fixed again. Would having two different repair points be a problem? I hate to leave her busted up like that. On a brighter note, my brother-in-law came over on Monday with a brand new ebony traditional pro he bought for me. He felt really bad about breaking my other one, so he went and got me a new one. Haven't had a chance to play it yet, but I'll post pics as soon as I can. I'll be playing it tonight...very excited. It's a beauty. Thanks for your insight. And I know...I'll get pics up ASAP :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrw1960 Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Welcome to the forum SJ! That stinks about your LP, but the good thing is that you now have TWO LP's. You might want to post some pics of the broken headstock along with the new LP. There are some real good people here that could steer you in the right direction on the repair job and give a ballpark estimate of the cost.That brother-in- law must be a super chap to do that for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adius Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 A happy ending to a sad story. I'll trade you my brother-in-law for your brother-in-law and kick in $50 on the deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crust Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 this picture is a "spline" repair on an "Elitist" Epiphone that already had the head stock glued back on once (and broken off again). The repair might cost half as much as a replacement guitar, but this is one way broken off head stocks are repaired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintJonah Posted June 2, 2011 Author Share Posted June 2, 2011 Here's a pic I took of the broken guitar right after it happened. The head kinda broke at an angle. Is that possible to fix? I don't have any better pics at the moment, but I will later. Thanks everyone for your responses. My bro-in-law is pretty awesome. Thought he could have given me one of his SGs, or his '59 Les Paul, or his PRS, or his...well...you get the idea. What a jerk! ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrw1960 Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Here's a pic I took of the broken guitar right after it happened. OUCH!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Regardless of how cool your bro is for stepping up with a replacement, or how badly the other break was, It is still a guitar worth repairing. What ever you decide to do with it (give to your bro, sell or keep) you just can't leave a good guitar like that broken. Especially a blue one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianh Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 It looks totally worth it to repair to me. If done properly, headstocks will not break again at the glue joint and yours is proof. It's also quite possible to do it yourself or have it done cheaply, and junking it would be a huge waste of (as John Hiatt says), "a perfectly good guitar". http://forum.gibson....epair-finished/ I say go for it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5begHSoQ1s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcwillow777 Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 It's definitely fixable. I did a G-400 myself. There were a few other guys here that had done similar projects and inspired me to try my hand at it. If I can do it, you can do it. I actually bought it on E-Bay broken and wanted to learn how to fix it. That was before the price of broken guitars started to shoot up. I haven't looked in quite a while, but last I looked they were going for $150-$200. That's nuts. For that price I can get a guitar that ain't broke. Here is my G-400 before: After: I didn't splice mine, I simply used wood glue and clamps. I made sure the headstock and neck was lined up as good as I could get them and then clamped them together and let them setup for about a week. I had some filling in to do. I tried wood filler, but wasn't happy with the results, so I wen to Stewmac and got some of this stuff and it worked much better. I used some on the back of the neck too, you can see where, not a perfect job by any means, but it was sanded down smooth. http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Special_tools_for_Finishing/Lacquer_Sticks.html?actn=100101&xst=3&xsr=401 I say go for it! You don't have anything to loose, it's broke now. Was it perfect? Not by a long shot, but it played fine. I sold it a couple of years ago. The hardest part was painting the headstock and getting it to match. It came out okay, but eventually the finish started to crack and I really didn't want to mess with it anymore so I sold it. The neck was still very solid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lpfan Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 Go for it! Here is a link to a post on a headstock repair I did on my friends DOT. http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/topic/67120-st-headstock-repair-finished/page__p__908527__fromsearch__1#entry908527 It's practically the same repair JC did on the SG. Good luck and congrats on the new LP too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigneil Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 I too think you have a great brother in law. I think you should go ahead and repair the broken one, a repair on the headstock wouldn't effect the feel of the neck or the playability of the guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gypsyseven Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 +1...go for it.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaSTuS Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 Welcome to the Epi forum. A dollop of glue and a bit of sticky tape and it's all good, have a go at a repair, it'll be good experience for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Marsh Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 Wowsers! that hurts....It looks to me like it will be a bit dicey to repair this (lots of string tension in that particular area and not much wood to support it) one because it's so far up into the headstock - Breaks near the volute of the neck have a little more meat to support a repair - But I think it could be fixed with a bit of ingenuity - I'd suggest obtaining some carbon fiber bars to reinforce the headstock. First I would glue and clamp the pieces to make one piece again, then I'd route a couple of grooves running almost the length of the headstock in the wood Not all the way through but enough to seat the carbon fiber rods close to flush - If it were mine I'd do it from the front - but that's just me because I have access to all the tools and materials necessary to make a new headstock overlay - Doing it from the back is okay and has the advantage of not requiring a new overlay but you'll have to figure a way to hide the repair splines that will show when looking at the back of the headstock. After epoxying the rods in the headstock the wood and carbon fiber is ground down so the surface is flat and true followed by whatever cosmetic repair is necessary. The members who posted pics of their repairs have done wonderful jobs in repairing devastating injuries - So..it can be done if you're willing to take the time and effort - Certainly that beautiful axe is worth it Best of luck - please post pictures of the repair in progress and your finished project! B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete c Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 even the person on the album cover doesn't want to look at it. are you going to repair it yourself? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintJonah Posted June 3, 2011 Author Share Posted June 3, 2011 Thanks to everyone for the words of encouragement. I'm certainly not willing to let my guitar die like this. I'll do what I have to do to get her up and running again. I'm not sure how successful I'd be at fixing it myself. It sounds like I would want to reinforce the headstock and that sounds like something I might want to leave up to a pro. If it were a Squire or something...I'd go for it. But I hate to mess it up any worse than it already is. I'll take it back to the guy that fixed it the first time. He did an ace job, you couldn't tell it had been broken even I pointed out the exact spot. Here's a quick pic I took of the new guitar with my phone: I like the T.P. The pups seems pretty nice and the coil tap is fun to mess with. The satin finish was kind of a turn off at first, but it's actually quite nice to play. It's just hard because I have such feelings for my blue girl, I need her back. Well I'll keep you updated when I get around to getting her fixed. Thanks again. I'll try to get some betters pics up when I have two minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianh Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 even the person on the album cover doesn't want to look at it. are you going to repair it yourself? That would be Candy O! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete c Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 the head stock is snapped off, i dont think you could make it worse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eggs Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 Welcome SJ... & you have a solid crack at that 'crack repair' man... it looks well worth it to me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender 4 Life Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 sometime around '90 my cousin tripped over this and broke the headstock off on an angle from an inch above the nut to the 2nd and 3rd fret down on back. It was a bolt neck so it was easier for me. after stripping the hardware and separating neck from body I rounded up clamps,pads,a tack hammer,and being concerned about re-break a syringe of 2-Ton epoxy. after coating the truss-rod with bar-wax, keeping it off the wood, I shot and mixed epoxy, coated both splintered surfaces, clamped it in place after a gentle "setting" tap thru a pad w/the hammer, wiped the excess off, and took a break. an hour later I sliced the seep off down to the wood w/a razorblade. instead of 24 hrs I let it sit 72. no putty or filler was needed, simple sanding and prep. couldn't find an exact finish match, but it was a $75 Electra so I was satisfied with the closest available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintJonah Posted August 28, 2012 Author Share Posted August 28, 2012 I know this topic is borderline ancient, but I thought I'd let you guys know that I went ahead and did the repair myself. I haven't restrung her yet but the glue joint seems to be pretty darn solid. I'm cautiously optimistic. Still not sure about refinishing the cracked area. It doesn't get in my way, so it's purely cosmetic. I'd still like to try though, even if if it's just sanding it down and putting some clear over it to get it smooth...and maybe paint the front. Suggestions always welcome! Anyway, I'll try to get a few pics posted so you can see my hack job :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintJonah Posted August 30, 2012 Author Share Posted August 30, 2012 Not sure if there's much interest in this, but here are a few pictures of my repair job. It's not perfect, but it's holding. The only issues so far are some fret buzz that I've been trying to remedy with bridge and truss rod adjustments. It's getting better. Also there's an odd buzzy sort of sound from down by the bridge, mainly when I play the G string. I THINK it's the screw retainer wire buzzing, as when I push something against it while plucking the string the buzz goes away. Just not really sure what to do about it. I haven't plugged it in yet, so it might be pretty negligible under amplification, but it does seem to deaden the G string somewhat. One other thing. I'm not sure about refinishing it. I'm a little nervous about hitting it with sandpaper. Any tips? Anyway, pics: Hope those aren't too big... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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