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A couple of months ago I was looking at a Les Paul faded DC at a local guitar shop. It played great, but was finished in Heritage Cherry. I hate Heritage Cherry, maybe I’ve just seen too much of it. Plus, I’ve owned three red guitars and I’ve gotten rid of all of them.

Yesterday I was in the shop and found out one of the employees had knocked it over and broken the headstock. They say they’ll repair it and sell it cheap. Before the accident they wanted $600. Assuming the repair is done right, what do you think it will be worth?

If the price is low enough, I can try to live with the Cherry or strip it down.

Be real careful testing it out if the headstock was broken. Make sure that it plays and esp. sustains as well as it used to . . . and also make sure that it won't eat away at you for the rest of your life that there's a big crack in the headstock of the guitar. That would piss me off. . . I could see the dropping the price of the guitar down to around 450$ ish depending on the repair job.

from experience i have a guitar with a crack in the neck and it really sucks the sustain out of it

i have bought 2 Epi guitars with broken headstocks over the last year..... They were new guitars that fell at a store..... I paid $200canadian for the remains of each guitar, which is a little more then what i figure the parts on the guitar are worth... One was a Les Paul and the store tried to repair the neck and messed up a bit! There is a hump in the fingerboard now and i have to try and fix it! I wish they had left it alone and let me repair it myself but what the hey... The other was an Epi Exployer and i got the chance to glue the guitar back myself and it glued up nicely..... no need to do a fret dress even... After the glue dried i put the nut in and restrung it and it plays great..... Looks like dung with a huge finnish crack up the back of the headstock...... I will not bother to match the finnish...... i'll fill in the cracks with super glue and sand it flush so it feels ok...... I knew going in that these 2 guitars were an up hill battle.... I myself do not care about the breaks as long as they work in the end...... But the real trick to any broken neck is the finnish matching. Some techs can colour match paint to the point it will look like new....

For the LP i am thinking of living dangerous and try to lift the fingerboard again and see why it is humped. I feel they didn't use enough clamps, or had the clamps on in such a way the weight of the clamps moved the wood and wraped the neck. I may sand the fingerboard flush and refret it but that is the easy way out.... It is only a broken Epi. Being a Who fan i may just keep it to smash oneday at a gig and say the hell with fixing it. It does play after a major fret dress but it is really funny feeling and looking.

As for your LP DC with a broken neck.. I bet the shop will be trying to get at least $500 for it after it is repaired. Shops when trying to sell guitars like this are often trying to get as high as they can so they can recover some of the money/time spent on fixing it. Be carefull and be sure the repair is a good one.

WhoFan

I'd give 'em tree fiddy.

In my book it would be worth about a 6 pack of Milwaulkee light. :fing25: IOW stay away


Originally Posted by FattyI'd give 'em tree fiddy.

At the most, and then the repair better be pro quality

for $500 you could buy one of those in mint condition.

For a reference. Jim sold a headstock repair studio that went for 600 on ebay.

Luke

Someone once said that there are two kinds of Les Paul owners in the world; those that have broken a headstock and those that just haven't yet.

A good repair job should make the headstock stronger than it was previously. It will de-value the instrument, no doubt about that. But the physical problems associated with the instrument will be none if it's done right by a good luthier.

A bad repair could potentially cause more damage.

For my money I'd almost prefer to go with a repair from a good luthier you can trust.

about 14 years ago i was in a Toronto repair shop and saw the most beat up late 70's LP Custom you have ever seen!!! The neck had been broken and repaired and for some reason the finnish was cracked all over the guitar.... they told me that some Punk band had it. They wanted $500 for it back then when you could by a new one for about $2000canadian. I almost bought the thing but backed out at the last minute.... A few years later i happened to bump into the guy that bought it and he said the thing was the best guitar ever. Said it sounded amazing. He said he liked it so much he was going to have it refinnished which at the time was about $600.. So for $1100 Canadian he had a refinnished LP Custom that had an extra glue joint.... After they redid the white paint it will never be seen again anyways.

WhoFan

my neck hurts every time I see this thread title.

Thanks for the input guys. I was thinking I might pay 400 if the repair job is top-notch. Considering I could get a new one in a color I like for less than 700, I'm not sure I want to go any higher than that. I've been trying to find out if the guy is an authorized Gibson repair shop, no luck yet. I do know he's been in business for close to 30 years.

If David Sheppard were still in town he'd be my first choice for any type of guitar repair, but he moved to Charleston, SC.

On the upside, I wouldn't have to worry about depreciation due to use. That will have already happened. That's one thing I like about used instruments, I don't have to worry about putting the first scratch or first dent in it. And I won't feel bad about stripping off the factory finish.

On the downside, it won't increase in value as much as a non-repaired LP.


Originally Posted by Guitar Toadmy neck hurts every time I see this thread title.

Is that because your initials are L.P. or because I left the n off of broken?



stay away

Okay,statements like this make me angry,and I'm not directing that at any one person.
First off I want to say that there is a distinct difference between a Tech,Repair,and a Luthier.
Tech-basic bread and butter work,maybe some fret work and minor polishing and cutting
Repair-The above clamping,gluing,some finish and woodworking and restoration work,(but only the experienced ones)
Luthier-The above two custom metal,wood,plastic,paint,inlay,finish and instrument work.
Now this is a very general statement,there are exceptions to everything.
$450.00 sounds fair.
Most sloppy repair work is done by Techs who want to move forward a little too soon,sloppy builds and bad restoration jobs are done by repair with the same criteria.
Some luthiers don't repair,(no time),there are actually 2 world renowned Canadian Luthier's that I know of that do not do their own repair work,even on their own pieces.Some repair don't build,(equipment concerns).
Usually the best work is done by people who have limitations,they know their boundries and will only exceed them when they are comfortable with consistency,(having something turn out great once is awesome,but repeatedly is pro).
A good neck repair shouldn't kill the tone or be a concern.The best repairs are the ones where someone looks after the work is done and saysquot;So,what did you do to it?quot;
Now a lot of times people will opt for structural over cosmetic,that's cool.Cosmetic can be expensive.
I had an LP,(ironically a Cherry),that came in with a broken stock.
No biggie,did it and off she goes.About 10 days after the guitar is picked up the same customer is back with the same guitar with the same problem.
The manager is freaking and ready to take my head off.
The customer tells us that the joint didn't pop,the guitar got knocked over again,(talk about bad luck,BTW-when the guitar got knocked over the first time it was less than 3 weeks old).
When we examined the guitar we found that the new break was about 1/4quot; lower down the neck than the first break.
How we knew was that the customer wanted it touched out cosmetically,but not perfect.
So our repair held,even with the guitar suffering the exact same kind of impact that brought it to us the first time.
And the customer reported no change in feel or tone.


Originally Posted by skh515Is that because your initials are L.P. or because I left the n off of broken? No, I think it's the concept if broke associated with neck. Just a very painful sounding anthropromorphism. I'm just goofy what else.

I had a Les Paul a few years back. A friend of mine borrowed it and he somehow broke of the headstock. He sendt it to a luthier with a good reputation, and when it came back I could hardly see the crack, and I did not notice any difference in sound or sustain.

My advice is to play the guitar for a while, see if you can live with the repair, than decide for yourself. I dont know about the price as the prices in Norway are f**ked.


Originally Posted by Guitar ToadNo, I think it's the concept if broke associated with neck. Just a very painful sounding anthropromorphism. I'm just goofy what else.

Anthropomorphism? You weren't a Psychology major too, were you?

I do agree though, the idea of an LP with a broken neck can be upsetting, especially if you're the owner or responsible party.


Originally Posted by SkarekroughSomeone once said that there are two kinds of Les Paul owners in the world; those that have broken a headstock and those that just haven't yet.

A good repair job should make the headstock stronger than it was previously. It will de-value the instrument, no doubt about that. But the physical problems associated with the instrument will be none if it's done right by a good luthier.

A bad repair could potentially cause more damage.

For my money I'd almost prefer to go with a repair from a good luthier you can trust.

1

i read somehwere that Lp's that have had their headstocks broken sustain better and sound more solid once they get repaired. I guess when you solidly joint the headstock back onto the neck with a C clamp and quality glue, its structural integrity is better.

Sort of how 3 piece necks are stronger than 1 piece.