How Much To Repair A Guits Neck Break
What To Practise If You Suspension Your Guitar'southward Neck
I've written a picayune about specific headstock repairs and it occurred to me that might be a good idea to requite you lot an overview with some tips and considerations on how to prevent cleaved necks and what to do if the worst happens. It's a trivial long but could well testify useful to know…
The worst thing in the world?
You're finished the gig and you're enjoying a well-earned beer at the bar. Y'all're conscientious to keep an eye on your pride and joy, propped up against your amp on stage, to brand sure nobody swipes information technology. Information technology's safe though, the drummer's up there packing up his gear.
Wait! The drummer'southward knocked against your amp with his fatty arse*. Your guitar tips, slowly, very slowly, it's going, it's going… And it'southward gone. It hits the ground and the headstock keeps going. You lot can hear the crevice over the noise of the oversupply.
Is there annihilation worse?
Of course there is, but for a guitarist this is one of life'due south grimmer moments. A broken cervix. You fall to your knees, hands imploring the heavens, and bellow, "Noooooooooo!" The security guy eyes you suspiciously.
Why? Why? For Clapton'southward sake, why?
How could this have happened? Well, you could possibly become so far as to call it a design flaw. On any guitar with an angled-back headstock, the surface area where it angles is naturally weak. This is considering of a number of factors but primarily to exercise with the timber'south grain direction and the fact that the area is pretty thin - the thinnest role of the neck. Add to this the fact that many instruments have a truss-rod access channel here, effectively removing even more wood from an already weak expanse, and yous have a recipe for breaks.
The image on the left shows a Les Paul cervix/headstock. I've added a dotted line to indicate, approximately, the depth that the truss-rod access cavity is cut. You can see there's not a lot left.
Many guitar makers endeavor to alleviate the potential for trouble in this surface area with a variety of ways; multi-ply 'sandwich' necks, truss rod-admission moved elsewhere or reduced, scarfed headstocks, and the most common, a volute. A volute is but a shaped/carved 'burl' that's left in the weak area to strengthen it (although it might be more than accurate to say 'not to weaken it').
Gibson are frequent cease-outs on this though. Although a volute was introduced on many Gibsons in the late '60s, it was phased out again and it'due south advent on modern Gibsons is hit-or-miss. Most don't have one. Indeed, while all instruments with angled headstocks take breakage potential, Gibsons (SGs and Les Pauls in detail) top the charts in the headstock repairs I perform. If Gibson ever start strengthening this area, guitar repair guys all over the earth are going to see their incomes drop.
My guitar cervix is cleaved. What do I do?
If you do manage to pause or crevice your guitar's neck or peghead, don't panic. Virtually anything is repairable. Here are the firsthand steps to have.
- If the headstock is withal attached to the neck (the headstock veneer frequently keeps it attached), gently - very, very gently - slacken off the strings. Pop information technology in it's instance and get yourself to a expert repair guy.
- If the headstock is only croaky, do the same - slacken off and go information technology repaired.
- If the headstock is completely detached, advisedly wrap information technology up in something (a purse, newspaper, etc.) and try non to knock, impairment or disturb those jagged splinters of forest poking out.
- Don't try to fit the headstock back to the neck as the joint should ordinarily exist examined and cleared of whatsoever misaligned splinters or loose timber before this is attempted.
- Check for any splinters that have come loose and if you find any, pop them in a handbag - they'll help complete the jigsaw and assist in getting a good, make clean repair.
Repairing a broken guitar neck
The first repair is the important one. If information technology's not done well, then you've got a reasonable chance of the guitar breaking along that error again. Sometimes cord tension lone tin can be plenty to pull a badly repaired interruption apart. And, repairing along a previous repair is much more hard, fourth dimension-consuming and ofttimes more than invasive. Not to mention more than expensive.
The lesson? Don't break your guitar neck but, if you do, get it repaired properly outset time around.
Talk to your repair guy and ask him/her to discuss the repair. A good repair guy will be happy to chat about their plans. What glue will be used is important for instance. For most repairs either hot hide glue or aliphatic resin is the right choice. If your repair-guy decides immediately to slap in a load of epoxy, you might want to inquire them why. While epoxy certainly has a place in headstock repair, it'due south generally a limited i. Epoxy is incredibly strong if used properly but its nature makes it difficult to penetrate cracks and it'south not usually a first pick adhesive for about of these jobs.
The majority of cleaved necks tend to be relatively straightforward. Some, withal, require a bit more endeavour. 'Curt' breaks across the neck or the headstock that let very footling 'glueing' surface will often demand to be reinforced. Reinforcement may involve glueing in new pieces of wood, called splines, that extend beyond the break and provide boosted strength.
Other reinforcement methods include the employ of 'overlays'. A dorsum-strap or front-strap overlay is a veneer of wood that gets glued on to the dorsum or front end of the headstock and will often extend down into the neck surface area (as shown in the diagram). Information technology's necessary to remove existing wood from these areas to fit the overlay and the newly-glued overlays must be drilled for tuners and so on. Refinishing the expanse is likewise necessary. Overlays take a lot of work but can often be a relatively discrete fashion of reinforcing a break.
This sort of reinforcement is ofttimes necessary for repairing previously-repaired breaks (i.e. 2nd repairs) too, as information technology's often not possible to go a clean joint on on a suspension that's been glued before - that's why it's of import to get it correct commencement time.
Prevention is improve than cure.
Almost all headstock cracks and breaks are acquired by the instrument falling. If everyone put their guitars into their cases subsequently they were finished playing or gigging, I'd exist able to beget less beer every month.
Cases are non a guarantee - I've seen a headstock suspension after a autumn in a case - but they certainly become y'all most of the fashion there. A good-fitting, hard case volition protect your guitar from most things. If you wanted to exist a bit anally-retentive about it, you could slacken the strings off before stowing your guitar just that's probably overkill for most people (although you should definitely do and then if y'all ever have to ship your guitar anywhere).
If it'southward besides much of a pain to put your guitar away, get a decent stand or locking hanger. There are even hangers that can attach to your amp combo or chiffonier now. Stands and hangers evidently won't give you the aforementioned protection every bit a hard case but they're amend than only leaning your guitar against your amp (no matter how absurd that might look).
The upshot
Protect your guitar and you lot might never have to go its neck repaired. If the worst happens though, don't panic - things can exist put right again. Make sure you trust whoever is repairing the broken neck though - the simply thing worse than having to get your cervix repaired is having to get information technology done twice.
If you've whatever questions, feel free to drop me a line. I'll do my best to answer them.
*With apologies to drummers everywhere - I'one thousand a bad person, going for the easy laughs. ;-)
Source: https://hazeguitars.com/blog/what-to-do-if-you-break-your-guitars-neck
Posted by: ostermanthorthamme.blogspot.com
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