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Broken Headstock

The Tremor ChristThe Tremor Christ Posts: 17
edited August 2004 in Musicians and Gearheads
So I was camping, playing poker with some buddys, when suddenly, my acoustic guitar, which was leaning on the bench, tumbles over.

As I goto pick it up, I notice that the headstock is barely attached to the neck. The point where the neck meets the headstock snapped and is held only by a little amount of wood. I'm tramatised...traumatized? Anyways, my question is...is something like this fixable? Or should I just smash it over something and buy a new one?

And to keep the thread alive...how have your guitars broken?
What the fuck is this world,
running to you didn't,
leave a message at least I,
Coulda' heard your voice one last time...
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • triple ctriple c Posts: 35
    dont base your decision on this cause i dont know if its fixable or not. i wouldnt think so though. theres so much tension on the head i just dont see it working. i could be wrong

    plus, wouldnt it be fun to smash the absolute hell out of it?
  • who's_pearljam?who's_pearljam? Posts: 2,104
    It's fixable.
    Don't move it at all yet!
    Leave the wood as is until you decide what to do, as if its cracked but not broken off, all those wood splinters might slide back together, but once you pull it apart, things are a lot different.
    Take the strings off or just release the tension so it doesn't pull the head right off.

    If it's a good guitar,,, take it to a luthier. If it's just a regular guitar,,, you can try to fix it yourself. If it looks like you can slide the wood back together again,, it's a matter of getting glue into the joint, sliding it all together, and hoping for the best. Then, you can actually reinforce the neck later, by cutting a slot lengthwise on the back of the neck across the cracked areas, and gluing a piece of maple or some other strong wood into that slot. (Called a spline).
    Yellow wood glue (Titebond is one type) can work, or resorcinol glue. (it's mixed in two parts and is strong as hell)

    Get the glue in the joints, kind of work the head back and forth (Don't pull it apart!) to get as much in as possible,, and just work the head stock back to it's original position as best you can. Try to position it so the nut is where it should be, sit there and hold it for a while till the glue starts to set a bit, if it looks stable just leave it for a few days to cure. Then hope for the best. You can cut the slot 3/16th inch swide for the spline now, and fit a 3/16th inch piece of wood in there(sand it to size) glue that piece in, wait a couple of days, and string it up with lighter gauge strings (11's or less) and stand back when you're tuning it up!

    If that doesn't work, it still isn't hopeless. Tons of old Les Pauls from the 50's and early 60's have broken and repaired headstocks because the neck angle didn't leave much wood behind the nut. They broke right off!:eek:
    If the splintery wood doesn't fit back together, there's a way to fix that too! (let me know)

    I would fix it if I was you. Nice to have a guitar with a story!:D
    Be kind, man
    Don't be mankind. ~Captain Beefheart
    __________________________________
  • triple ctriple c Posts: 35
    unless it has alot of meaning to you, i say its better to have a story about breaking a guitar.

    just start wailing on it , maybe a punk song.....just real hard.and when the headstock breaks, just trash the thing like your name is jimi and set the new kindling on FIYAAAAA!!!!!!!!

    cook some ribs from the remains and throw the ashes over a nearby bridge. i think thats a good way for a guitar to go out.

    then go smoke a j, play "while my guitar gently weeps" on repeat and regret listening to this triple c character.
  • who's_pearljam?who's_pearljam? Posts: 2,104
    Originally posted by triple c
    unless it has alot of meaning to you, i say its better to have a story about breaking a guitar.

    just start wailing on it , maybe a punk song.....just real hard.and when the headstock breaks, just trash the thing like your name is jimi and set the new kindling on FIYAAAAA!!!!!!!!

    cook some ribs from the remains and throw the ashes over a nearby bridge. i think thats a good way for a guitar to go out.

    then go smoke a j, play "while my guitar gently weeps" on repeat and regret listening to this triple c character.


    Triple C and I have very different repair styles!:D:D

    BUT,,, if you ARE going to trash this thing,, there really should be fire involved! After all, it broke by the fire, there should be fire involved in it's demise!:D
    Remember, the story of smashing a guitar in later years is usually one with some regret, so make sure it's good. 20 years from now, I guarantee you won't be saying,, "WOW, I'm so glad I smashed my first guitar!"
    If you try to fix it, it lives on. And if the fix doesn't work, ok,,, then do it.

    I live by the Keith Richards school of rock. He hated when Townshend smashed all those Gibsons. Richards said something to the effect that : "All those beautiful pieces of wood. While Pete was smashing his guitar, somewhere on this planet, there was a kid or a musician trying to scrape up the money to buy one."

    You ask about everybody elses broken guitar stories?
    I've broke a few. Mostly the same way,,,, falling over or leaving them out. Broken headstocks usually. That's one reason Fender is such a great company. You really really really have to work to break a Strat!

    This one was bad:
    There is nothing like the sound of stepping into the top of an acoustic guitar laying on the floor!:eek:
    That happened on stage a long time ago, when I was switching from acoustic to electric and I had no tech to take it away, so I layed it down.
    In between songs, a couple of songs later, we were changing instruments, it was a bit quiet and we all heard Crkkkkkkkkpppphhhhwwwwwooiiiiiiiingggg! The bass player stepped right into it! It wasn't his fault, but he was horrified!
    Oh what a sound though. Even gasps from the people in the audience!

    I actually put a new spruce top on it and it was even better than before.
    Be kind, man
    Don't be mankind. ~Captain Beefheart
    __________________________________
  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
    Originally posted by who's_pearljam?
    This one was bad:
    There is nothing like the sound of stepping into the top of an acoustic guitar laying on the floor!:eek:
    That happened on stage a long time ago, when I was switching from acoustic to electric and I had no tech to take it away, so I layed it down.
    In between songs, a couple of songs later, we were changing instruments, it was a bit quiet and we all heard Crkkkkkkkkpppphhhhwwwwwooiiiiiiiingggg! The bass player stepped right into it! It wasn't his fault, but he was horrified!
    Oh what a sound though. Even gasps from the people in the audience!

    I actually put a new spruce top on it and it was even better than before.

    I broke my first guitar in a similar fashion...

    I was sneaking into the house late at night, with all the lights off, and was wandering to my bedroom. My brother had been jamming on the guitar (we actually shared it) and he'd left it in the middle of the floor in front of our bedrooms. Needless to say... *CRAAACK!*

    It was a cool old guitar, too... made by Kalamazoo (similar to Silvertone/Harmony). F-hole archtop acoustic. Man, I wish I still had that guitar...
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
  • gimmesometruth27gimmesometruth27 Posts: 23,105
    i know the feeling. i had my les paul for 2 months when after a gig i was moving it out of my car, which was parked on a hill and it slipped out of my hand and fell about 18 inches to the ground causing the head stock to snap off. it was even in the case but it hit headstick end first. i was traumatized. i mean i was really depressed, i had just spent $2200 for this guitar and it was fucked. it was the most helpless feeling. i went from being on the high after playing a good show the low of breaking my fucking dream guitar. it took about 12 days but i was able to get it glued back on and you can't really tell unless you are looking for it. it only cost $157. the guy that fixed it said he does 6-8 a month, mostly all les pauls and sgs. he joked that "a les paul isn't a les paul until the headstock gets glued back on". i have noticed that my neck joint is better and holds its tune much better now.
    "You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry."  - Lincoln

    "Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
  • mojorison_75mojorison_75 Posts: 157
    I agree with who's_pearljam?. If it's worth anything(either to you or monetarily) and is a good instrument then it is possible to fix it. My advice would be to take it to a good luthier and get their opinon on it. They should be able to give you a really good idea on how fixable it is. Breaking it right there at the neck is not good news at all, but don't throw it away just yet.

    I also agree with Keith R. on the guitar smashing. I've never been able to do it. I had an acoustic once that the top just completely folded. I had gotten it from a guy who was a novice builder and he fixed it for me for free, though he didn't fix it very good and the action was atrocious. I gave it to someone learning to play who couldn't afford a guitar at the time. It was awful to play, but it gave him something to bang on till he got some cash and he appreciated it. Probably could have also made a decent slide guitar.
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