Death sentence for my guitar?

[fcarpio]

The crack goes from the nut to half way between the first sand second frets.

Should I worry about this? Fix it? Bury it?

 

[JSanta]

I'm sure a good luthier could fix this right up for you. I have seen headstocks snapped clean off that someone with some skill and talent fixed without issue.

 

[tedtan]

This doesn't look like it would be too expensive to fix if you like the guitar and want to keep it.

 

[pathogenicmetal666]

It should be a relatively easy fix for a luthier if you want to get it fixed. My guess is the fix would involve injecting glue into the crack, clamping it, sanding off the excess, and repairing the finish.

 

[immortalx]

Have you noticed any tuning issues since that happened? If you have, then it would seem that the crack goes deep, so you better remove the strings to release tension on the neck before it gets worse. And then of course take it to a luthier to fix it.

 

[lettsbasses]

This is quite common. I fixed my sons westone by simply getting a razor blade into the crack and 'wicking' ca-glue in there. Then gently cramp it with a couple of cheap plastic spring clamps. Apply glue along the crack and pull on the headstock back and forth so you can see the glue sink into the crack. Do this a few times so you know it is well down into the crack. Basically the fingerboard has de-laminated from the neck. It isn't actually a crack as such. You may want to get some ca-glue remover for cleaning up the area afterwards.

 

[DarkWolfXV]

Is it a Gibson? They are known for having removable headstocks.

 

[pathogenicmetal666]

Is it a Gibson? They are known for having removable headstocks.

I would hope Gibson does better transitioning on the binding.

But the removable headstock is a small price to pay for using the best tone wood, because we all know the tone comes from the wood when you have your guitar playing through an amp, and the pickups are picking up the vibration of the strings errrr... I mean wood.

 

[lettsbasses]

I would hope Gibson does better transitioning on the binding.

But the removable headstock is a small price to pay for using the best tone wood, because we all know the tone comes from the wood when you have your guitar playing through an amp, and the pickups are picking up the vibration of the strings errrr... I mean wood.

and of course the frequencies at which the strings resonate are not at all affected by the material that they are anchored to and is vibrating all around them. How could all instrument makers be so stupid as to waste their time with wood for several thousand years when they could have just asked you for your opinion?

 

[VBCheeseGrater]

^^^^ lol

Pathogen - you would think that might be the case with electric guitar, but the wood definitely makes a big difference. Otherwise an HSS Strat would sound just like a Les Paul Custom.

 

[pathogenicmetal666]

and of course the frequencies at which the strings resonate are not at all affected by the material that they are anchored to and is vibrating all around them. How could all instrument makers be so stupid as to waste their time with wood for several thousand years when they could have just asked you for your opinion?

Electrics haven't been made for thousands of years, and it's because they are stupid, and think what applies to acoustics naturally applies to electrics because it's still a guitar and everything works the same, right? Electric guitars have not been perfected for thousands of years, and Gibson makes them more or less the same way when they were first commercialized. It also makes good marketing. They are out to sell instruments, as long as people buy into the wood marketing, manufacturers will continue making these claims.

^^^^ lol

Pathogen - you would think that might be the case with electric guitar, but the wood definitely makes a big difference. Otherwise an HSS Strat would sound just like a Les Paul Custom.

If it had the same scale length, the same pickups, the same pickup placement, the same pickup height, the same frets, the same nut, the same bridge. It would.

 

[mwcarl]

If it had the same scale length, the same pickups, the same pickup placement, the same pickup height, the same frets, the same nut, the same bridge. It would.

No, perhaps you're right, all those things don't matter, wood makes all the difference, and what kind of neck joint the guitar has.

Way to be as black and white as possible, while simultaneously having what amounts to a contradictory opinion of what affects the output signal of an electric guitar.

In case you don't understand what that means, if you think that the frets, nut and bridge affect the tone, is that where it ends? Only the exact thing that contacts the string? If true, you might need some help with your understanding of physics.

I don't have any concrete opinion of how much things have an effect on the tone of an electric guitar, but you can be damn sure that almost everything does to a certain extent.

Edit: As has been said a bunch of times, yes it's fixable, and even until you get it fixed your guitar should be just fine.

 

[EQGuitars]

Honestly, the damage doesn't look too bad (at least compared to some of the outright decapitations I've glued up over the years.) If the crack is separating when you flex the fretboard have a professional tech glue it up with the "lettsbasses method." I would recommend using thinned wood glue instead of CA glue though. CA is great for filling cracks, but it can be on the brittle side and can sometimes wick away from the surfaces you are trying to glue up if they are not clamped 100% tight. As a reassurance, by the time the glue is hard and dry, that area is going to be stronger than the surrounding wood.

 

[fcarpio]

Is it a Gibson? They are known for having removable headstocks.

Nah, it is an Indie ILP, this is my second Indie. The first one was an Indie FDL that was exchanged for this one because the neck was warped from the factory.

Way to go Indie!

 

[fcarpio]

Way to be as black and white as possible, while simultaneously having what amounts to a contradictory opinion of what affects the output signal of an electric guitar.

In case you don't understand what that means, if you think that the frets, nut and bridge affect the tone, is that where it ends? Only the exact thing that contacts the string? If true, you might need some help with your understanding of physics.

I don't have any concrete opinion of how much things have an effect on the tone of an electric guitar, but you can be damn sure that almost everything does to a certain extent.

Edit: As has been said a bunch of times, yes it's fixable, and even until you get it fixed your guitar should be just fine.

Don't you dare hack my thread with a physics discussion.

 

[lettsbasses]

Electrics haven't been made for thousands of years, and it's because they are stupid, and think what applies to acoustics naturally applies to electrics because it's still a guitar and everything works the same, right? Electric guitars have not been perfected for thousands of years, and Gibson makes them more or less the same way when they were first commercialized. It also makes good marketing. They are out to sell instruments, as long as people buy into the wood marketing, manufacturers will continue making these claims.If it had the same scale length, the same pickups, the same pickup placement, the same pickup height, the same frets, the same nut, the same bridge. It would.

You are wrong mate. A lot of the physics tat apply to acoustics also apply to electric guitars. It makes no difference to builders what a customer wants the guitar making out of. The labour costs are the same. Strings do not resonate totally independently of the substrate. If what you say was correct, all guitars with the same pickups and strings would sound identical. They dont.

 

[pawel]

If it had the same scale length, the same pickups, the same pickup placement, the same pickup height, the same frets, the same nut, the same bridge. It would.

If you took a Strat and swapped its body out, i can assure you the guitar would sound different. How different? Depends. Will it have the characteristics people ascribe to different woods (i.e. mahogany dark, ash bright)? I am not sure, but it will sound different. Will you hear it through a 5150, reverb, chorus, and delay? Maybe not. Through a Fender Twin? Probably.

 

[Necromagnon]

You are wrong mate. A lot of the physics tat apply to acoustics also apply to electric guitars. It makes no difference to builders what a customer wants the guitar making out of. The labour costs are the same. Strings do not resonate totally independently of the substrate. If what you say was correct, all guitars with the same pickups and strings would sound identical. They dont.

I just wanna troll:
Are you sure your pickups are EXACTLY the same? Are your sure your wiring is exactly the same? Are you sure everything (except wood) between those two guitars are EXACTLY the same before advancing that this difference is from wood?

Just sayin'

 

[groverj3]

Here we go again, lol.

 

[lettsbasses]

Here we go again, lol.

Innit!
The differnce between 2 guitars can be immense. The difference between the same set of emgs for example and 2 sets of rotosounds are not going to be noticably different. Two passive guitars with the same strings and pickups if the above was correct would sound the same to the human ear and it simply is not that simple. I wish it was