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Are these cracks in the wood or the paint?

eduardorenato

New member
Joined
Sep 11, 2020
Messages
3
I just bought a used 1991 Studio, and I'm wondering if this guitar has problems. It sounds and feels really nice, but I'm very new (if that wasn't obvious), so I don't know if this guitar is in really bad shape or not. [FONT=&quot]https://imgur.com/gallery/4Bgy0bv https://imgur.com/gallery/4Bgy0bv[/FONT]
 

latestarter

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Joined
Nov 9, 2009
Messages
4,174
It’s fine. Lacquer moves. Have you seen any old Les Pauls? Play it and be happy.
 

rick c

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Joined
May 28, 2016
Messages
282
Agreed: lacquer cracks but it's not the same on all old LPs. My 87 LPC only has one lacquer crack, a very typical one along the binding at the nut. From the pictures, it looks like your guitar has suffered from humidity swings; the head face in particular shows this. The cracks around the neck joint at the body simply indicate that there has been a small amount of movement here probably from a lot of gigging. The other end of the neck look worrying; is that a big headstock break repair? Please send a better picture.

Enjoy your new guitar.
 

eduardorenato

New member
Joined
Sep 11, 2020
Messages
3
Agreed: lacquer cracks but it's not the same on all old LPs. My 87 LPC only has one lacquer crack, a very typical one along the binding at the nut. From the pictures, it looks like your guitar has suffered from humidity swings; the head face in particular shows this. The cracks around the neck joint at the body simply indicate that there has been a small amount of movement here probably from a lot of gigging. The other end of the neck look worrying; is that a big headstock break repair? Please send a better picture.

Enjoy your new guitar.

Thank you! I added a closer picture. Yes. There's a fracture on the headstock. The seller said it was not actually a break but a hairline fracture that was fixed properly. I think this might be more than "hairline," but I'm not sure. I have read that headstock fractures on les pauls are common and a good repair can do the trick; I've even heard of them getting stronger after repairs. And though whoever repaired this didn't care about aesthetics, I'm hoping the guitar is still solid and won't break on me.
https://images.reverb.com/image/upload/s--nCzXGCEA--/f_auto,t_large/v1598463486/l53humqsgzyc89dbgdwg.jpg
l53humqsgzyc89dbgdwg.jpg
 
Last edited:

Keefoman

Active member
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Nov 4, 2009
Messages
576
Looks like a little more than a hairline fracture, but if the repair is done properly, it should be allright either way. It affects the value of the guitar though, so I hope you got a fair deal.
 

rick c

Active member
Joined
May 28, 2016
Messages
282
Hi Eduardo: Gibsons suffer from headstock breakage because they get dropped; the wood is really thin at the head/neck joint, made worse by the truss rod hole and weakened further by the lack of a volute. Assuming the headstock face has not been mended, as the picture of it looks good, it looks like this guitar had an really clean break without the head coming off. As noted, this is not a "hairline fracture"; it was likely a clean break but not all the way through. It's also highly likely that as the break was so clean, the gap was simply super-glued and clamped shut. Should be good to go if done well. The pictures show what looks like very high action so if this is the case and set-up requires adjustingh the truss rod, be really careful and slow and watch the headstock crack for any signs of movement.

The picture below shows what I bet happened to your guitar (not mine, just a pic from the Internet):

qIQcm9K.jpg
 
Last edited:

El Gringo

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 8, 2015
Messages
5,665
Hi Eduardo: Gibsons suffer from headstock breakage because they get dropped; the wood is really thin at the head/neck joint, made worse by the truss rod hole and wekaend furethr by the lack of a volute. Assuming the headstock face has not been mended, as the picture of it looks good, it looks like this guitar had an really clean break without the head coming off. As noted, this is not a "hairline fracture"; it was likely a clean break but not all the way through. It's also highly likely that as the break was so clean, the gap was simply super-glued and clamped shut. Should be good to go if done well. The pictures show what looks like very high action so if this is the case and set-up requires adjustingh the truss rod, be really careful and slow and watch the headstock crack for any signs of movement.

The picture below shows what I bet happened to your guitar (not mine, just a pic from the Internet):

qIQcm9K.jpg

I have seen Gibson's with the Volute that have suffered the same fate . One would think with a Volute that it would be more sturdy and able to withstand this type of headstock break but that is not the case . Just my 2 cents but I would stay away from buying Gibson's with headstock breaks and I believe that it is the biggest bunch of sh$& when they say that a repaired headstock break is stronger than a factory built Gibson and I am calling Bull s$%^ !
 

rick c

Active member
Joined
May 28, 2016
Messages
282
I'm sure that when people make claims about stronger repairs, they mean the hardcore ones with double routing and inlaid blocks. Technically, if the inlaid block material is tougher than the original wood then maybe there's an argument. In the OPs case, the split has been glued and clamped only and I very much doubt that this is stronger than the original. Always use cases or stands and don't leave guitars plugged in when not in use; I've seen a guitar tumble (not mine) when someone has tripped over a lead. Also stay clear of kids and animals!
 
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