The unthinkable happened

[charliechitlins]

Standard repair ? Really ? So this is normal for you ?

It's as normal as anything.
Gibson headstocks pop off if you turn around too fast onstage.
The only reason a basic repair costs more than $75 is because the stakes are high and you pay for expertise.
A few clamps and some glue.
It can be fixed in an hour.
I've seen excellent pro repairs for $125.
Of course, if you want to hide the repair, it gets expensive.

 

[garywright]

It’s as routine as a hernia repair ..which I may have upcoming due to a pending twin reverb purchase ?

 

[Pat Boyack]

I've seen excellent pro repairs for $125.

In 1983?

 

[Any Name You Wish]

When you think about it, you have 99.99% of the original material still there. You have a thin film of glue, maybe a little wood filler and a little lacquer. Tiny amounts of this stuff. The geometry doesn't change, and all of the work is done well north of the nut/truss rod/neck. I have owned and played acoustic guitars with neck and headstock repairs and they played and sounded fantastic. Perhaps there is a small outside chance the guitar sounds like crap when it is all done. I guess that is why I won't go the full Gibson Repair for $2k and have someone do it more reasonable. I could try it myself, but frankly I would like to start with a cheap guitar on the first try. I don't mind letting a luthier with all the tools, experience and everything and his fingertips do the work. In the end it will look better too and I don't mind that, especially on an R9, which is a work of art.

 

[John550]

I laugh when I hear about the money loss , Just in general , Its been my experience that a 6500 dollar become 4500 once you bought it because , if you're like me , you paid too much right out of the gate . Then , If you put it on consignment to sell , you have to give 15% or more to your seller , and give them 10% price flexibility on top of that . Then it gets sold to who ever wants to buy it first with their lowest offer .
You're lucky if you find a guitar you really like .

 

[Dr. Green]

After about 50 years of being an avid guitar player, with all the gigs, rehearsals, and travel and whatnot, this is the first time I broke a headstock off and it happened to the most expensive guitar (and probably favorite) in my own home and I was completely sober I've reached out to Greg Platzer (thanks for the tip) and a few others and I'll keep you all posted. I'm not the first and probably not the last to do this so perhaps my little journey here will be helpful to others. First decision is to sell it as is and get a new one, or keep it and get it repaired. I'm estimating it will be less expensive going forward to keep it and get it repaired, especially since it is such a fantastic guitar. If it were a dud I would probably sell it. With the damage above the nut I think the probability of the tone/playability being negatively affected is pretty low if the repair is done right. I don't mind a little blemish because it will then match the rest of my guitars/amps. The repair joint might be a little more rigid than the original wood, and hard to say what this will do to tone if anything (I've played acoustic guitars with neck repairs and they were fantastic). It will be a couple of months before I play it again so not exactly an A/B comparison but I'll do my best. If I really don't like it after all is done I'll give it to my daughter and maybe get another some day, or get a custom shop strat. Wait no, that's crazy talk.

Its a new day, and you never know how many you have left, so onwar

When you think about it, you have 99.99% of the original material still there. You have a thin film of glue, maybe a little wood filler and a little lacquer. Tiny amounts of this stuff. The geometry doesn't change, and all of the work is done well north of the nut/truss rod/neck. I have owned and played acoustic guitars with neck and headstock repairs and they played and sounded fantastic. Perhaps there is a small outside chance the guitar sounds like crap when it is all done. I guess that is why I won't go the full Gibson Repair for $2k and have someone do it more reasonable. I could try it myself, but frankly I would like to start with a cheap guitar on the first try. I don't mind letting a luthier with all the tools, experience and everything and his fingertips do the work. In the end it will look better too and I don't mind that, especially on an R9, which is a work of art.

well be sure to post a photo after it is done and give us a tone report

 

[Wizard1183]

Guitar with broken headstock is worth 80-85% less than what a guitar is worth before the break. Period. But it’ll sound better now ?

 

[jb_abides]

Sorry about the stress, but you've processed and have a good plan. Hoping for the best, Sure it will be A-OK. Say hello to Uncle Bob...

 

[corpse]

The story goes the 1959 Peter Green burst had it's HS snapped off, was crazy glued- and gigged the following night.
Titebond would be how I would do it, if it was a Norlin SG.
A CS LP I would have someone repair the holly veneer properly too.

 

[Wilko]

I've repaired plenty of these. Most with a decent amount of cosmetic repairs. Not invisible, but not glaring. Recently I had one that needed splines so I outsourced that to a very well regarded San Diego shop and got graphite splines installed for 250.00

 

[J.D.]

Guitar with broken headstock is worth 80-85% less than what a guitar is worth before the break. Period. But it’ll sound better now ?

So what your saying is if I buy a nice used R9 for $5k and the headstock snaps off, it's now only worth $750 - $1k?

 

[Gino753]

Send it to Historic Makeovers for a reneck and total refinish... flip the script and make it into your dream guitar.

(PS--it's so easy to spend other people's money! )

To be honest…thats a damn good idea…i dont know why i didnt think of that.

To the OP, yes this is a fantastic idea…basically you have no other choice as far as $$$$ goes, sure you can have it repaired, and it would work…but its such an expensive guitar as it is, and unfortunately this happend, so as much as it would hurt, i would talk to Kim at HM, and see what he could do..i would have a Brazil board, correct 59’ example made from it

You allready made the first incision

 

[Gino753]

So what your saying is if I buy a nice used R9 for $5k and the headstock snaps off, it's now only worth $750 - $1k?

Too me, yes…as a matter of fact, a few years back i think i remember an R8, that had a broken headstock for around $1800 or so?? I could of sworn i remember that

I dont have that guitar, maby im crazy…but if someone was offering a brand new 2022 R9, beautiful all brand new, but the headstock broke off like this one did in the OP’s post, and it was listed for $1000…i would not spend the $1000

If GOD FORBID, the guitar was owned and this happend, due to the fact that i buy to keep…i would spare no expense to make the damage go away

 

[Gino753]

It’s as routine as a hernia repair ..which I may have upcoming due to a pending twin reverb purchase ?

Oh my god…i have a 1997 Fender Twin Amp,
2/12 100watt combo i think its 77 pounds, i used to carry it up the street when i was a kid, to jam with this guy that played drums, about 200 feet from my house, then carry it up a vertical ladder to the top of his barn…i still have that combo, but am building my first Marshall style head now..lol

 

[Any Name You Wish]

The thought of a re-neck crossed my mind but really I like the guitar exactly the way it is (after the repair that is). I'm really happy with the original neck. My plan is to do a minimally invasive repair and keep it as original as possible. I'm not extremely particular on cosmetics and will never sell it. Heck, gigging with it won't be as nerve racking now.

 

[J.D.]

Too me, yes…as a matter of fact, a few years back i think i remember an R8, that had a broken headstock for around $1800 or so?? I could of sworn i remember that

I dont have that guitar, maby im crazy…but if someone was offering a brand new 2022 R9, beautiful all brand new, but the headstock broke off like this one did in the OP’s post, and it was listed for $1000…i would not spend the $1000

If GOD FORBID, the guitar was owned and this happend, due to the fact that i buy to keep…i would spare no expense to make the damage go away

I assure you that you don't represent the market.

 

[Any Name You Wish]

The thought of a re-neck crossed my mind but really I like the guitar exactly the way it is (after the repair that is). I'm really happy with the original neck. My plan is to do a minimally invasive repair and keep it as original as possible. I'm not extremely particular on cosmetics and will never sell it. Heck, gigging with it won't be as nerve racking now.

BTW - I don't mean to be cavalier about this. I know we have some serious collectors here and other folks that want to keep such an expensive instrument pristine and that is great. I totally understand. I play a lot and things get normal playing wear and tear. If I join a band again and start gigging that cheese grater SM58 is going to put some nicks in the headstock, and either the drummer or the bass player is going to spill something on it (no offense), and some hot girl is going to want to play it and I am going to let her. But, I still cherish all my guitars dearly. I could not part with the neck at this point, I just couldn't. BTW - you don't have to call me OP, you can call me Roger.

 

[Gino753]

I assure you that you don't represent the market.

You are correct…thats why..i could have sworn.. im pretty sure??? I said that

TOO ME..yes i am not interested in a headstock repair..

Then on another post, i mentioned that again, and that everyone is different, some dont mind a repair ..some do

 

[garywright]

re: twin reverbs ..ball busta’s but still great ! ?️‍

 

[charliechitlins]

In 1983?

The last one I did, I charged $50.
Even with digging out the clamps and getting all set up to do it, it might have taken 40 minutes.
It was a clean break and didn't become totally disconnected, so there was no chance of it creeping.
I don't have a store front or anything, and I know I'm cheap, but I think $50 for 30-40 minutes work is a reasonable rate.
And it was a kid...probably 22...
OK...I'm a sucker.