Headstock broke off after fall ; Martin HD-28-2R

[mackguy]

Well I dropped it off with my local shop, who recommended a Luthier they work with, hoping to get a call next week with estimate for repair.

I've also e-mailed Martin as they indicate they do repairs in Nazareth again, and would be a simple enough thing to drop off when I'm up North next month.

[Quickstep192]

This is just one guy's opinion, but.....

That looks like a really nice guitar, not to mention being an heirloom. I'd be inclined to have Martin replace the entire neck. It doesn't seem that the guitar is vintage enough that a new neck would affect it's value; I'd think a repaired headstock would affect value more than a new neck would. Expect Martin to have a backlog of repairs, but based on my recent experience, the repair will be flawless. I recently had a guitar there for a neck re-set and it was so perfectly executed that I wondered if they'd actually done anything.

[mackguy]

Originally Posted by Quickstep192

This is just one guy's opinion, but.....

That looks like a really nice guitar, not to mention being an heirloom. I'd be inclined to have Martin replace the entire neck. It doesn't seem that the guitar is vintage enough that a new neck would affect it's value; I'd think a repaired headstock would affect value more than a new neck would. Expect Martin to have a backlog of repairs, but based on my recent experience, the repair will be flawless. I recently had a guitar there for a neck re-set and it was so perfectly executed that I wondered if they'd actually done anything.

Well I finally got in touch with the local repair guy, and I also heard back from Martin.

Since this is an "heirloom" I don't intend to part with the cosmetic and "resale" value are quite a bit less important to me than just getting it playable again.

The local guy indicated he's done several D28's (Said he wasn't sure why but every broken headstock he's done was a D28 of some sort).

$200 to put it back together and hide damage as much as possible
$250 to put on a new faceplate, but he indicated finding a correct decal could be a challenge
$450 for new neck (this seems really cheap?)

Martin quoted $1,200 for a new neck

Since I'm seeing people pay $1800 or so for this model guitar, the $1,200 repair seems out of range, besides not having $1,200 right now... If $ were no object I'd love to have it done in Nazareth, but for $1200 I'll deal with it.

Right now the plan is the repair guy is going for the $200 option... if he feels that the best he can get it back is still going to be ugly, we'll go with the new faceplate.

I figure someday it will probably need a neck reset and that will probably be the time to go ahead and do a new neck.

Obviously I'd rather this have never happened, but since it did happen, I really don't mind it having a little scar. In a few years I'll have a nice lesson to teach my son, with the visual reminder..

[redir]

It should be structurally fine so you won't have to worry about that.

[Dave Abrahamson]

Originally Posted by mackguy

In a few years I'll have a nice lesson to teach my son, with the visual reminder..

Maybe his kid will knock it off his stand one day.....Karma's a b!+@h you know😎😎
Nice guitar....Hope the repair comes out well

[bnjp]

Originally Posted by mackguy

The local guy indicated he's done several D28's (Said he wasn't sure why but every broken headstock he's done was a D28 of some sort).

I hate to say this, but I think I'd consider someone with more experience. With as many headstocks as get broken, if he's only fixed D28's he may not have done very many. Did he say why he thinks D28's are more prone to breaking?(Cause I don't think they are) Could you get another local quote before you commit?

[stanron]

Perhaps a D28, being less expensive than, say, a D45, is more likely to get left on a stand and therefore more likely to get knocked off.

[Neil K Walk]

Originally Posted by Dave Abrahamson

Maybe his kid will knock it off his stand one day.....Karma's a b!+@h you know����
Nice guitar....Hope the repair comes out well

Is this the voice of experience talking?

[mackguy]

Originally Posted by bnjp

I hate to say this, but I think I'd consider someone with more experience. With as many headstocks as get broken, if he's only fixed D28's he may not have done very many. Did he say why he thinks D28's are more prone to breaking?(Cause I don't think they are) Could you get another local quote before you commit?

Well the owner of the guitar shop also does repair work and said he could get it back structurally (had apparently broken the headstock of his personal Les Paul twice), but wasn't equipped to bring it back cosmetically due to some shop expansions they're working on.

I had some previous repair work done by a Martin authorized service person... some of the binding on the back had come loose, not a terrible thing but I wanted to get it re-glued. He charged $150 for a simple glue (did not refinish) and honestly I think it looks worse than before it was repaired, but at least it's not falling off.

As far as D28 being more fragile, he didn't think that at all, just made an observation that every broken headstock he had was a D28.

[redir]

bnjp makes a reasonable point but it depends on his collective experience as well. I've done over a hundred of these repairs and often times they are not as hard as most people thing however a clean break like that one can be considerably more intricate. I think they are typical on Les Pauls and other Gibson guitars because of the neck angle and weight of the guitar. LEs Pauls and SG's for example have a pronounced back angle to the neck based on the violin family. The neck angles back and below the plane of the body which makes for a nice comfortable playing experience but the first thing to hit the ground will be the very tip of the head stock and that's a small point taking a lot of impact.

[bnjp]

Originally Posted by redir

I think they are typical on Les Pauls and other Gibson guitars because of the neck angle and weight of the guitar. LEs Pauls and SG's for example have a pronounced back angle to the neck based on the violin family. The neck angles back and below the plane of the body which makes for a nice comfortable playing experience but the first thing to hit the ground will be the very tip of the head stock and that's a small point taking a lot of impact.

I think you've got to take into account too, the huge routed cavity in the Gibson headstock for truss rod access. That's a real weak point in addition to all the other factors you mention.

[mirwa]

Originally Posted by mackguy

$200 to put it back together and hide damage as much as possible
$250 to put on a new faceplate, but he indicated finding a correct decal could be a challenge
$450 for new neck (this seems really cheap?)

They are good prices, its an easy enough break to repair, no splines needed

Steve