Anybody in Los Angeles? Nedd help finding someone to fix a broken headstock....

[tomz.]

On a Gibson Melody Maker.  You know the break, slow motion, guitar tips, them suck.  Broken off headstock.  Anyone have any experiences with a reasonable, trustworthy luthier?  Thanks!

[VOLVO)))]

How bad is it? Pictures... i can at least give you an estimate and tell you if it'll need a fret mill or not, to make it play right... detailed pictures of the break, and any fretboard separation...

[tomz.]

Thanks Sunn, it is appreciated!  Now, this is a friend of mine and he lives on the other side of the country.  He moved to LA three years ago with his gf and they are going for it.  Kinda brit styled pop, and doing it well.  Needless to say, he doesn't have two dimes to rub together, but would like to have his main guitar available.  No sure if you can tell anything from this photo or not...

[VOLVO)))]

It realistically would cost more than buying a new melody maker...

[Hemisaurus]

That looks like it cracked off just north of the volute?

http://www.edroman.com/rants/les_paul_necks.htm

I have a large repair shop. I fix a lot of Gibson broken necks, The fix is easy and cheap because they all break in exactly the same place. They are all held together by their trademarked plastic "Bell Shaped" truss rod cover or by the thin phenolic overlay on the headstock.  I can fix most of them usually for just a one hour labor charge and make good money doing it. What gets expensive is camouflaging or painting over the break to hide the ugly scar the break leaves.

So is LA to LV far?

[VOLVO)))]

Fuck Ed Roman. He is the number one counterfitter of BC Rich guitars..

[Hemisaurus]

Why would someone counterfeit those?

I was hoping for some actual repair shots, I have a buddy who got his repaired by a local guy, and he put steel pins in it to reinforce it, and it looks great. He broke it when he was 18, he's late 30's now so it's still holding together. Anyways Springfield is further than LV I know that much

All I was meaning was, it's a common problem, lots of luthiers can fix it, and if you go for function rather than form, and skip the prettying up, it may not kill you.

Hey Vegas road trip man, I thought that was a big Amican thing

[VOLVO)))]

There's lots of classy/super-high-end Riches... He rips off everything. He's a dick, too. Fuck that guy.

[Hemisaurus]

Sorry, I helped drag the thread way off topic 

Anyhoo, here's another link on fixing Gibson headstocks, with no Ed Roman content whatsoever, it reads almost like a DIY guide.

http://www.customguitars.com/headstock.html

a more complicated one

http://www.guitarspecialist.com/headstocks.htm

slideshow

If you're friend is broke, maybe he should get some of those spring clamps and a tub of marine epoxy and give it a try himself?

Just cause a purple melody maker with a Bigsby is too cool to lose 

[tomz.]

Hey thanks guys!  I think vegas is about three-four hour road trip from LA, not entirely impossible, but if the guy is a douche, no thanks.  I passed along the links, it's much appreciated.  As far as the purple guitar, well, we all got our own gig I guess...

[VOLVO)))]

Oh yeah, it WILL need a fret mill if it ever wants to play decently, again...

[tomz.]

I'm sure if/when he gets it to a tech, that will be addressed.

[crunkhero]

It won't need a fret level if the damage is only to the headstock.  You'd only need that done if the fingerboard pulls away from the neck.

And yes, Ed Roman is a dick.  I have a coworker with a few choice stories about dealing with him.

[VOLVO)))]

Depends on the hit. Ill explain more when i get on a computer.

EDIT: That kind of trauma to a neck is devastating. He better hope he has every chip, and splinter. Depending on the hit, frets could have come unseated, etc. The headstock has to be put back on at the correct angle... Man, there are so many factors involving that break it isn't even funny. It won't be as easy as gluing it back together, and stringing it. Just sayin'. I don't think a lot of people understand the scope of that kind of damage to an instrument that requires such precision to play well.

[crunkhero]

Sometimes it's a piece of cake and other times it's a nightmare.  Sunn, are you speaking from experience or what you've read?  I'm not calling you out here or anything.    

Out of all the headstock repairs I've done in the past ten years, only one needed fret leveling because of the break.  That was due to the fingerboard separating.

[VOLVO)))]

Experience. Then again, I do go above and beyond for my people, I guess. If i were to do thos repair, I would do the fret mill. I guess that is how I should put it.