Nacho Posted July 31, 2013 Posted July 31, 2013 Hi everybody. I never thought my first post was for asking for help because my great 535 was broken... My guitar box felt down (nothing important) but when I toke the guitar from inside the headstock was fully broken. Can anyone help/assist me how to proceed?? Do you know who I have to talk in Parsons Str. to repair it?? Second question, is what this happen to me usual? I'm shocked because I never though the guitar was so weak (and that the guitar box was so useless....). Thank you very much
PunkKitty Posted July 31, 2013 Posted July 31, 2013 Ouch. Not good. I would use the best local luthier that I could find. The repair will take a long time if you send it to Heritage. And damage from accidents is not covered under warranty.
Guest HRB853370 Posted July 31, 2013 Posted July 31, 2013 Ouch! So sorry to hear this Nacho. Was this a brand new Heritage? What dealer did you get it from? You may want to contact the dealer first since this is not a defect. Did you drop it or did the shipping company drop it?
HANGAR18 Posted July 31, 2013 Posted July 31, 2013 Headstock breaks are more common than you might think. A proper glue and tight clamps will make it better than new. Just make sure you find someone who is very reputable in performing headstock repairs.
koula901 Posted July 31, 2013 Posted July 31, 2013 sorry to hear that, Nacho. Keep us posted on what you end up doing and how this turned out. I, too, wondered if this was a shipping accident, or if you dropped the box.
FredZepp Posted July 31, 2013 Posted July 31, 2013 Hi everybody. I never thought my first post was for asking for help because my great 535 was broken... My guitar box felt down (nothing important) but when I toke the guitar from inside the headstock was fully broken. Can anyone help/assist me how to proceed?? Do you know who I have to talk in Parsons Str. to repair it?? Second question, is what this happen to me usual? I'm shocked because I never though the guitar was so weak (and that the guitar box was so useless....). Thank you very much Yes, a quick google search of Headstock Repair will show you how common it is on guitars with a headstock that angles back ( Gibson , Heritage , etc ) . A good luthier will fix it just fine. Find someone that shows an example of a few they have done that look well done.
smaj Posted July 31, 2013 Posted July 31, 2013 Sorry to hear this, that is why a hardshell case is worth every penny!
SouthpawGuy Posted July 31, 2013 Posted July 31, 2013 Sorry to hear this, that is why a hardshell case is worth every penny! From reading the ops post it sounds to me as if the guitar was in its' hard case ?
111518 Posted July 31, 2013 Posted July 31, 2013 From reading the ops post it sounds to me as if the guitar was in its' hard case ? Although I couldn't prove it statistically, in my experience this is as likely to happen in a hardshell case as in a softshell case or cardboard shipping box, or well padded gig bag. Soft cases absorb the energy of a fall, and just tipping over might leave a dent somewhere but the neck has to hit just right (wrong?) to break the headstock. But, if a hardshell case is at all loose inside, when it hits the floor the shock of the fall is focused on the point where the guitar rests on the neck support and breaks the neck at its weakest point. Same reason shipped guitars arrive with broken headstocks and no other marks --if shipped tuned and with no padding behind the headstock or to tighten the fit of the guitar to case. We've had a couple of discussions about this. Very sorry, Nacho, this has happened to your Heritage. I don't trust cases to protect tuned mahog-neck guitars from shocks --unless they are totally out of traffic, I avoid propping up my guitars such that they have far to fall.
TalismanRich Posted July 31, 2013 Posted July 31, 2013 Several of the members have had headstock repairs done. If done correctly they will be completely stable, although you can still see the scar in most cases. I would start by looking at reputable repair shops in Spain. You probably don't want to ship this thing around the world for a repair.
Hfan Posted July 31, 2013 Posted July 31, 2013 Sorry to hear it. Find a good local guy, properly repaired it will last a life time. There was a thread on another forum asking about how long a repaired headstock will last...many responses from owners of repaired headstocks, no failures and many were very old repairs.
bolero Posted August 1, 2013 Posted August 1, 2013 oh man that's a shame....I agree though, a good headstock repair is as solid & maybe even stronger than the original +1 on finding a good luthier to fix it...at least you live in Spain, I hear they make some nice guitars over there so it shouldn't be too hard to find one
Redsand Posted August 1, 2013 Posted August 1, 2013 Just threw up with sorrow about your loss! Any decent luth will fix it up, try to use this break as a bonding experience with the guitar......I have an old epiphone acoustic that had a headstock injury and its still my main gigging guitar.
Nacho Posted August 1, 2013 Author Posted August 1, 2013 Hi everybody. I never thought my first post was for asking for help because my great 535 was broken... My guitar box felt down (nothing important) but when I toke the guitar from inside the headstock was fully broken. Can anyone help/assist me how to proceed?? Do you know who I have to talk in Parsons Str. to repair it?? Second question, is what this happen to me usual? I'm shocked because I never though the guitar was so weak (and that the guitar box was so useless....). Thank you very much Ouch. Not good. I would use the best local luthier that I could find. The repair will take a long time if you send it to Heritage. And damage from accidents is not covered under warranty. Yes I'm looking the best one. In Barcelona there are some very good ones...but looking at the headstock it seems impossible to repeat it.... Thanks for your post :-)
Nacho Posted August 1, 2013 Author Posted August 1, 2013 Headstock breaks are more common than you might think. A proper glue and tight clamps will make it better than new. Just make sure you find someone who is very reputable in performing headstock repairs. sorry to hear that, Nacho. Keep us posted on what you end up doing and how this turned out. I, too, wondered if this was a shipping accident, or if you dropped the box. Yes, a quick google search of Headstock Repair will show you how common it is on guitars with a headstock that angles back ( Gibson , Heritage , etc ) . A good luthier will fix it just fine. Find someone that shows an example of a few they have done that look well done. From reading the ops post it sounds to me as if the guitar was in its' hard case ? Although I couldn't prove it statistically, in my experience this is as likely to happen in a hardshell case as in a softshell case or cardboard shipping box, or well padded gig bag. Soft cases absorb the energy of a fall, and just tipping over might leave a dent somewhere but the neck has to hit just right (wrong?) to break the headstock. But, if a hardshell case is at all loose inside, when it hits the floor the shock of the fall is focused on the point where the guitar rests on the neck support and breaks the neck at its weakest point. Same reason shipped guitars arrive with broken headstocks and no other marks --if shipped tuned and with no padding behind the headstock or to tighten the fit of the guitar to case. We've had a couple of discussions about this. Very sorry, Nacho, this has happened to your Heritage. I don't trust cases to protect tuned mahog-neck guitars from shocks --unless they are totally out of traffic, I avoid propping up my guitars such that they have far to fall. Several of the members have had headstock repairs done. If done correctly they will be completely stable, although you can still see the scar in most cases. I would start by looking at reputable repair shops in Spain. You probably don't want to ship this thing around the world for a repair. is this a new or used guitar you bought? Sorry to hear it. Find a good local guy, properly repaired it will last a life time. There was a thread on another forum asking about how long a repaired headstock will last...many responses from owners of repaired headstocks, no failures and many were very old repairs. oh man that's a shame....I agree though, a good headstock repair is as solid & maybe even stronger than the original +1 on finding a good luthier to fix it...at least you live in Spain, I hear they make some nice guitars over there so it shouldn't be too hard to find one Just threw up with sorrow about your loss! Any decent luth will fix it up, try to use this break as a bonding experience with the guitar......I have an old epiphone acoustic that had a headstock injury and its still my main gigging guitar. Hi to everybody! I'm really happy to see all of your posts... It helps me a lot, because nobody (either my wife) who's not in this mood can understand how sad someone can feel about a "piece of wood". So thank you to all, really! :-) I'll try to summarize my thoughts relating all of your comments: a/ Yes the guitar was in its original hard case. Brand new, bought it 3 years ago. b/ The hard box was stand on the floor vertically, closed and between a wall and a door. It fell down smoothly (because de door), but it sounded when hitting the floor. c/ I think the problem was to bee too trust the hard box can preserve everything....but a friend told me that better to don't have the strings tight...when you're not playing because the tension on the headstock is huge and this could happen as 111518 commented in the post... d/ I'm lucky because you're right in Spain, and specially in Barcelona are very good Luthiers... I'll fix it up through one (although I sent my query to Heritage with surprising not answer.... !!!!!). e/ Mattjayworker I love your comment :-))) Is true, need to take this as a new experience to feel this guitar more closer to me than before! good point! Well, thank you again to all of you. Happy to be connected. Finally I'm uploading some pictures of the disaster (... ugh!) for you (part of the therapy...) Have a nice day :-) Nacho file://localhost/Users/Nacho1/Desktop/IMG_2005.jpg file://localhost/Users/Nacho1/Desktop/IMG_2002.jpg file://localhost/Users/Nacho1/Desktop/IMG_2003.jpg file://localhost/Users/Nacho1/Desktop/IMG_2004.jpg
HANGAR18 Posted August 1, 2013 Posted August 1, 2013 IMG_2002 low.jpgIMG_2003 low.jpgIMG_2005 low.jpg Yep, that's the risk we assume when we have a 17 degree neck pitch in order to get better performance. Proper glue and tight clamps will make that joint stronger than it was before the break and the guitar will play just fine. The problem is not as big as it looks right now.
golferwave Posted August 1, 2013 Posted August 1, 2013 Welcome to the HOC Nacho! It looks to be a clean and smooth break. A good luthier will make it like new again. I'm very sorry that this happened to you. Ask the luthier if they can take a few pictures during the repair process. I think you will feel better about the strength of the repair if you have pictures. The neck/headstock area will be stronger after the repair. Good luck!
TalismanRich Posted August 1, 2013 Posted August 1, 2013 Nacho, looking at that break, it looks like it will be totally repairable. The wood broke cleanly and the two sides will mate together well. It may not look perfect, but the guitar should play as good as new when they are finished. Many guitars are made with a scarf joint which is where the actual headstock is glued to the neck. They are very strong and completely stable, Good luck, and let us know how it things turn out.
Nacho Posted August 1, 2013 Author Posted August 1, 2013 Yep, that's the risk we assume when we have a 17 degree neck pitch in order to get better performance. Proper glue and tight clamps will make that joint stronger than it was before the break and the guitar will play just fine. The problem is not as big as it looks right now. Yep, that's the risk we assume when we have a 17 degree neck pitch in order to get better performance. Proper glue and tight clamps will make that joint stronger than it was before the break and the guitar will play just fine. The problem is not as big as it looks right now. OK Thanks a lot Hangar18 :-)
Nacho Posted August 1, 2013 Author Posted August 1, 2013 Nacho, looking at that break, it looks like it will be totally repairable. The wood broke cleanly and the two sides will mate together well. It may not look perfect, but the guitar should play as good as new when they are finished. Many guitars are made with a scarf joint which is where the actual headstock is glued to the neck. They are very strong and completely stable, Good luck, and let us know how it things turn out. Hi Tallsmanrich Thank you for the advice and for the comments + drawings. Got it! I'll keep you posted when repair it :-)
Nacho Posted August 1, 2013 Author Posted August 1, 2013 Welcome to the HOC Nacho! It looks to be a clean and smooth break. A good luthier will make it like new again. I'm very sorry that this happened to you. Ask the luthier if they can take a few pictures during the repair process. I think you will feel better about the strength of the repair if you have pictures. The neck/headstock area will be stronger after the repair. Good luck! Hi Golferwave, thanks for your words. This is a great idea thank you!2! I'll ask for the pictures, and I'll also post them here. best+tk care :-)
Nacho Posted August 1, 2013 Author Posted August 1, 2013 is this a new or used guitar you bought? Brentrocks is a brand new one (2010 and mint condition)
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