I broke my Les Paul!!!!

[horaholic]

I moved my guitar stand a few feet last night, and I dont know what happened, but I walked away, and the damn thing fell overand broke the headstock clean off. It is a reasonably clean break though, so it wont be super hard to fix, but it still sucks anus!

It looks very similar to this: les paul

 

[FireOnTheMountain]

Oh dear...Is it an epiphone or a true gibson?

 

[horaholic]

luckily, its only an Epi. I did hotrod the electronics, and put some good pickups in it though, so it sounds about as good as a real gibson, but it doesnt play quit as good. A friend of a friend is a certified gibson luthier, and he took a look at my guitar once, and says, it might as well be a real gibson.

My buddy had a 58' les paul junior, and broke the headstock off it. He had it repaired, but said it never quite sounded the same. That guitar would be worth 5 grand these days, too.

 

[penkitten]

damnit jim!

 

[WhitePimp]

If the cut's not too bad you might be able to super glue it back on...my brother did that to a Gibson and it was completely normal afterwards

 

[horaholic]

Today I researched headstock repair, went and bought a couple clamps and some tite-bond, injected glue into the stress cracks on the neck, and clamped it for a few hours. Then I filed a few of the straggler wood grains, and glued and clamped the headstock back on. It fits almost perfect. Just now I sanded the wood filler I put in the gouges, and cracks, and so far it is smooth, and nice. Tomorrow, I will try to find an airbrush, to spray some black over the wood filler, then spray a few clear coats on the damaged areas. I'm pretty sure it will be good as new, when Im done. I am a painter, so I am good at fixing stuff like this.

 

[PhunGar]

lucky its a epi
if you hot rodded electronics you can easily remove them no big loss
i know ppl taht have broken 3000 accoustics
so no big deal its prob not worth the effort to glue
you might not get it right etc angle etc
but its worht a shot
it depends where it got hit

 

[search1ng]

what is hot-rodding an acoustic mean? I play a semi-acoustic guitar and all this jargon is confusing... Also, what's a nice guitar brand? I'm still using an Ashton. It's decent but i want something with orgasmic sound.

 

[horaholic]

lucky its a epi
if you hot rodded electronics you can easily remove them no big loss
i know ppl taht have broken 3000 accoustics
so no big deal its prob not worth the effort to glue
you might not get it right etc angle etc
but its worht a shot
it depends where it got hit

Like I said, its a nice, clean break, so it was really easy to glue back together, and apparently they're stronger after this happens, as it is a very common thing for Les Pauls, so It should be fine. I'll post after pics, when I refinish the damage. My break was exactly like the picture up top. It fit together really nice.

Searching: You hot-rod electrics, not acoustics. What this means is I have an Epiphone Les Paul. It was 500, compared to 1500, or more dollars, for a true Gibson. a few of the differences between mine and a gibson are: lesser quality tone, and volume controls, and capacitors. Lesser quality pickups, and lesser quality tuning pegs, and head nut (where the strings go through on the top of the neck. Quality guitars have bone nuts, generic guitars have plastic). I hot-rodded mine with better electronics, bone nut, and high quality pickups. My tuning pegs work just fine, so I didnt touch them. Sound quality wise, it compares to a Gibson. I need to get it professionally 'set up', so it doesnt play as easily as a Gibson, yet. After that, the only difference will be the wood that its made of (which is still good wood, but not as good as a Gibson), and the Name. Epiphones are also machine made in China, while Gibsons are more hand made, in America. Personnally, I dont think that has any effect on sound or action, but of course American is better.

I cant give any advice on acoustics, personally.

 

[dj_jazzybrad]

That sucks bro, I hope it turns out to be an easy fix.
I have two les pauls, a gibson supreme with blonde natural maple finish and an epiphone les paul custom "black beauty", I love both to death. I can't compare them to my strat, they're just a different guitar for different styles. But funny story: I also have an original 69 Fender Twin Reverb that I bought off of a friend for $200 (total steal, the amp is worth a TON). I leant it to a friend who played a bass through it. Blew two output tubes (original tubes) and both Celestions (also original). I was angry. It'll never sound the same ):

 

[horaholic]

bummer about the twin reverb! So far so good with my repairs. I got some automotive clear coat, and am putting soats of black,a nd sanding, until the cracks are invisible. Im almost there. I need to be more patient though! I keep trying to sand before its totally dry.

 

[horaholic]

Update:I glued the stress cracks in the neck first, and clamped it together, then I glued the headstock back on. Then, I sanded the racks and gouges, and wood fillered the cracks and gouges, and sanded again. I had no other option but to use black spraypaint over the damaged areas, then a spray can of automotive clear coat on top of that. After a lot of trial and error, I realized the blacks would not match up, so I masked off the body, and sprayed the whole neck with the black, and had to spray right over the emblems on the headstock ,and clear coated it a bunch of times. Then, I wet sanded with 600, 1000, 1500, and 2000 grit sandpaper, and polished it with rubbing compound thoroughly. It is super smooth, and shiny, but I can still see sanding marks really close up, but Im gonna let it go, at least for now. maybe someday, I will get some 2500, and finer paper, and try to make it glass. I cant see any remnants of the break at all, so Im pretty proud of myself. The finish isnt perfect, but its damn close, and I wasnt expecting it to be either. The untrained eye will not be able to distinguish my repairs, so thats good enough. I'd post pics, but my camera phone sucks, and thats all I have.

I even gave her a thorough fret sand and polish too, and yesterday I strung her up, and I played her at practice last night. It stays in tune just fine so far, and the sound quality is the same as ever. It might be my imagination, but my low E sound seems just a hair less bright and twangy than I like it to be, but I also switched to lighter strings lately too, so it might just be that.

So, hell, I fixed it all by myself, and Im pretty happy with the results. I also just mounted a few wall hangers for my guitars, so this wont ever happen again. Im definitely getting a strat next, or maybe a tele. I borrowed a friend s strat, and I LOVE the way it plays and sounds, but my Les is damn good too.