Les Paul with headstock repair value?

[Securb]

If you buy it and want to sell later you're looking at 50% less or more of what it would be without a neck repair.

Depends on the quality of the repair and the model of the guitar.

[ICTGoober]

A repaired guitar (especially a broken headstock repair) is often BETTER than original. So unless we are talking a collectible, I see no reason for ding the price on a used guitar. If you want to be a jerk - 10% discount, but not 50. That's just stupid.

[jeremy]

i agree a well repaired guitar is as good, maybe better, but i dont agree that it doesnt effect price. 50% is ridiculous for a good repair but 10-20% is a reality.

like most things, it comes down to how much you want that guitar. i dont see a well done repair as being an issue so if the price is good and its the guitar you want, go for it. if you arent sure you will keep it, then make sure you can get what you pay for it back when you sell

[formula73]

Definition of luthier: A skilled craftsman who makes or repairs stringed musical instruments. A tech might do setups or work on electronics.

Well I guess I’m a luthier.

[GuitarStv]

Well I guess I’m a luthier.

Me too. Seems like a low bar.

[ehdwuld]

I think the OP was looking for a number value as he would be taking it in trade for something he owns and values

I am not sure what the average value of the guitar without the repair.
But like they said whatever the market is for that year and model and condition minus 10% should be the ballpark

[Mincer]

Not being a luthier, I always wondered if the snapping off of a headstock turns up more on the tiltback Gibson design than any other. If it does, I wonder why that design hadn't been changes or reinforced (not just adding more wood) since this started happening. As someone who doesn't repair guitars, I only hear about Gibson's heads snapping off. Is it a design flaw? Or are people just less careful with a more substantial guitar?

[ICTGoober]

Please note the Peavey bass pix.... NOT a tiltback design. I've fixed Music Mans with broken pegheads, Gibsons of all stripes, Fenders, PRS, Martins.... They all break, and I don't believe that one brand is more prone to breakage over another because they all get broken in different ways. I fixed a Les Paul that was in the case on the edge, and it fell over about 8 inches - broke the peghead. That was negligible pressure. Yet I've seen stuff tossed in the air, and come down on the neck and barely be out of tune. There is no hard and fast rule on breakage or survival.

[man-in-moon]

Thanks guys I have seen a lot of headstock breaks over the years and had 2 myself. I’m going to check the guitar out tomorrow and see what I think of it otherwise. I did some looking on reverb and 90’s les Paul’s wirh more wear but minus the headstock repair seem to be going for $2400 and up.
I know they say 90’s were the good years for Gibson but I didn’t expect to see prices like that. Are the higher prices because of the better quality and are they considered vintage now?

[AlexR]

As well as the headstock angle, the carved top and the necessary neck angle is a contributing factor....almost moreso as even with no headstock tilt it would still land first in a fall. The glued neck also means that you cannot easily replace a neck as the Fender ethos allowed for.
But the biggest issue is neglect or abuse.

Gibsons are indeed more rooted in a 'gentler past' when it comes to design. It represents an era when musicians inhabited more refined arenas, but also where they had more respect for their instruments.
Even in the 70's, the typical gig was more likely to be in the worst of the dingy watering holes, and the growing consumer society allowed for mass purchase of what was once a luxury item. It has long been a perfect storm for damage.

[AlexR]

I know they say 90’s were the good years for Gibson but I didn’t expect to see prices like that. Are the higher prices because of the better quality and are they considered vintage now?

That 90's good wood era is the worst kind of nonsense.
There is no wood selection criteria that makes for a better sounding guitar. They select for cosmetic things like grain straightness and blemishes like knots or colour....but also there might be a board weight upper cutoff. But you can get awesome sounding guitars both heavy and light.....so its not like the heavier it is the worse it sounds. And those 90's ones can be some right boat anchors just like the 70's and 80's - and thats even counting the weight relief they all had.
Vintage is also a meaningless word to apply. If you are into guitars, and Fender and Gibson in particular, vintage has already been appropriated as a fixed meaning for the masses - its a cutoff of the 1965/66 CBS era for Fender, and the Dec 1969 Norlin takeover of Gibson.

[Adieu]

90s totally had better wood

70s-80s used boat anchor crap and changed recipes, and current stuff uses REALLY low end wood on anything that isn't astronomically expensive

[ICTGoober]

You better define "low end wood" because that could mean almost anything.

[NegativeEase]

Definition of luthier: A skilled craftsman who makes or repairs stringed musical instruments. A tech might do setups or work on electronics.

Hell, I guess I'm a Luthier -who knew -I've fixed Gibby Headstocks for 30 years -I've done some that are almost invisible -especially a Nighthawk I repaired.

[eclecticsynergy]

When it comes to Les Paul headstock breaks some factors are obvious, like location/severity of the break, and quality/visibility of the repair.

One thing that isn't as readily apparent is that a neck repair often affects the feel and even the tone.

An upside is that often the guitars sound brighter afterward. I know of at least a couple of players who liked the tone better after a neck repair, with nothing else on their guitars having been altered. Often a repaired headstock can be stronger than it was originally too.

A downside is, that same extra rigidity can make a guitar feel stiffer and less lively; that's quite important to me personally. A great quality headstock repair made one of my LPs require significantly higher volume levels before it came alive. That one never quite felt the same and I eventually sold it.

I bought one LP Standard with a previous headstock repair that's nearly invisible. Won't show up in a photo I and can only find it by looking at just the right angle in full sunlight. (It's only easy to see if you take off the truss rod cover.) This guitar plays nicely and feels just fine but it is quite bright. The bridge position Burstbucker 2 was so harsh I had to change it out. PRS 59/09 gave it better body but was a little too aggressive. Finally tried a Rewind Creme Brulee; that sweetened it up beautifully.