Is the myth of the Les Paul headstock true?

[Jessie's ghost]

Re: Is the myth of the Les Paul headstock true?

Some have claimed to see Gibson headstocks break from just lying them gently down on a bed, but I suspect they were thinking of their grandmothers. Others have told me that the reason my Flying V hasn't broken yet is because I never take it out of the case. (Actually, it was the same troll both times, but never mind.)

Henry & Friends still make the headstocks that way for (inarguably) vintage cred and (arguably) tone. The way I see it, a Porsche is going to break if you slam it into a retaining wall. So don't slam it into a retaining wall. Or just drive a dump truck instead.

 

[Jessie's ghost]

Re: Is the myth of the Les Paul headstock true?

Gibson don't use a scarf joint on their headstocks.

Most Epis do, and a lot of other LP copies do. That may be where the confusion comes in. I've seen people lamenting the "poor Gibson headstock design", then their pics show an Epiphone with a scarf joint and a break that looks very little like a typical Gibson break.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Is the myth of the Les Paul headstock true?

I keep hearing people say that Les Paul headstocks break easily. I've had a LP Studio for five years now and the headstock is still intact. Where did this myth come from? How true is this myth or is it just isolated incidents exaggerated by haters?

I think you have to have a mechanical impact to break it, but maybe I'm wrong.

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: Is the myth of the Les Paul headstock true?

I dropped my Chinese made ES-335 Dot from wearing it with a strap, at exactly the right angle for maximum damage, and it didn't break.

You don't understand, I NAILED it. Like, violently.

The strap came off the neck side strap button, and the guitar's neck dove for the floor, pivoting about the butt side strap pin, where I grabbed it. Imagine an axe chopping into a block of wood, now imagine the head of that axe was the headstock of this Dot.

I was afraid to look down, because I was 100% sure that it was going to be broken. Like, really - I was totally sure.

Welp, it's still in one piece, and I no longer fear Gibson headstocks. Simple as that.

-Hunter

P.S. Every piece of wood is different. Yeah, I know. We get it.

 

[marvelous_seven]

Re: Is the myth of the Les Paul headstock true?

I think that guy is orpheo?
You know,the guy that has a jaw-dropping collection of Warmoth LPs. IIRC he said he'd never have any Gibson.

 

[formula73]

Re: Is the myth of the Les Paul headstock true?

I dropped my Chinese made ES-335 Dot from wearing it with a strap, at exactly the right angle for maximum damage, and it didn't break.

You don't understand, I NAILED it. Like, violently.

The strap came off the neck side strap button, and the guitar's neck dove for the floor, pivoting about the butt side strap pin, where I grabbed it. Imagine an axe chopping into a block of wood, now imagine the head of that axe was the headstock of this Dot.

I was afraid to look down, because I was 100% sure that it was going to be broken. Like, really - I was totally sure.

Welp, it's still in one piece, and I no longer fear Gibson headstocks. Simple as that.

-Hunter

P.S. Every piece of wood is different. Yeah, I know. We get it.

I did this same thing with an 80 Dean ML series 2 hs, the king of breaks, right down onto a concrete garage floor. Like you, I was afraid to look, but it wasn't broken. All it did was crack the finish around the treble side of the neck joint. I was floored. That day, however, saw straplocks on it just as soon as i could get to the store. About a year later, my buddy managed to stick the hs up in a ceiling fan on 'high' hard enough to bend the hell out of the blade's bracket and loosen a couple screws.

The Dean? Fine. I think some individual guitars, design flaws or no, are just too tough to die.

 

[Kam]

Re: Is the myth of the Les Paul headstock true?

No, it was an English guy called John_L.

Despite his quirks, I thought he was a decent guy. Some of his rants got tiring but he made some great posts around here. Pretty decent taste in music, too.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Is the myth of the Les Paul headstock true?

any guitar with an angled headstock has the same issue. So what?
No one here has actually broken one have they?

+1. All my guitars have angled headstocks, and I've never broken, or even cracked one. Take care of your stuff and it lasts. Drop them or leave them laying on the floor, and an angled headstock will be one of the first things to break.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Is the myth of the Les Paul headstock true?

it's not really a problem unless you're swinging the thing around, dropping it constantly, or leaving it propped in stupid places! I love how people blame their inability to care for their own equipment on poor design.

Exactly! Maybe Fenders take more abuse (and you can replace the neck when you break it!), but that isn't the real reason why you have a guitar in the first place: to see how much damage it can take before disentigrating. If 'abuse threshold' is a primary consideration in your guitar selection, you probably shouldnt get behind the wheel of a car, at least not when anyone else is on the road.

 

[mwalluk]

Re: Is the myth of the Les Paul headstock true?

You guys are all missing the point!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You have to fill the Chambered Les Paul with LEAD before the headstock spontaneously breaks off......... Jeez, get the order straight.

 

[KeeperOS]

Re: Is the myth of the Les Paul headstock true?

OK, I really don't get why this got as far as it has.

Check pandroid's post. That photo explains it pretty well why the headstock of a REAL Gibson is its' weak point. A scarf joint, a volute or even a freakin' two-piece neck with opposing grain would have made it stronger, but that's NOT how the people that actually BUY Gibsons want it to be. They want it how it was originally made. Cause that's Mojo or sth.

So, the way I see it you have two choices, either get a Gibson COPY (I've read than even Epis have gotten this part right) and be over with it or, you know, actually TAKE CARE of your Gibson.
It's a weak point but it ain't gonna snap just by LOOKING at it y'know...

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Is the myth of the Les Paul headstock true?

Gibson headstocks are like testicles.

 

[orpheo]

Re: Is the myth of the Les Paul headstock true?

I think that guy is orpheo?
You know,the guy that has a jaw-dropping collection of Warmoth LPs. IIRC he said he'd never have any Gibson.

Uhm,no it ain't me. I have 2 Gibsons in my stable right now, and have owned 25 gibsons so far. The only reason I won't a Gibson anytime soon is simple. They don't give me what I want, nor how I want it.

Please, don't point fingers if you only know nothing about me.

On topic: I agree its a weaker spot, a scarf joint or multilam neck with volute and shallower headstock angle are better designs, but it all boils down to 1 thing. Be careful with your stuff! Most likely, it will outlast you if you treat the instruments well.

 

[Edgecrusher]

Re: Is the myth of the Les Paul headstock true?

Gibson headstocks are like testicles.

Ones a necessity twos a privilege?

 

[MetalManiac]

Re: Is the myth of the Les Paul headstock true?

The Volute was a ludicrous idea..and actually made things almost worse, and if you wanna know what *I think; If you LOOK at a les Paul wrong the headstock will snap. There.

 

[BloodRose]

Re: Is the myth of the Les Paul headstock true?

Ones a necessity twos a privilege?

No, they take a licking, but it takes a hard blow to take em off.




hahahahah

 

[formula73]

Re: Is the myth of the Les Paul headstock true?

You guys are all missing the point!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You have to fill the Chambered Les Paul with LEAD before the headstock spontaneously breaks off......... Jeez, get the order straight.

Jesus...I forgot about that guy...

 

[metlking]

Re: Is the myth of the Les Paul headstock true?

Don't believe eveything you read, especially on the interwebz......

I've owned at least 30 Gibsons in my time, 20 or so being Les Pauls. I gig regularly and I'm not exactly gentle (or sober) with them. I've dropped them, bumped them and even had 3 in the trunk of a car that got totaled in a severe accident. I've used the neck as a tremolo bar and had straplocks fail, dropping the guitar, headstock first, to the ground at a sharp angle.......

Whats even worse than the above abuse? I'VE SHIPPED WITH UPS!

I've never had one break, not even crack...not once.

The only thing I've ever broken on any guitar is a string....

 

[Zerberus]

Re: Is the myth of the Les Paul headstock true?

Is it true that an angled piece of wood can break if it falls over the right way?

Yes.

Is it true that having tension on that piece of wood going away from the apex significantly increases the chance of something breaking in that situation?

Yes.

Is the latter the exact case with almost any guitar, lute, violin, contrabass or other stringed instrument with a neck?

Yes

As a logical result, are necked stringed instruments therefore especially vulnerable to breaking if they fall over?

Yes

Are Gibsons necked stringed instruments?

For the most part, yes.

Are Gibson´s designs significantly different from any other manufacturer in this regard and therefore more vulnerable, for example the imported 1:1 Gibson copies?

NO

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: Is the myth of the Les Paul headstock true?

I say it's not a myth. I currently own two Supremes with headstocks that were broken in shipping from the factory and repaired before I got them. Good repairs; still great guitars.

But, it was such a common thing that a upstart guy named Leo Fender decided to make his guitars with screw-on necks that one, were cheaper to manufacture and assemble; and two, were EASY to take off and replace should a break occur; and three, made of maple, a stronger wood than the gibson mahogany neck.

The big thing about a Gibson neck is that when it breaks, you're stuck with it. Taking a neck off a Les Paul and getting it back on right is difficult at least and expensive at best. Hence, many Gibson guitars with broken headstocks.

Bill