This is the second LP I've played with a repaired headstock that sounds incredible. I've talked with others who said the same thing. I cracked the headstock off of a USA Jackson Custom Soloist back in 1992. I took it to a Cleveland area luthier to have it repaired, and I swear the guitar sounded 110% better after the repair. Any ideas why this is?
Played a LP Standard with a repaired neck today... Wow!
- Thread starter 67Mopar
- Start date
shupe13
New member
Re: Played a LP Standard with a repaired neck today... Wow!
Possiblity more mass in the neck/headstock?
Sent from my REVVLPLUS C3701A using Tapatalk
Possiblity more mass in the neck/headstock?
Sent from my REVVLPLUS C3701A using Tapatalk
ICTGoober
Well-known member
Re: Played a LP Standard with a repaired neck today... Wow!
I've heard several theories advanced through the decades...
One is that when the neck was one piece - it resonated at a certain frequency.
Once repaired, the two pieces now resonate at 2 different frequencies that reinforce each other....
And another is that during the repair, a certain amount of voids was introduced due to wood loss (chips and so on removed so the 2 pieces fit back together). And the voids added resonance...
In fact, Loverboy guitarist Paul Dean used to claim that some of his guitars with broken necks sounded better after repairs were made, and he experimented by breaking the necks of some of his guitars and repairing them. So... when Hondo marketed a Paul Dean model (actually a decent guitar, and quite rare), Paul asked Hondo to rout slots in the maple shaft of the neck running alongside the truss rod creating the first "chambered" neck way back in the 80's!
Billy Gibbons has a Tele made by his luthier - John Bolin - that has chambers in the body, the neck shaft - even the peghead. It's supposed to weigh only a few pounds, and we know Billy pretty much invented tone. He wouldn't play it if it sounded bad.
So, anyway - food for thought.
I've heard several theories advanced through the decades...
One is that when the neck was one piece - it resonated at a certain frequency.
Once repaired, the two pieces now resonate at 2 different frequencies that reinforce each other....
And another is that during the repair, a certain amount of voids was introduced due to wood loss (chips and so on removed so the 2 pieces fit back together). And the voids added resonance...
In fact, Loverboy guitarist Paul Dean used to claim that some of his guitars with broken necks sounded better after repairs were made, and he experimented by breaking the necks of some of his guitars and repairing them. So... when Hondo marketed a Paul Dean model (actually a decent guitar, and quite rare), Paul asked Hondo to rout slots in the maple shaft of the neck running alongside the truss rod creating the first "chambered" neck way back in the 80's!
Billy Gibbons has a Tele made by his luthier - John Bolin - that has chambers in the body, the neck shaft - even the peghead. It's supposed to weigh only a few pounds, and we know Billy pretty much invented tone. He wouldn't play it if it sounded bad.
So, anyway - food for thought.
Chistopher
malapterurus electricus tonewood instigator
Re: Played a LP Standard with a repaired neck today... Wow!
Also, if you have a Gibson neck repaired at the spot where they usually need to be (near the headstock), they will likely never break again.
Also, if you have a Gibson neck repaired at the spot where they usually need to be (near the headstock), they will likely never break again.
Re: Played a LP Standard with a repaired neck today... Wow!
Interesting. With my Jackson, I immediately noticed a dramatic increase in sustain. I traded with a friend for a Gibson Les Paul Classic, which I still regret doing. He still has it, but isn't willing to part with it.
Re: Played a LP Standard with a repaired neck today... Wow!
I'm talking about repaired headstocks, not broken headstocks.
Re: Played a LP Standard with a repaired neck today... Wow!
Granted, I didnt phrase my comment as well as I should have. Let me try again ...
Or, maybe it's just a rationalized defense mechanism that makes people with a guitar that had a broken headstock feel better about the guitar with it's repaired headstock ...
Granted, I didnt phrase my comment as well as I should have. Let me try again ...
Or, maybe it's just a rationalized defense mechanism that makes people with a guitar that had a broken headstock feel better about the guitar with it's repaired headstock ...
Re: Played a LP Standard with a repaired neck today... Wow!
Why would someone need to "feel better" about a guitar with a repaired headstock?
L
Little Pigbacon
Guest
Re: Played a LP Standard with a repaired neck today... Wow!
I think some people might worry that it won’t be stable or stay in tune, or that it might never sound as good again.
I think some people might worry that it won’t be stable or stay in tune, or that it might never sound as good again.
Re: Played a LP Standard with a repaired neck today... Wow!
I'm not sure how many assumptions that are present in the minds of strangers......but it is a fairly well known fact through many tests that (good) glue joins are way stronger than the original wood grain. Its fair to say any repairer would know it, and typically this sort of info is almost universally relayed onto clients who would naturally worry about whether any repair would hold. So to assume people are thinking that the tone shift is merely a perceptive compensation is more likely false than valid.
The issue many thinking people would have with the 'better tone after a break' theory, is that it typically is weeks to months between break and returned repair.....especially if nitro touchup is needed. As many people seem to find tonal variance between a rig from one day to another (not only ears and perception, but environmental conditions are guaranteed variables), trying to remember a guitar from so long ago and compare it to now, where it has most likely needed/had a full setup and fretdress plus fresh strings is a long bow to draw.
I'm not sure how many assumptions that are present in the minds of strangers......but it is a fairly well known fact through many tests that (good) glue joins are way stronger than the original wood grain. Its fair to say any repairer would know it, and typically this sort of info is almost universally relayed onto clients who would naturally worry about whether any repair would hold. So to assume people are thinking that the tone shift is merely a perceptive compensation is more likely false than valid.
The issue many thinking people would have with the 'better tone after a break' theory, is that it typically is weeks to months between break and returned repair.....especially if nitro touchup is needed. As many people seem to find tonal variance between a rig from one day to another (not only ears and perception, but environmental conditions are guaranteed variables), trying to remember a guitar from so long ago and compare it to now, where it has most likely needed/had a full setup and fretdress plus fresh strings is a long bow to draw.
Re: Played a LP Standard with a repaired neck today... Wow!
I'm sure some people would be fine with the repair. Other people would be bothered by knowing that they had a repaired headstock.
But the idea that was being pushed is a generalization that guitars with repaired headstocks sound better than they did before the headstock break. I don't know how many theories there are on why that would could be the case but one of them would be that the owner of the guitar with the repaired headstock could be rationalizing. If the owner is someone who is bothered by the break/repair, he or she may rationalize that the guitar sounds better after the repair when it really doesn't.
ps. I'm not really sure why that required explanation but there is was.
I'm sure some people would be fine with the repair. Other people would be bothered by knowing that they had a repaired headstock.
But the idea that was being pushed is a generalization that guitars with repaired headstocks sound better than they did before the headstock break. I don't know how many theories there are on why that would could be the case but one of them would be that the owner of the guitar with the repaired headstock could be rationalizing. If the owner is someone who is bothered by the break/repair, he or she may rationalize that the guitar sounds better after the repair when it really doesn't.
ps. I'm not really sure why that required explanation but there is was.
Re: Played a LP Standard with a repaired neck today... Wow!
I'm someone who would be bothered by the break and repair. Granted, the more visible the repair, the more it would probably bother me. On the other hand, I don't believe that I would convince myself (nor need to) that the guitar sounded better in order to deal with the fact that it was repaired. If just the fact that it was repaired continued to bother me I would unload the guitar. However, everyone is different. You may think that I'm nuts because I may have OCD over a neck break/repair. Already being well aware that a properly done repair is stronger at the repair site than it was originally wouldn't help me. A Luthier telling me the same wouldn't make a lick of difference (especially seeing how I am already aware of it). That said, some people would most definitely believe that the guitar sounds better as a mechanism to rationalize the fact that the break/repair bothers them. What percentage or people? Who knows. But some people would. It's just human nature. We rationalize all types of things, often unaware of doing so.
I'm someone who would be bothered by the break and repair. Granted, the more visible the repair, the more it would probably bother me. On the other hand, I don't believe that I would convince myself (nor need to) that the guitar sounded better in order to deal with the fact that it was repaired. If just the fact that it was repaired continued to bother me I would unload the guitar. However, everyone is different. You may think that I'm nuts because I may have OCD over a neck break/repair. Already being well aware that a properly done repair is stronger at the repair site than it was originally wouldn't help me. A Luthier telling me the same wouldn't make a lick of difference (especially seeing how I am already aware of it). That said, some people would most definitely believe that the guitar sounds better as a mechanism to rationalize the fact that the break/repair bothers them. What percentage or people? Who knows. But some people would. It's just human nature. We rationalize all types of things, often unaware of doing so.
JamesPaul
Well-known member
Re: Played a LP Standard with a repaired neck today... Wow!
I do not see myself ever damaging/breaking a headstock/neck to improve an instrument's tone. However, I have heard a handful of instruments with repaired necks. I do not recall any tonal differences from those instruments which made me think the headstock/neck had been previously broken.
I also remember seeing Greeny for sale on Maverick Music's site for $2 million USD. So there is at least one example where the break also did nothing to decrease the instrument's value.
I do not see myself ever damaging/breaking a headstock/neck to improve an instrument's tone. However, I have heard a handful of instruments with repaired necks. I do not recall any tonal differences from those instruments which made me think the headstock/neck had been previously broken.
I also remember seeing Greeny for sale on Maverick Music's site for $2 million USD. So there is at least one example where the break also did nothing to decrease the instrument's value.
Re: Played a LP Standard with a repaired neck today... Wow!
So there we have it. Kirk rationalizes away the fact that the break/repair bothers him by convincing himself that the guitar sounds better.
So there we have it. Kirk rationalizes away the fact that the break/repair bothers him by convincing himself that the guitar sounds better.
RorySquier
New member
Re: Played a LP Standard with a repaired neck today... Wow!
I broke the head-stock on my Gibson SG many years ago and had it professionally repaired for about $200. I must say it sounds good if not better.
;>)/
I broke the head-stock on my Gibson SG many years ago and had it professionally repaired for about $200. I must say it sounds good if not better.
;>)/
Chistopher
malapterurus electricus tonewood instigator
Re: Played a LP Standard with a repaired neck today... Wow!
Oh yeah? Well I broke the headstock of my Epi SL, and after I fixed it, it still sounded like garbage. That was with a nice cleaning/oiling of the fretboard and a fret crown and polish.
Oh yeah? Well I broke the headstock of my Epi SL, and after I fixed it, it still sounded like garbage. That was with a nice cleaning/oiling of the fretboard and a fret crown and polish.
RorySquier
New member
Re: Played a LP Standard with a repaired neck today... Wow!
You should always get a professional to do head-stock repairs.
;>)/
You should always get a professional to do head-stock repairs.
;>)/
Chistopher
malapterurus electricus tonewood instigator
Re: Played a LP Standard with a repaired neck today... Wow!
It still works, and worse case scenario I was only out a single bill.
You should always get a professional to do head-stock repairs.
;>)/
It still works, and worse case scenario I was only out a single bill.