Les Paul Neck Cracks?

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mightywarlock

mightywarlock

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I see this all the time, and I simply don't understand it...

Why are there so many Les Pauls with cracked headstocks, or folks who have repaired them and want to sell them all messed up?

I understand there is a weak point on the neck at the headstock, but I've had les paul's for years, and simply don't understand, since they really seems like very solid guitars.
can folks be dropping them on their headstocks?
are they banging into things, wacking the headstock into something hard that cracks it?

what gives here?
 
mightywarlock":3sp7gzyr said:
I see this all the time, and I simply don't understand it...

Why are there so many Les Pauls with cracked headstocks, or folks who have repaired them and want to sell them all messed up?

I understand there is a weak point on the neck at the headstock, but I've had les paul's for years, and simply don't understand, since they really seems like very solid guitars.
can folks be dropping them on their headstocks?
are they banging into things, wacking the headstock into something hard that cracks it?

what gives here?
Click to expand...

We honestly repair about 5 Gibson headstocks every single month, it's so common. You mentioned the weak point, and that's due to the tilted back headstock design. That weak point takes all the shock anytime the guitar falls, forward or backward. Also, 95% of the LP breaks you see have mahogany necks. Mahogany is much weaker than maple and much easier to crack or break. I just think that normal falls, bumps or abuse that most guitars take with no problem ends up breaking the headstock on LP's.
 
I had a Heritahe LP years ago. I was at band practice and between songs i yawned and stretched straight up. My front strap lock popped off and the headstock took a nosedive onto a concrete floor and the headstock nearly broke off. I was really suprised at how bad the crack was.
 
part 0f why we see s0 many headst0ck breaks is because 0f gibs0ns headst0ck pitch angle which puts al0t 0f string tensi0n and why gibs0n d0esnt need t0 use string trees like fender etc. The headst0ck angle pitch is als0 1 reas0n why they have such nice sustain. I w0uld see al0t 0f breaks especially 0n 70's l.p. deluxes as I think the 3 piece neck might have s0mething t0 d0 with this als0, as c0mpared t0 the 1 piece mah0gany. i pers0nally never w0uld buy a lp with a headst0ck break as it w0uld b0ther me and als0 the resale value gets killed. It is said by s0me that a pr0perly repaired headst0ck is actually str0nger then when new, I still w0uld rather n0t b0ther with it.
 
I know a few people with repaired headstocks on their LP's and actually just traded for one myself. And like joepete said, they're often stronger after the repair. At least what I've heard and my local luthier confirms. As long as the repair is done right, I have no problems with it. Hell, guitars fall and sometimes they break... fix it. It's just a guitar!
 
joepete77":eo54pbkw said:
part 0f why we see s0 many headst0ck breaks is because 0f gibs0ns headst0ck pitch angle which puts al0t 0f string tensi0n and why gibs0n d0esnt need t0 use string trees like fender etc. The headst0ck angle pitch is als0 1 reas0n why they have such nice sustain. I w0uld see al0t 0f breaks especially 0n 70's l.p. deluxes as I think the 3 piece neck might have s0mething t0 d0 with this als0, as c0mpared t0 the 1 piece mah0gany. i pers0nally never w0uld buy a lp with a headst0ck break as it w0uld b0ther me and als0 the resale value gets killed. It is said by s0me that a pr0perly repaired headst0ck is actually str0nger then when new, I still w0uld rather n0t b0ther with it.
Click to expand...

Get a new keyboard dude!
 
Another thing I've seen people do is grab the headstock and bend it while they're holding a note to simulate a small dive a la Randy Rhoads. Actually I think I recall watching some video on youtube with a guy (Andy Aledort maybe :confused: ) talking about snapping off his headstock like that.
 
Nico":345rhh4a said:
joepete77":345rhh4a said:
part 0f why we see s0 many headst0ck breaks is because 0f gibs0ns headst0ck pitch angle which puts al0t 0f string tensi0n and why gibs0n d0esnt need t0 use string trees like fender etc. The headst0ck angle pitch is als0 1 reas0n why they have such nice sustain. I w0uld see al0t 0f breaks especially 0n 70's l.p. deluxes as I think the 3 piece neck might have s0mething t0 d0 with this als0, as c0mpared t0 the 1 piece mah0gany. i pers0nally never w0uld buy a lp with a headst0ck break as it w0uld b0ther me and als0 the resale value gets killed. It is said by s0me that a pr0perly repaired headst0ck is actually str0nger then when new, I still w0uld rather n0t b0ther with it.
Click to expand...

Get a new keyboard dude!
Click to expand...

Seriously, JoePete... you're contributing well thought out information here, and I can barely read it cuz it makes my eyes do this: :shocked:

Post a WTB in the classifieds, I bet someone's got a keyboard they'll give you for free!
 
sometimes you can grab really good deals with repaired vintage les pauls
I saw a repaired 1971 gold top/mahogany back deluxe converted to humbuckers for like $1400 on ebay a couple months ago
that guitar looked sweet and I wouldn't think twice if I had the cash :inlove:

I have a non-repaired '73 les paul custom that has a mild headstock crack in the neck volute
it looks like a very old crack (probably over 20 years), cause the finish aged around the crack
it's my favorite guitar and it doesn't bother me, except for the constant paranoia that I'm gonna slam it to mic stand or a wall, but a non-cracked les paul would break the same way

most of the famous les paul artists that have traditional mahogany neck les pauls (which excludes any common les paul model from late '75 to '83) have repaired guitars, mostly with actually several breaks along the neck, and they're usually their favorites
slash's '59 les paul replicas, zakk wylde's rebel, jerry cantrell's cream cigarrette burnt "cheetah" les paul custom, james hetfield's iron cross, billy howerdel's cinnamonburst classic, buzz osborne's '91 custom shop les paul custom with super 400 inlays...
 
I have never had a crack on my LP headstocks, but I can see how it would be easy to do. An unlike a Fender Strat or Tele, you can't just bolt on a new neck.

What I think is interesting is that they added the volute to help with head stock breaking, but it really didn't help much from what I understand. Another interesting thing, is the Epiphone LP's have a different head stock neck angle than Gibson LP's.
 
I have a les paul studio goth that I purchased about 11 years ago? I think right when they came out. Maybe 10 years ago. Anyway, this bastard has been abused to all hell. Its tattered with chips and scratches and everything, and on top of that, I have used excessively heavy strings for 8 out of the 10 years on it (between 64 and 70g, B standard tuning). I've never had it crack on me luckily, and it has certainly been dropped. Not by me most of the time actually. As I stated in another thread, I have the equipment mostly for the guitarists that join my band, though it is nice for clients to use should they need. What I have noticed though, is the fretboard seems to be cracking along the seam, or maybe the glue is just separating. Either way, besides some switch trouble, this thing has been really damn reliable.
 
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