Hi Guys
I recently had a headstock snap on a Heritage guitar of mine. It has a cooll flame maple top and sounds fantastic. My insurance company have insisted that it is repaired. Can anyone tell me if it will ever sound the same again? or should it be consigned to the trash forever?

Thanks

Simon

I had a headstock crack on a '74 Les Paul. I had it repaired and used it for years (4-6 nights a week playing gigs). The sound didn't change. About every 2 or 3 years the crack would start opening and I would put in some glue and clamp for 24 hours and keep going. I still have it but I use a different Les Paul now.
Buddy

I had the headstock on my Tobacco Sunburst 1978 Martin D-28 snap twice, and I had it fixed by one of the best luthiers in town.

Thing don't stay in tune quite as well as it used to for 20 years, but the nut and the bridge are made out of bone, rather than plastic.

If you got a quality guitar there it is well worth the trouble of fixing it- even better if you have a lifetime warranty on it. Martin for some reason covered the headstock crack on mine, and I was able to get it fixed locally.

The results after repair are dependant on how bad the crack is and where it is on the headstock. Did the headstock snap off completely or just crack, but not fall off? If the repair is done correctly, it should be fine and the guitar will likely never break in the same spot. In most cases, the repaired joint is very strong, so you probably won't experience any loss of tone or sustain. If your covered by insurance, definitely take the guitar to the best repairperson in town to do that kind of work - or send it out to someone who does that kind of work if there's no one in town. Not everyone is skilled in repairing broken headstocks, so do a bit of research and find the best person for the job. Good luck!

Lisa

Thanx fir the replies everyone. Lisa the headstock actually snapped off just by the truss rod and came off completely. It looks a sad and sorry mess. I can't think of anyone here in the uk that could fix it so that it is still the guitar it was before the break, but if anyone knows anyone here in the UK i'd be very grateful if they would pass on any info.
Once again
Thanks
an
Happy New Year
Simon

This link might be helpful. There's a member living in England who could be a source of local information. Good luck and don't touch the shards of that thing! You'd be amazed at what a good luthier can do.
http://www.guitarmaker.org/MembersLinks/members.html