tiger85 Posted June 19, 2004 Share Posted June 19, 2004 To get straight to the point, is a guitar with a fractured neck worth buying? You probably know the story. You go into a pawn shop and see a Gibson or a Fender hanging there, and the price is lower than you expected you so you take it down to examine it. You turn it over and lo and behold, there's a unmistakeable fracture across the bottom of the headstock. In this particular case its an LP Studio, early to mid nineties model with a streaked out burgandy finish and chrome hardware. But its a Les Paul! There are only three or four strings on it, spaced out of course, and string on the bottom seems to buzz out. Oh yeah, and one of the tuning key pegs is missing. But it's 445 dollars, they'll even drop the price to 4, is it worth it? What do you guys think? Can't afford much else in the way of a Paul these days. Opinions? ...touched down in the land of the Delta Blues.....in the middle of the pouring rain.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Strat Posted June 19, 2004 Share Posted June 19, 2004 How much is it going to cost to have a luthier repair it in a worst case situation? BlueStrat a.k.a. "El Guapo" ...Better fuzz through science... http://geocities.com/teleman28056/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picker Posted June 19, 2004 Share Posted June 19, 2004 I had that happen to a Les Paul I owned, thanks to the airlines, who weaseled out of paying for it too. The common wisdom in the old days was that it would never be right again, that it would rubberneck all over the place and never stay in tune, but mine was fixed just fine. The luthier will proabably have tio break the headstock the rest of the way off and glue it back on, but that's how they fixed mine. I'd say to get the cost of the pickups, hardware, etc, find out what the repair will cost, add them together and offer that amount to the pawnbroker. IF he goes for it great, if he doesn't, it ain't worth it, unless you have a big ol' yen for that particular axe. Vande Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
js Posted June 19, 2004 Share Posted June 19, 2004 Worth it or not - that's something that you have to make up your own mind about. But a GOOD guitar repair person can fix it. My LP had the crack in the same place. After the repair, you can barely see it, and it's held for more than 10 years so far. js Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiger85 Posted June 19, 2004 Author Share Posted June 19, 2004 Excellent advice guys. If I decide to buy it I will talk to TK over at Strings and Things in Memphis. He knows his stuff and it doesn't hurt that he used to work for Tom Anderson guitars. Thanks! ...touched down in the land of the Delta Blues.....in the middle of the pouring rain.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave da Dude Posted June 19, 2004 Share Posted June 19, 2004 Just make sure that it wouldn't wind up spending as much as you could get one in un-broken condition for, or "why bother". I passed on a Epi Firebird a while ago with work to be done on it. It went for about $250. A good one can be had for $350 to $400. I didn't think I could get fixed for less than a hundred. Dave Gotta' geetar... got the amp. There must be SOMEthing else I... "need". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bbach1 Posted June 19, 2004 Share Posted June 19, 2004 Their price is out of line for the year and condition of the guitar. A new LP Studio can be had for $900 or so. I just sold mine for $510 in very good condition. Now, I had cracked the neck on mine (taught me to use strap locks) and sent it to a luthier in Minneapolis. He did a fantastic job and it came back looking great and set beautifully. I played it a lot after that and I'm convinced that the repaired area will never be a problem on that guitar. However, it cost me about $225 to have it done properly, money that I was unable to recover because a previously cracked neck will reduce that value. Offer the pawn shop $200 to start. You are going to have to put 2/300 into it and it isn't going to be worth more than 5 or so. I probably wouldn't go more than $300. Also, a couple weeks ago, an LP Studio 1997 model in excellent shape except for a cracked neck sold for under $300. You gotta watch pawn shops. They can be rediculous sometimes. bbach Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiger85 Posted June 19, 2004 Author Share Posted June 19, 2004 Good points Dave. I'm not gonna rush into this one. Sometimes the pawnshops in Memphis have decent used stuff at reasonable prices, lately they have been full of mostly crappy or way, way overpriced stuff ( 299 for an imported Peavey strat copy, I almost fell out when I saw that. I think they sell for a street price of 169 new. What's crazy is that I bought a very decent Fender Mexican strat ( Standard not a Squirer)from a different pawn shop 7 or 8 months ago for 139!) The big chains like Cash America pawn have much better prices though they vary widely by location). I say pawnshops because all of the traditional music stores here carry brand new stuff like Gibson, Fender, and Taylor and a whole lot of Johnson and other lesser known stuff but very few good used guitars ( the stores with good used gear can be counted on one hand with two or three fingers missing ). ...touched down in the land of the Delta Blues.....in the middle of the pouring rain.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtrmac Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 I wouldn't even bother with it. Save your money for a guitar in good condition. Mac Bowne G-Clef Acoustics Ltd. Osaka, Japan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoes Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 A- they can fix anything. B- don't buy a Studio unless you feel the need to have a LP for a certain sound and this is an inexpensive way to get one. I still think guitars are like shoes, but louder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiger85 Posted June 21, 2004 Author Share Posted June 21, 2004 Thanks for everyone's input! At this point in time I have decided not to pursue this instrument. I would rather find an LP in good condition, so I 'll just wait! I don't think it would be worth the money to obtain this particular product. Again thanks to all. ...touched down in the land of the Delta Blues.....in the middle of the pouring rain.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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