Cracked neck- how major an issue?

TechJunky · #1 01-08-2010, 05:08 PM

There is bass I'm looking at with a crack on the back of the headstock. http://cgi.ebay.com/Warwick-Corvette...item2eaa3b2cba
Does that look like it's a major issue? How much would a repair like that typically run? Part of me thinks it's too severely broken to left untouched, but another part of me keeps looking at it thinking it could actually be ok to use like that (at least until funding for repairs). Just wondering if this is worth considering or if it would just be a headache and potential money pit. Any suggestions?

grue · #2 01-08-2010, 05:26 PM

Is there such a thing as a minor neck crack? If somebody said that to me I would think twice about giving them money. If you do get it, I definitely wouldn't play it without repairing it first. You could turn a fixable problem into something worse. Plus it will probably sound terrible with a crack in it.

Maybe somebody who knows more about repairs can tell you what you're looking at. I can say that a friend of mine snapped the headstock clean off his acoustic guitar, and managed to get it repaired. It played fine afterwards.

hdracer · #3 01-08-2010, 05:34 PM

There are a lot of old Gibson's around with repaired necks that had the headstock completely broken off. You need to get a estimate for the repair from a good qualified source and figure that into the price and the deprecated value of the repaired neck. Old Gibson's with repaired necks sell for 1/2+ of what a good one sells for in equal shape other wise.

RMay · #4 01-08-2010, 05:58 PM

Yes it is considered a major issue, but the good news is it can be repaired with little visibility. The repair will be stronger than the original wood fiber bond. The collectibility value is highly decreased while the player market value should not so much decrease.The repair qoutes should be in the ballpark of $100.

hdracer · #5 01-08-2010, 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RMay

Yes it is considered a major issue, but the good news is it can be repaired with little visibility. The repair will be stronger than the original wood fiber bond. The collectibility value is highly decreased while the player market value should not so much decreased.The repair qoutes should be in the ballpark of $100.

$100.00??? I was looking at a Gibson EB-3 with a cracked neck and showed the photos to a local (highly respected) luthier and he quoited me $450.00 to 600.00 to fix it. I passed on the EB-3 Rip the photo and send it to some people that know what they are doing. It is a bolt on. Have you checked on the price of a new neck from Warwick? Might be better to put a new neck on it. At $300.00 if you had to pay $600.00 (high guestamate) for a new neck you really would not be out much and it is a sweet looking bass.

RMay · #6 01-08-2010, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hdracer

$100.00??? I was looking at a Gibson EB-3 with a cracked neck and showed the photos to a local (highly respected) luthier and he quoited me $450.00 to 600.00 to fix it. I passed on the EB-3 Rip the photo and send it to some people that know what they are doing. It is a bolt on. Have you checked on the price of a new neck from Warwick? Might be better to put a new neck on it. At $300.00 if you had to pay $600.00 (high guestamate) for a new neck you really would not be out much and it is a sweet looking bass.

Repairs are determined by where crack is located, depth of work and per hr.cost. $450 could be reasonable for an old Gibson EB-3 that had the headstock near completely broken off. The price depends on the extent of the injury and hours required for such a repair.
From the OP photos I dont see the headstock face so I dont know if the finish is cracked. I can spy a crack near the E string tuner that is a common repair. Little time is involved in such repair but waiting time is extended for glue to dry, finish prep and setup complete.