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Does anyone recall my yacking on and on about a new guitar I bought off Ebay, oh, about a year or so ago? An older Ibanez acoustic/electric (smaller bodied, cutaway, yadda yadda, all those things I love in a guitar) ..... NOT a spendy model, nothing famous about it (except for the fact that heck... I'VE played it, Lmao)

Well, it was a hit with me. Perfect size for my hands, loved the tone of it, real nice playing guitar, we were instant best friends. I mean, really, I've owned alot of guitars, still have 4 other acoustics at the house... but this one just suited me better than any I've ever had. I had just gotten brand new strings on it and had the pickup repaired by a local shop.

A couple weekends ago, after having quite a few people at my house... I found the neck had gotten broken somehow. Silly me, left it propped rather than in it's stand or hung up, but..... my own kids are careful around instruments, and it WAS in my music room. Obviously, someone bumped into it with enough pressure to crack it. No confessions so far, but I honestly think between my bytching and crying..... anyone who knows they did it is most likely scared to death to tell me. Seriously, I just quit crying, like..... yesterday.

This was worse than losing a good husband. (which, of course, I haven't come across yet on Ebay)

Can't seem to recall my photobucket password.... .... so I'm just gonna stick the pics below.

Any good luthiers out there? The guitar is not materially worth enough to go to the expense of having a new neck put on... but it's pretty much toast. I don't think, no matter what you did to try and repair it (outside of a new neck) that it would ever hold a true tune again.

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♥ Laugh your heart out, dance in the rain. Cherish the memories, ignore the pain. Love and learn, forget and forgive. Because you only have one life to live. ♥

So sorry to hear that. I am new here, so I don't remember your post about the purchase.

I am not sure, by the looks of it, that it can be repaired WITHOUT installing a new neck on it.

You are right, will probably cost more than you have invested in it.

Go to a luthier, and he will run a pin into the neck and headstock, and set it back for you.. No huge deal.. It happens ! The nature of that crack won't harm the truss-rod adjustment if they pin it and set it.. How that is repaired is along the same lines as a dowel.. They just use a steel rod for support. I don't think the angle of tilt regarding headstock and neck will prevent a steel rod from pinning it for support

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Thanks Baldilocks.

Yeah, call me a whiney butt, but I need sympathy at the moment.

You think it can be fixed? I guess I'm scared to take it to the music store, just to hear them say "sorry, it's a piece of junk now".

Again, not an expensive guitar, plus I bought it cheap and the pickup repair was very affordable.... it's a sentimental thing. I've never lost an instrument in this manner before. And really, it's my favorite guitar I've ever had. I don't even touch the other guitars any more... just this one.

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♥ Laugh your heart out, dance in the rain. Cherish the memories, ignore the pain. Love and learn, forget and forgive. Because you only have one life to live. ♥

You think so Steven? Look at pic #1.... the crack is almost all the way around front (on both sides) With a teeny tiny bit of pressure, I could snap it off completely. Perhaps I'll take it to the guys at the shop here... I've made pals with them, maybe they wont charge me too much. (fingers crossed)

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♥ Laugh your heart out, dance in the rain. Cherish the memories, ignore the pain. Love and learn, forget and forgive. Because you only have one life to live. ♥

They are GOING to detach it, they will have to... To run an internal pin down the center of the neck and up the head of the guitar.. Do you understand what I am saying regarding how this is done ? This was a common problem with the older Gibson basses.. Given neck tension when strung, and alcohol, and crowded conditions we busted guitar heads just like that.. I busted a few EBO's like that...

They will finish the fracture, and reinforce it internally.. Sort've like using a steel rod as a bone.. and then a strong glue. That is an IDEAL type fracture to fix because you have alot of surface area to glue once a metal dowel is inserted.. Now to do that, assuming you also want that area of the guitar refinished and filled, sanded to blend it so nothing cosmetically shows well that won't be cheap... But if the guitar is worth it, you can save it..

However you also need to structurally check the guitar for other damage.. In order to have done something like that the guitar took impact, was it shipped strung at regular tension ? ( there might've been a previous stress crack there that MIGHT'VE even happened during shipping and it didn't take much, these are reasons they ALWAYS say loosen strings or take them off when shipping)... So have them check the neck joint where the neck and body meet as well ! There might be more structural damage if the guitar took a blow that hard ! Unless you have VERY heavy gauge strings on it, NOTHING lighter gauge without impact would do that to that type of a guitar.. I suspect there was a fracture there before OR somebody really knocked it hard and stood it back up, looks as though it was leaning against something and was knocked hard

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

I get what you mean. A friend suggested (oh wait, he's not a friend, I meant it was my husband who suggested it, Lol).... putting a "wooden" dowel in, but not length wise... just drilling a hole, use glue and a dowel, from front to back of the thicker part of the headstock. I said hell no, of course, he has no more experience doing that than I do. I haven't really touched it, just put it away in my closet.

I don't think there's any more damage. Steven, really, I learned a lesson I have known all my life and ignored.... you don't lean a guitar against the wall (string side facing out).... someone bumping into it pretty hard would be all it would take. I mean, the weight of someone's body putting pressure right on the neck, the way it was sitting....... yeah, I should have known better than to leave it like that.

I did check it out all over, to look for nicks or scratches to see if it got banged around. I really think.. someone just stumbled into it, righted the guitar back up, and most likely don't know they did it.

When I first got it, I did go over it inch by inch. The neck (where attached to the body) and the bridge.... I always check there first on a guitar, to make sure nobody has overtightened strings and caused a separation to start. It has humidity stains (i guess that's what they'd be... gray areas here and there) on some of the finish, a few nicks and dings from bumps/belt buckles/whatever, and lots of pick marks (no pick guard, that was my next step).... but nothing major stucturally wrong with it. (that I am aware of anyhow, and like I said, I don't repair guitars... fiddles, yes, guitars, never)

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♥ Laugh your heart out, dance in the rain. Cherish the memories, ignore the pain. Love and learn, forget and forgive. Because you only have one life to live. ♥

Guess I didn't address all you said:

When I received it, the complete neck was wrapped with towels so that there was no "space" for the neck to give really. The strings were loosened. (he threw in a brand new set for me, but didn't string it up)

I *never* use heavy, or even medium guage.. I finger pick too often. I only use light gauge strings on my guitars, and just don't let heavy players use my guitar. (my brother Andy... not a chance, Lol)

Finishing after the repair? Not so worried about that. I'd rather a guitar that plays well than one that looks fancy shmancy;)

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♥ Laugh your heart out, dance in the rain. Cherish the memories, ignore the pain. Love and learn, forget and forgive. Because you only have one life to live. ♥

Ah Blue I'm so sorry to hear your baby is hurt ! I hope you can fix her. Good luck sweetie.

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Thanks Babs. I'm on a late lunch break, so... I decided to run home and get it and take it in. They should be able to give me some idea by just looking at it. I've been dreading hearing that it can't be fixed.

*wish me luck* I'm bound to bawl if they say it's not repairable.

Seriously, for what it may cost, I may just have to hang it on the wall as "a lesson learned" and buy another.

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♥ Laugh your heart out, dance in the rain. Cherish the memories, ignore the pain. Love and learn, forget and forgive. Because you only have one life to live. ♥

My git-tar went to the doc today... Brian says he can't fix it... it's beyond his scope of "know-how".

(they are prior band people, quit the road and decided to open a music store and try to help other people throw bands together & such- their *not* instrument repairmen, just know how to do alot of things from their own experience)

BUT... his dad's a luthier, he's taking it to show him and see what he thinks.

*fingers still crossed* -------> very hard to type, btw

Steven- He said one of his first guitars had the same prob. He crammed it full of wood glue, clamped it nice n' tightly and let it set for 2-3 days and then used that same guitar for 3 years before buying a new one. (and it never failed him in all that time) Hmmm.....

I'm thinking... I may end up trying my hand at guitar repair. My first fiddle repair was done by trial and error (first fiddle I ever owned, a gift from my father, and it got broken by someone- intentionally- in about 10 pieces) I spent about 2 months carefully stitching it back together, and though it is put away now as a keepsake rather than played... I CAN string it up and play it, it came back together just fine. (albeit painstakingly slow) Never know what you can/can't accomplish if ya don't just try, right?

I just want it back- in one piece- ready to play when I pick it up.

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♥ Laugh your heart out, dance in the rain. Cherish the memories, ignore the pain. Love and learn, forget and forgive. Because you only have one life to live. ♥

Ouch that looks really bad Charmin...If its a guitar that u really love then I would deffo take it to somone who can repair it. I reckon if ya spent the money on it....ya wont regret it. A botch job or trying to repair it yourself might do it more damage. Take it to the shop and at least let em tell ya how much it gonna cost ya...then only u will now if its worth savin. I hope ya get sorted on way or another.

By the way Ive been fine....I just bought a new guitar recently and its been a pure joy to play its a Tanglewood TW55 Heritage Series if ya wanna google images to see it

Tease me why don't ya?

Gotta do that duet soon that we've talking about for going on 2 years now. Guess you get to play guitar solo, since mine is *broken*.

Thanks sweetie...... good to see ya over on this side;)

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♥ Laugh your heart out, dance in the rain. Cherish the memories, ignore the pain. Love and learn, forget and forgive. Because you only have one life to live. ♥

Oww! That sure looks bad Charm!!! Bet you were really upset when you saw that!
My b/f has an old Martin guitar. I don't know anything about them myself, but he'd be crushed if anything ever happened to it. I hope you can get your guitar fixed somehow!

You can do it with a two part epoxy (Making sure no glue seeps beyond the edges since you have surface area and the tension on a six string isn't terribly tight. You can also use hyde glue.. A wood dowel wouldn't do much good since a strong glue if set properly given that type spiral fracture is actually stronger than wood anyway.. the dowel you would use would be steel.. to reinforce the fractured area JUST in case because usually that's the thinnest part of the neck, however it looks as though you have a nice surface area to use epoxy on.... make certain that glue doesn't touch the area of opening of the neck truss adjustment rod. I would call a luthier, or even search online (there are guitar repair sites) ie... Guitar reranch... See what you can find... Good luck.

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Upset doesn't even begin to describe how I acted. Little bit of tears, little bit of confusion, lots & lots of swearing.

I'm surfing around Ebay again. I do have other guitars, and I guess I'll just slap a new set of strings on older one I always played prior to getting this Ibanez. But it's totally not going to be the same.

*oh, woe is me*

It's time I quit whining I guess. (gimme another week or so)

Steven- Thanks for the advice. If I do end up having to try and fix it myself, I'll jump into some forums or something (I mean guitar forums, not karaoke forums, Lol) .... and see what kind of help I get. I'll do lots of reading around. Ha- that's exactly how I learned that in fiddle repair, to help seal small hairline cracks in the wood- the best thing for it is whipped egg whites. I thought "what the he--?". But it did indeed work. It dries hard, to the color of the wood, and you can sand it. Who knew?

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♥ Laugh your heart out, dance in the rain. Cherish the memories, ignore the pain. Love and learn, forget and forgive. Because you only have one life to live. ♥

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Ollie, thank you........

I took a glimpse at, I'm at work right now, but I'll scope it out this weekend. TY for the link, saved me some time looking;)

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♥ Laugh your heart out, dance in the rain. Cherish the memories, ignore the pain. Love and learn, forget and forgive. Because you only have one life to live. ♥

hi, hate to hear that...i use to own a gretsch guitar that chuck berry owned and played at one time...long story but the neck got broken like urs...at the time i didn't know any better so i threw it away....stupid me...i've owned some great guitars in my day but i really don't play that well....sorry to hear that blue

Thank you Billy.

Geez, yeah, too bad you didn't still have that guitar now, huh? Even broken, I'm sure it would be worth more than all my instruments combined. (probably my furniture too, Lol)

This was no grand instrument, just one I've connected with really well... and hate to lose. I still don't know what my friends' dad is gonna say, I'll have to wait it out.

But, really, thanks to all who sympathized. (what a big baby I am, Lol)

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♥ Laugh your heart out, dance in the rain. Cherish the memories, ignore the pain. Love and learn, forget and forgive. Because you only have one life to live. ♥