Help! Help! Cracked headstock.

[van_hayden]

Hey all,

New member here! It's a pleasure to be among other proud EB owners, but unfortunate to meet you all under such grave circumstances: I'm here to ask for some advice, as I've yet to have to deal with such a critical issue with any of my guitars; much less my beloved Music Man Axis. The pictures of the damage are attached.

I'm basically at ground zero here, as again, I've never had to deal with this sort of issue. Any input towards a course of action, ball-park figure of price, repair tips, anything really, would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, and it's a pleasure to meet you all.

 

[phatduckk]

give a shout to customer support to see what your options are. if you're in the US their contact info is at: music-man-customer-service | contact-us

non-us contact your regions distributor for support: Ernie Ball Music Man International Dealers and Distributors

here's my guess as to your worst case scenario: send in your old neck, pay for a new one and get the new one sent back to you.

good luck
Arin

 

[lumberjack]

Ohh that poor Axis. What happened? Like Phatty said, definitely get in touch with Customer Service. A good luthier should be able to fix that headstock. I've seen some photos of miracle headstock fixes. But you are gonna have to compare the cost of what a luthier would charge, compared to the cost of a new neck from EBMM. It might end up being cheaper to buy a brand new neck from EBMM.

 

[DrGonzo5150]

Where are you located?

I'm just echoing what has already been said...
It is definitely repairable, I had a super-gnarly break on a Luke before and that glued back together wonderfully!! Of course if you can source a replacement neck, that may be better/easier... You have a few options... it's going to be okay

 

[brasco68]

I like Lumberjack would be curious to know how that happened...

 

[Ernieballplayer]

ohhh man..... thats terrible. i hope the problem can be resolved soon.

 

[Dizzy]

Oooooh, that's nasty.

 

[DrGonzo5150]

Oooooh, that's nasty.

Haha good input Dizz

Wow..
Was just thinking...
It was almost a year ago i joined the forum with panicky nonsensical ramblings about my broken headstock

 

[buckethead777]

Seen this happen before actually to a $trat. Drop your guitar headstock first, to achieve this exact crack.
I don;t think i could live with a glue job...I'd get a new neck.But that's just me.

 

[Coffeemug]

That's one of the merits of a bolt-on neck...if you can find a qualified luthier to glue it it might turn out nicely but you can always just get a new neck (which is what I'd most likely do as well).

 

[Stratty316]

I would have to agree as well. I would contact customer service and look into getting a new neck... I think you will be much happier with it long term since you wont have to worry about the old neck cracking or getting worse...

 

[Dante]

EBMM is renowned for being more than fair as far as repair costs go.

 

[koogie2k]

I had a JP that the neck was literally snapped in half. I sent it to EBMM and they replaced it with a new one. It will be the same one that came with the guitar...so...you can't swithc up anything if you wanted to. Call CS or e-mail them and they will get you going in the right direction.

 

[fbecir]

It is possible to repair this sort of damage. Gibson owners know what I am talking about. Cracked headstock are common with mahogany necks.
A good luthier can repair it. There was an article a few years ago in Guitar & Bass (UK) where they explained how to do it. At the end, you can restore your neck (glue is stronger than wood) but with this sort of natural neck it is not possible to hide the crack.

 

[KungFu Grip]

I wish that there was a better mounting method for the Floyd Rose locking nut. Yeah, you're not suppose to drop your guitar, but those two big screws really weaken the headstock.

 

[Big Poppa]

Kung Fu I agree but keep in mind that we have tons of hard rock maple there too....It is as sound as can be....if you had those holes ins mahoghany look out potato chip neck

 

[emanon]

Call Customer Service.

Yes! I'm in with the crowd.

Sheep out, homez.

 

[lumberjack]

Kung Fu I agree but keep in mind that we have tons of hard rock maple there too....It is as sound as can be....if you had those holes ins mahoghany look out potato chip neck

I've wondered about the process of mounting from underneath. Is there any particular reason why you don't mount the locking nut from the top like some other manufacturers?

 

[van_hayden]

Wow, thanks for all the replies! (and sympathy hah)

Honestly, I don't know what caused the crack, as the guitar wasn't in my immediate possession when it happened. It actually started out a lot smaller, but grew over the time it took to settle down and be able to deal with it. Being booked up with no adequate replacement, I had to sort of let it be as I generally can't afford to cancel gigs.. It wasn't pretty when I discovered it.

Anyway, I got the quote from Customer Service.. $600 for a replacement. (I could buy a whole new Mexican Fender for that. hah! But I won't.) But wow, I hope a luthier wouldn't cost that much? I honestly don't care about looks, I just want it to play, so a glue job would be fine by me, at least until I can replace it down the road.

Blah, so much $$ just to get back to where I was. /sigh.

 

[Spudmurphy]

It is possible to repair this sort of damage. Gibson owners know what I am talking about. Cracked headstock are common with mahogany necks.
A good luthier can repair it. There was an article a few years ago in Guitar & Bass (UK) where they explained how to do it. At the end, you can restore your neck (glue is stronger than wood) but with this sort of natural neck it is not possible to hide the crack.

+1 - I've seen good results gluing snapped headstocks.
Just 2 weeks ago I saw a Gibson SG in my mates workshop that had a glued headstock repair. The owner dropped it again and the headstock broke in a different place proving that a good glued repair is stronger than wood - take it to a good luthier - I mean a GOOD luthier