Buying a Les Paul with a broken headstock

robdynamite

So I've been hunting for a custom for some time now and I've noticed one for sale that is brand new that had it's headstock broken (i'm guessing on it's journey to the retailers) and then repaired professionally with a hefty discount. Question is, would you pull the trigger and buy it or would you try and find a mint second hand example and pay a bit more?

matone

Fine if it`s really cheap but they usually want far too much for a guitar that can never be right!

Blaendulais

'Can never be right' but it also might be absolutely perfect and a keeper 

guitars4you

I can always understand the question and reservation - But if professionally repaired then there will be know problem regarding stability - Some even say it makes it less likely to happen again - Obviously the price needs to reflect such an issue - On an LP Custom I'd suggest around 30% off 

But for those who have a big negative towards such an issue then how about this for a question - You own an LP Custom - You love the feel, playability etc - Suddenly it falls off the strap, stand, or whatever and you now end up with an LP Custom with a broken neck - So do you now get rid of it as it has just become the biggest load of crap you've ever owned ? - Or are you thankful that a good tech can resolve the issue and put it back as it should be ? - So you can still now play and enjoy that wonderful instrument that you loved so much 

dazzajl

I’m not really sure what “can never be right” means? 

I’ve bought a few head break guitars over the years, with varying degrees of cosmetic care on the repair. All have been completely solid with no affect on play or feel at all. The last was also a new guitar broken before getting to a customer and if you weren’t told, you wouldn’t spot the break at all. 

If the discount mostly matches what you’d lose if you sell it and you like it, I’d say pull that trigger. 

davros

Saw this, which has been professionally repaired by the retailer. I'd want to see anything like this in person. because based on the photos, this is a really bad job.

https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/200122354577008-5827783--gretsch-g6134tsl-limited-penguin-smoke-greylilac-ex-dem

Sassafras

If the repair's well done, it can be stronger than the unbroken headstock.
I'd want to see it though.

BloodEagle

davros said:

Saw this, which has been professionally repaired by the retailer. I'd want to see anything like this in person. because based on the photos, this is a really bad job.

https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/200122354577008-5827783--gretsch-g6134tsl-limited-penguin-smoke-greylilac-ex-dem

Sweet lord - is that even repaired properly - looks a bit sketchy to say the least?  "Unfortunately the nature of the custom colour has meant disguising the repair was not possible. " - surely they could at least have had a stab at it?

ICBM

Agree with most of the above - if repaired *properly*, it's actually stronger than before it was broken... but no matter how well done and how much better in practice, it will always be worth less. How much less depends on the guitar, how rare/desirable it is, how common a similar break is on others of the same model etc.

For a new Les Paul, I agree with guitars4you - a third off is in the right ballpark. You need to get it for a low enough price that you aren't going to lose much more if you sell it, bearing in mind that a second hand one with such a repair is worth a bit less than another second hand example anyway.

WezV

BloodEagle said:

davros said:

Saw this, which has been professionally repaired by the retailer. I'd want to see anything like this in person. because based on the photos, this is a really bad job.

https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/200122354577008-5827783--gretsch-g6134tsl-limited-penguin-smoke-greylilac-ex-dem

Sweet lord - is that even repaired properly - looks a bit sketchy to say the least?  "Unfortunately the nature of the custom colour has meant disguising the repair was not possible. " - surely they could at least have had a stab at it?

Matching that finish would have been very difficult and if they didn't feel confident they could do it, then it's probably best they didn't try.     

Realisticly, if needs a full neck refinish to get it where it needs to be.

Seziertisch

BloodEagle said:

davros said:

Saw this, which has been professionally repaired by the retailer. I'd want to see anything like this in person. because based on the photos, this is a really bad job.

https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/200122354577008-5827783--gretsch-g6134tsl-limited-penguin-smoke-greylilac-ex-dem

Sweet lord - is that even repaired properly - looks a bit sketchy to say the least?  "Unfortunately the nature of the custom colour has meant disguising the repair was not possible. " - surely they could at least have had a stab at it?

I don’t think it’s the custom colour that’s the problem, it’s that as it’s not a nitro finish it cannot be easily sprayed over. It would probably need to be stripped (requiring a fair bit of elbow grease) and resprayed in whatever version of poly the factory use.

BloodEagle

Yeah - I see where youre coming from - just a real shame - one of the selling points of a Penguin is they are so nice and fancy, for want of a better word, and there's nothing at all fancy about that neck repair,

thermionic

Gear4Music will give you a 33% discount on an Epiphone Les Paul that’s suffered a headstock break… but you’ll have to fix it yourself!

Seziertisch

BloodEagle said:

Yeah - I see where youre coming from - just a real shame - one of the selling points of a Penguin is they are so nice and fancy, for want of a better word, and there's nothing at all fancy about that neck repair,

This is one occasion where a polyester/polyurethane finish is definitely not as good as nitro

kentuckyklira

robdynamite said:

So I've been hunting for a custom for some time now and I've noticed one for sale that is brand new that had it's headstock broken (i'm guessing on it's journey to the retailers) and then repaired professionally with a hefty discount. Question is, would you pull the trigger and buy it or would you try and find a mint second hand example and pay a bit more?

As a member of the "thank you Gibson for your design flaws" club I can say that, if the broken headstock has been repaired by a real professional who knew what he was doing you´re getting a better guitar that the one that left Gibson. Consider, theat weak point is gone, it´ll never break there again. If you´re thinking investment, don´t go for it but if you want to play it and the discount is considerable, go for it!

Kittyfrisk

BloodEagle said:

davros said:

Saw this, which has been professionally repaired by the retailer. I'd want to see anything like this in person. because based on the photos, this is a really bad job.

https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/200122354577008-5827783--gretsch-g6134tsl-limited-penguin-smoke-greylilac-ex-dem

Sweet lord - is that even repaired properly - looks a bit sketchy to say the least?  "Unfortunately the nature of the custom colour has meant disguising the repair was not possible. " - surely they could at least have had a stab at it?

Professional car coachwork repair shop after an accident  "Sorry mate, there's no way that colour can be ever be properly matched. It's custom see...'
Bollocks.

Rob1742

That Gretsch needs putting in the bin 

Rocky1991

What are you waiting for, that is some authentic Gibson!

In all seriousness you need see or more importantly know about damage and repairs then evaluate the price.  

matone

Sassafras said:

If the repair's well done, it can be stronger than the unbroken headstock.
I'd want to see it though.

Agreed,but it is still a badly damaged guitar that has been repaired ! You can dress it up anyway people like but it can`t be totally correct...ever.

andy_k

I'm just thinking aloud, but lets put some numbers here.
What is a brand new custom going for? lets assume, £5---6 K, is that realistic?
A third off for a headstock break, repaired professionally, so you are asking £3--4 K for it?
I'm thinking of something like the recent Wino sig, which was at Andertons for just under £9 k, prices are all over the place.
Now say you own that £3.5k guitar, now second hand, and want to sell it.
You are now expected to deduct 33% for the headstock break, a good second hand custom could easily be £3.5k, but now you will be lucky if you can sell for £2k, I would imagine.
There is no point trying to hide the fact that it has been broken, so quality of finish ( cosmetics ) does not matter really here, it has to be solid.
I guess my point is, everybody in the chain from new instrument, to subsequent second hand seller, will be expected to deduct a third to compensate for a headstock break until the guitar reaches its 'real' value, as a guitar that has had a structural repair, ie £2k for a custom, IMO.
The fact that this is a 'new' guitar, being sold as repaired does not help the buyer here, he will simply still be expected to take the 30 % loss himself if he decides to sell at a later date.
There isn't much benefit financially in being the first owner, we don't see things sold as third or fourth hand do we?
If the store was offering a more realistic 60% discount, it would be a different story.
Just my own opinions here, as a buyer of second hand gear.

andy_k

Andertons 'Wino' demo, couldn't watch til the end, so I don't know if we get to see a headstock break in person, but I would definitely be asking for some discount if I saw this demo before purchase, if I was the type of person prepared to pay these sums.
I would expect Jerry's DNA included, but not Chapper's.