Vintage Gibson Guitars Repair And Restoration

Neck and Headstock Joint

As sturdy of a guitar as a Gibson is, it too has an Achilles’ heel and in this case, it is the back of the headstock. Unfortunately, it doesn’t take much effort for the back base of the headstock to either crack or break off completely – even a slight drop of the instrument on its back can cause serious damage. The good thing here is that with these accidents being so common, most guitar luthiers and repairmen will know how to handle even the most severe cases of injury.

In cases of cracks in the back of the neck, the procedure usually involves cleaning off the debris, thoroughly sanding and applying special glues to hold the wood together before clamping it down and leaving it under pressure for days to settle again in place. In cases of completely separated headstocks, things can get trickier and depending on the situation there may be a need to replace the whole neck.

Due to the nature of the construction of these instruments, the neck usually breaks right at the edge of the fretboard, where most experienced luthiers should have no problem re-attaching it, often using carbon fiber stripes as reinforcement and then using the same methods mentioned above to secure the neck and headstock together. After that, the neck may be repainted to cover up any visuals signs that remain of the damage and repair work.

Conclusion

Apart from these two main issues usually encountered on vintage Gibson guitars, a restoration and repair work usually includes a full setup of the guitar, ensuring optimal playability, intonation and original sound, replacing any missing or damaged parts with outsourced original vintage Gibson best guitar parts, as well as fixing any cosmetic blemishes if the intention is to preserve a clean and ‘minty’ condition. The restoration of guitars and the market for parts for Gibson guitars still remain an integral part of the guitar manufacturing industry to this day.

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