Gabriel's Guitar FAQ

A: Yes, but first, DON'T MESS WITH IT, and DON'T TRY TO FIX IT YOURSELF!!! If there are any shards of wood, pick them up and bring them in with you. Headstock re-glues are more common than I'd like to admit, but when done poorly, you can ruin a guitar forever. We guarantee that your headstock will be in solid condition and will not easily break again. Additionally, we can often make the break nearly invisible.

There are 3 main levels of headstock repair that we offer, at increasing price levels, which will apply to a vast majority of headstock repair cases:

1) Structural Repair Only: We will guarantee the structural integrity of the headstock of your guitar, but will not perform any type of repair intended to hide the repair we have done. This repair is the least expensive option, and likewise requires the least amount of time. Note that all headstock repairs require a minimum of a week to perform, which is a result of glue-drying time.

2) Finish Touch-up: In this repair, we will do everything we did in the structural repair, but we will make efforts to hide the repair within reason. Generally, we will not remove any original finish work, but instead will add new where old was lost as a result of the break. We will additionally sand and buff this new lacquer so that it is continuous with the old lacquer. At close inspection, the repair may be somewhat visible, but your hands and anyone more than 5 or so feet away will never know the difference.

3) The "Make it look like it never happened" repair: Particularly applicable to vintage or other high-value instruments where the appraisal value is of particular concern, this repair is designed to completely hide the original break. This repair is the most costly of the three, requires the most amount of time to complete, and is only offered as an option on some instruments (to be determined by one of us).

Some headstocks break in a way in which the wood tends to crumble rather than splinter. In these cases, we offer only one type of repair which involves inlaying splines of new wood in the back of the neck across the break. These repairs are virtually impossible to hide, but will allow you to comfortably play your guitar once again. Only a certified luthier can determine if this type of repair will be required.