I just got up and am in the midst of my first coffee, be so please excuse any incoherence. Problems with the neck are ones that will plague your instrument; it might lose tuning quicker, and the...
I just got up and am in the midst of my first coffee, be so please excuse any incoherence.
Problems with the neck are ones that will plague your instrument; it might lose tuning quicker, and the tension on the neck is not negligible and over time it could even snap. There are two main options and one is easier but more expensive and the other is much more difficult.
Get a new neck. This is relatively easy, but a new neck will run you anywhere from $100usd to some maximum (thousands of dollars) but it would be the best solution. You'll know the new neck is in good shape, and it'll be under warranty for a while. It'll probably have as better fret board than a guitar you have found outside. It's not as nice a story though
Reinforce the neck. You'll still need to detach the neck, but you can still some holes and put some steel or carbon fiber rods up the length of the neck for strength. You'll probably want to refinish the fret board itself, which isn't particular difficult; remove the frets, sand it down, refinish however you want, add frets back in. Then reattach the neck. Depending on your level, you might be able to completely hide the rods, or you can have them visible; either can be stylistically great.
I would recommend lightly refinishing the body as well; you could do your best to preserve the finish that is there, or refinish it completely. One of my friends refinished an SG and had a custom purple and blue SG now that looks amazing.
Reinforcing the neck is probably better for your story of this guitar, but be prepared for a lot of sanding, and a lot of precision hole drilling; that will be difficult unless you have a access to a great wood shop. Good luck! I hope you post pictures later
Hey aphoenix, thanks so much for your reply. Just to clarify. The SG is a single piece of wood, as far as I can tell. How would I go about replacing the neck exactly?
Hey aphoenix, thanks so much for your reply. Just to clarify. The SG is a single piece of wood, as far as I can tell. How would I go about replacing the neck exactly?
It’s definitely a glued-on neck. Imagine the huge slabs of wood Gibson would have to carve into the shape of both a guitar body and the neck, and the amount of waste material at the neck area.
It’s definitely a glued-on neck. Imagine the huge slabs of wood Gibson would have to carve into the shape of both a guitar body and the neck, and the amount of waste material at the neck area.
Unsure why I had it in my head it was a single piece of wood, a glued neck makes much more sense. With any luck I may be able to pry it loose, let's see.
It’s definitely a glued-on neck. Imagine the huge slabs of wood Gibson would have to carve into the shape of both a guitar body and the neck, and the amount of waste material at the neck area.
Unsure why I had it in my head it was a single piece of wood, a glued neck makes much more sense. With any luck I may be able to pry it loose, let's see.
It's going to be two separate pieces (almost all guitars that one would normally see and be able to purchase have separately built necks and body) but the neck is going be glued to the body....
It's going to be two separate pieces (almost all guitars that one would normally see and be able to purchase have separately built necks and body) but the neck is going be glued to the body. Depending on how much you really want to ensure that you have a workable instrument at the end, you can either chip away at the neck until you see the split, our you can use steam to try to weaken the glue joint. Wood glue is a very strong way to put wood together, so anything you can do to weaken the bond will be helpful. That said, for a found guitar, I would be inclined to use a chisel and figure it out; if you are handy with woodworking, it's a good opportunity to learn a bit about what as luthier does.
I should share specify that my comments are made as someone who is not a luthier, but who has effectively repaired a half dozen guitars over the years, including replacing and refinishing necks. It's not particularly difficult, especially with videos available to guide you through the parts that may present problems. If you are looking to have a high quality instrument at the end of this, though, you should change your expectations. If the guitar was abandoned, it was probably because the account is work to fix it was more than the value it will have once fixed, but as a leaving opportunity, you could take a lot of fun and have a good living room guitar player on. Good luck!
While driving down a rainy street this Christmas eve I spotted a forlorn looking guitar lent up against a wall. Curiosity got the better of me so I turned around and to my surprise found what...
While driving down a rainy street this Christmas eve I spotted a forlorn looking guitar lent up against a wall. Curiosity got the better of me so I turned around and to my surprise found what seems to be a 2015 SG tobacco sunburst. The guitar has been stripped and there is a deep cut in the neck but I like the romance of it so am thinking about fixing it up.
My question is, to what extent can the cut in the neck be repaired? And if that is possible, what would the process of doing so be? One for any luthiers/carpenters here I suppose. The cut is at fret 21. Remarkably the neck appears quite strong even with the cut. It is about 1 mill in width.
I can handle the electrics but the body repair is a little above my pay grade.
Grateful for any advice :)
p.s happy to hear any thoughts on parts to use for electrics (pots, pickups), nut, bridge, tailpiece, tuners. I don't want to spend a fortune if I can help it.
You’ll need to contact a competent guitar tech/luthier for a repair of that neck. Likely quite costly, which is why I’d guess it was abandoned. Take it to any local music shop if possible in your...
You’ll need to contact a competent guitar tech/luthier for a repair of that neck. Likely quite costly, which is why I’d guess it was abandoned. Take it to any local music shop if possible in your area and they’ll have a better idea from seeing it in person, but it may be a lost cause due to cost. It’s a big part of why I invest in Telecasters; you can just slap in any neck that will fit and screw it in.
You’ll need to contact a competent guitar tech/luthier for a repair of that neck. Likely quite costly, which is why I’d guess it was abandoned. Take it to any local music shop if possible in your area and they’ll have a better idea from seeing it in person, but it may be a lost cause due to cost. It’s a big part of why I invest in Telecasters; you can just slap in any neck that will fit and screw it in.
As far as Gibson's go, it's not particularly valuable in perfect condition Reverb for Example. Even if it's salvageable, not sure I'd spend a several hundred dollars to end up with a low spec SG...
As far as Gibson's go, it's not particularly valuable in perfect condition Reverb for Example. Even if it's salvageable, not sure I'd spend a several hundred dollars to end up with a low spec SG with significant repairs and questionable longevity. I'd think you're better off getting something used for the same cost, even with significant cosmetic issues, you're probably better off.
Thanks for the replies! I decided in the end to give it to a local charity who might be able to repair it and get something back for it. Is a little too time consuming a job for me to take on....
Thanks for the replies! I decided in the end to give it to a local charity who might be able to repair it and get something back for it. Is a little too time consuming a job for me to take on. Thanks again for all your input.
I just got up and am in the midst of my first coffee, be so please excuse any incoherence.
Problems with the neck are ones that will plague your instrument; it might lose tuning quicker, and the tension on the neck is not negligible and over time it could even snap. There are two main options and one is easier but more expensive and the other is much more difficult.
Get a new neck. This is relatively easy, but a new neck will run you anywhere from $100usd to some maximum (thousands of dollars) but it would be the best solution. You'll know the new neck is in good shape, and it'll be under warranty for a while. It'll probably have as better fret board than a guitar you have found outside. It's not as nice a story though
Reinforce the neck. You'll still need to detach the neck, but you can still some holes and put some steel or carbon fiber rods up the length of the neck for strength. You'll probably want to refinish the fret board itself, which isn't particular difficult; remove the frets, sand it down, refinish however you want, add frets back in. Then reattach the neck. Depending on your level, you might be able to completely hide the rods, or you can have them visible; either can be stylistically great.
I would recommend lightly refinishing the body as well; you could do your best to preserve the finish that is there, or refinish it completely. One of my friends refinished an SG and had a custom purple and blue SG now that looks amazing.
Reinforcing the neck is probably better for your story of this guitar, but be prepared for a lot of sanding, and a lot of precision hole drilling; that will be difficult unless you have a access to a great wood shop. Good luck! I hope you post pictures later
Hey aphoenix, thanks so much for your reply. Just to clarify. The SG is a single piece of wood, as far as I can tell. How would I go about replacing the neck exactly?
It shouldn’t be one piece, the neck slots into the body and gets glued in place, so you’d have to remove the glue somehow
It’s definitely a glued-on neck. Imagine the huge slabs of wood Gibson would have to carve into the shape of both a guitar body and the neck, and the amount of waste material at the neck area.
Unsure why I had it in my head it was a single piece of wood, a glued neck makes much more sense. With any luck I may be able to pry it loose, let's see.
I mean if you’ve never seen or thought about it before, and you don’t see any screw holes, it’s not necessarily intuitive that it’s glued on
It's going to be two separate pieces (almost all guitars that one would normally see and be able to purchase have separately built necks and body) but the neck is going be glued to the body. Depending on how much you really want to ensure that you have a workable instrument at the end, you can either chip away at the neck until you see the split, our you can use steam to try to weaken the glue joint. Wood glue is a very strong way to put wood together, so anything you can do to weaken the bond will be helpful. That said, for a found guitar, I would be inclined to use a chisel and figure it out; if you are handy with woodworking, it's a good opportunity to learn a bit about what as luthier does.
I should share specify that my comments are made as someone who is not a luthier, but who has effectively repaired a half dozen guitars over the years, including replacing and refinishing necks. It's not particularly difficult, especially with videos available to guide you through the parts that may present problems. If you are looking to have a high quality instrument at the end of this, though, you should change your expectations. If the guitar was abandoned, it was probably because the account is work to fix it was more than the value it will have once fixed, but as a leaving opportunity, you could take a lot of fun and have a good living room guitar player on. Good luck!
While driving down a rainy street this Christmas eve I spotted a forlorn looking guitar lent up against a wall. Curiosity got the better of me so I turned around and to my surprise found what seems to be a 2015 SG tobacco sunburst. The guitar has been stripped and there is a deep cut in the neck but I like the romance of it so am thinking about fixing it up.
See pictures for details: https://imgur.com/a/At3v2kE
My question is, to what extent can the cut in the neck be repaired? And if that is possible, what would the process of doing so be? One for any luthiers/carpenters here I suppose. The cut is at fret 21. Remarkably the neck appears quite strong even with the cut. It is about 1 mill in width.
I can handle the electrics but the body repair is a little above my pay grade.
Grateful for any advice :)
p.s happy to hear any thoughts on parts to use for electrics (pots, pickups), nut, bridge, tailpiece, tuners. I don't want to spend a fortune if I can help it.
You’ll need to contact a competent guitar tech/luthier for a repair of that neck. Likely quite costly, which is why I’d guess it was abandoned. Take it to any local music shop if possible in your area and they’ll have a better idea from seeing it in person, but it may be a lost cause due to cost. It’s a big part of why I invest in Telecasters; you can just slap in any neck that will fit and screw it in.
Yeah, that makes sense. I'll have a think.
As far as Gibson's go, it's not particularly valuable in perfect condition Reverb for Example. Even if it's salvageable, not sure I'd spend a several hundred dollars to end up with a low spec SG with significant repairs and questionable longevity. I'd think you're better off getting something used for the same cost, even with significant cosmetic issues, you're probably better off.
Thanks for the replies! I decided in the end to give it to a local charity who might be able to repair it and get something back for it. Is a little too time consuming a job for me to take on. Thanks again for all your input.