Crack at Neck and Headstock join repair strength

[Paul Said]

Hi,

    I was hoping someone may give me some advice. I am considering buying a used Larrivee acoustic guitar. It has had a crack repaired where the neck joins the headstock. I am unsure as to what the repair entailed but was told by the seller that it was repaired professionally and that the join is "rock solid". There is a small mark approximately 20mm in length at the repair.

I am concerned with the  neck/headstock joint strength.

Regards

Paul.

[Paul Verticchio]

Hi Paul.

Unfortunately, it's impossible to give you a definitive answer. Some questions on the forum simply cannot be answered and this is one of them. Not even a picture would be helpful at this point.

The best advice is for you to take it to a local pro tech and have them do a 'hands & eyes on" inspection. Alternately, you could ask the seller for the name of the repair person & you could contact them for info on the repair.

If this is an eBay purchase, I'd pass on it as terms like "repaired professionally and that the join is "rock solid"." can be, and often are, 'misleading'.

Caveat Emptor and good luck.

[Hesh Breakstone]

What Paul said.  I'll add that a headstock repair not done well will likely fail and very possibly not be repairable after that so it's critical to get it done right the first time.

In fact, mirroring what Paul said, if this is an instrument that cannot be professionally inspected I'd pass on it unless they want to pay you to take it....:)

Here's what frequently happens at our shop.  Client comes in with a broken headstock, usually G*bson... and the first question out of our mouth is "has anyone else messed with it?"  If they have we may pass if not usually there is not problem getting a stronger fix than the original.

Head stock repair jigs are your friend too!

[Ned Knepp]

One other question that I wonder about when I'm dealing with pre-existing repairs is; What type of glue was used for the repair?  

I think Larrivee makes good guitars but unless you can be very sure this was done correctly... well, there is always another guitar down the road.  (GAS is good!)

[Frank Ford]

The seller is probably telling the truth, and the neck probably IS solid.  

The key word here is "seller," and since there's no predictability or direct knowledge of the repair and the issue is more about commerce than repair.

OK, a bit about selling.  That repaired crack is  classic example of something that may NOT have any effect on the longevity or utility of the guitar, but ALWAYS has a BIG effect on resale value.  In fact, a solid, well repaired headstock crack can reduce the resale value of a guitar by as much as 50%.

[Howard Klepper]

A couple of photos would be helpful.  A professional repair usually is very solid.  But not every one.