My Epiphone SG got knocked over, it hit the kitchen tiles breaking the headstock clean off!
Unlucky i guess, but apparently this is a common weak spot on both the with the Gibson and Epiphone versions of the SG.
Upon inspection it seems this area is an obvious weak spot. It is where the headstock is joined to the neck (two pieces of wood), the thinnest part of the neck and also where the truss rod hole is.
With a sharp hit/bump/smack and the pressure already pulling down on the headstock from the strings, this was a disaster waiting to happen and seems like it has already happened on many Gibsons and Epiphones. It looks like they have used different cuts of wood, the neck and the headstock have quite different grains.
I called a local guitar tech and he quoted at least £130 to fix it. He knew exactly where it had snapped and had seen this time after time mostly in Gibsons.
For the price of a Gibson, you really wouldn’t expect it to break that easy would you?
In my opinion this is a design flaw! I couldn’t help thinking that this wouldn’t happen with a Fender and to be honest I kind of regret buying an SG. I’m not a fan of these bendy and brittle necks as it is!
I was lucky this was such a clean break. I joined the two pieces as best as I could and carefully drilled a small hole right through the two overlapping pieces (from underneath the truss rod hole cover to the back of the neck). Then when I apply the glue I can put a small bolt and nut through there to keep it from sliding out of place.
How did i fix my snapped guitar neck?
1. Glue
I dampened/cleaned the surfaces a little before applying Evo-Stick wood glue to one surface then put the bolt through and tightened the nut finger tight.
2. Bolt
3. Clamp
I G-clamped it checking it was in the exact right place then left it alone with no disturbance!
After a couple of days I restrung it and all was fine. I’ve had no problems since. I reckon it is now stronger than when it came out the factory.
Fixed
It’s probably now stronger than it ever was and it plays just like before and stays in tune no problem.
Hopefully this will give anyone who has just broken their Gibson style neck/headstock a bit of hope. I’ve since tried with quite some force to snap it and that glue is seriously strong!