Because of the thin amount of wood surrounding the truss rod adjustment nut and area routed out for it. The headstocks are also 3 pieces of mahogany.
Question:
Why do I see so many Gibson headstocks break off
and not other brands necks ? ? ?
Agile AL3000 Lefty
Alvarez RD20L Lefty
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FenderMIM Strat Lefty
LTD Viper400 Lefty
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Line6 Spider lll 75 righty
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Because of the thin amount of wood surrounding the truss rod adjustment nut and area routed out for it. The headstocks are also 3 pieces of mahogany.
Guitars/Bass - MIM Fender Classic 50s Strat, MIM Fender Standard Strat, Squier Classic Vibe 50s Tele, Gibson Les Paul Studio, Epi '56 Gold Top Les Paul, Martin DSR acoustic, Sigma Martin Auditorium electric/acoustic, Squier Jazz Bass.
Amps/Cabinets/Modelers - Model 2558 50 watt Marshall Silver Anniversary Jubilee combo w/ Celestion Vintage 30s, 4x12 Marshall cabinet w/25 watt Greenback Celestions, Fender Blues Junior w/ a couple of Billm mods, Line 6 POD 2.0, Roland Micro Cube
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Gibson, like Tone says uses mahogany for their necks. Other manufacturers use maple and the cuts are different. The mahogany is more prone to breaking because of how it is cut.
"No Tele For you." - The Tele Nazi
Ha! Tele-ish now inbound.
I have two Gibsons and both have had headstock repairs.
Patrick
Are you talking about breaking due to banging them in to something? I also don't understand what three pieces of mahogany have to do with breaking.
Mark
* Loud is good, good is better!
I play both, and have never had a problem. How are they "breaking off"?Originally Posted by fendermojoman
Are not quite a few nice acoustic guitar necks mahogany? Must be the combo of the shape, glueing and wood used as alluded to by Sir Tone.Originally Posted by just strum
Steve Thompson
Sun Valley, Idaho
Guitars: Fender 60th Anniversary Std. Strat, Squier CVC Tele Hagstrom Viking Semi-hollow, Joshua beach guitar, Martin SPD-16TR Dreadnought
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If I'm thinking right aint shecters made with mahogany?
The gluing of the wood is what puzzles me, three pieces or two pieces of wood glued together are stronger than a single piece. If it is due thinness where the head meets the neck, that I could understand.Originally Posted by sunvalleylaw
The Gibson heads are so big, maybe you just can't avoid hitting them into something.
Mark
* Loud is good, good is better!
This is what I had run across a couple of days ago.
The way these necks are constructed makes them prone to injury. They are cut from a single piece of mahogany with grain that runs straight through the bulk of the neck. The problem is that the grain does not run the direction of the headstock as well. Mahogany is not particularly strong along the grain and shears more easily than most wood along the grain.
I also did some research and discovered that Gibson headstocks break with little to no encouragement. They're just poorly designed, because they're set at a 17-degree downward angle, which isn't helpful to the wood grain, thus greatly weakening the headstock. They're usually a very easy fix, and they break very cleanly. After first repairs, people usually never have another problem.
This makes sense because the headstock angle is different from the grain direction of the rest of the neck.
"No Tele For you." - The Tele Nazi
Ha! Tele-ish now inbound.
Interesting and makes sense. I guess I will use my Ibanez or Squier when I ram the head of my guitar into the amp to impress the wife and dogs.Originally Posted by Spudman
Mark
* Loud is good, good is better!
Smart thinking. A Travis Bean is another good option.Originally Posted by just strum
"No Tele For you." - The Tele Nazi
Ha! Tele-ish now inbound.
I'll avoid the problem and just buy a Steinberger. They've already done the work for me.
Patrick
Gibson necks are delicate. There isn't a great deal of wood present where the headstock angles down. This is why I'm a fanatical preacher of strap locks - especially for Les Pauls.
Guitars: 2008 Gibson SG Classic, 2006 Gibson Les Paul Standard LE, 2002 Gibson SG Supreme, 2001 Gibson Les Paul Studio Plus, 1996 Les Paul Studio Gem, American Deluxe Double Fat Strat, Bluesville "Super" Strat Copy, MIK Fender "Limited Edition" Tele, JD Bluesville "Night Pilot", Yamaha AES 820, Steinberger Spirit GT Pro, Taylor 355CE, Ovation 1897 Adamas, Ovation CC057 Celebrity
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Lotsa good info above. Use of mahogany rather than maple (though in fact some oddball LP's from the dreaded Norlin era had maple necks) and the headstock angle are big factors, as well as the way they're constructed.
A lot of modern guitars, especially inexpensive to midpriced ones, get around the headstock angle problem by using a scarf joint. This joins the headstock to the neck down around the 2nd or 3rd fret area, using an angled cut to get more surface area for the join. You can see the scarf joint here quite clearly:
I noticed this type of joint on the back of several of my guitars' necks.
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I totally agree with you Spanky.Originally Posted by Plank_Spanker
Guitars/Bass - MIM Fender Classic 50s Strat, MIM Fender Standard Strat, Squier Classic Vibe 50s Tele, Gibson Les Paul Studio, Epi '56 Gold Top Les Paul, Martin DSR acoustic, Sigma Martin Auditorium electric/acoustic, Squier Jazz Bass.
Amps/Cabinets/Modelers - Model 2558 50 watt Marshall Silver Anniversary Jubilee combo w/ Celestion Vintage 30s, 4x12 Marshall cabinet w/25 watt Greenback Celestions, Fender Blues Junior w/ a couple of Billm mods, Line 6 POD 2.0, Roland Micro Cube
Pedals/Effects - Cry Baby Classic Wah, Boss TU-2, Boss NS-2, Boss RC-2 Loop Station, Ross Compressor, MXR Micro Amp, Danelectro FAB Echo, Danelectro FAB Chorus, Danelectro Chicken Salad, Marshall Guv'nor Plus, Marshall Echohead, Duhvoodooman's Zonkin' Yellow Screamer, Digitech Digiverb, Digitech Bad Monkey, Dunlop Fuzz Face, Homemade Loop Bypass pedal, Duhvoodooman's Sonic Tonic (Maxon SD-9 clone +), Voodoo Labs Superfuzz
geez.. just like a month ago I almost dropped my bandmate's LP! The strap slipped off but I grabbed it before it hit the floor (you guys remember the Clapton issue on The Band's Last Waltz?) That would be a real disaster! Strap-lock them!