Guitar and bass repairs, refrets and broken necks fixed
See more repair projects in my blog
Headstock Breaks
Gibson Les Paul repair
A headstock fracture on a Gibson Les Paul or SG is a fairly common occurrence as dropping the guitar can often result in a break. Other types of guitar are not immune either!
Fortunately the break is almost always repairable. I make accurately shaped cauls in order to clamp the pieces together and even with clear finishes the repair is often only detectable on close inspection.
The guitar shown is a Gibson Les Paul GT that belonged to Curtis from BMTH. If you click the picture you’ll see a bigger version and you might be able to make out the join line.
A similar headstock repair to a Gibson Les Paul Signature bass can be found in a blog post.
Refretting
Refretting a Fender guitar neck
If the frets of your guitar are so worn that fret dressing is no longer an option, then you must consider a refret. I have refretted many guitars over the years (I still remember my first – a Vox Lynx in about 1975) including of course those with bound fretboards. I continue to be surprised by the number of people who believe that neck binding must be removed before replacing the frets on a bound neck. This is simply not the case and I have the tools and techniques available to leave your binding in place!
Please be aware that refretting a maple neck is unfortunately more expensive than rosewood due to the necessity of relacquering the fretboard.
Fret repairs
Sometimes a whole refret is not necessary and the troublesome frets can be repaired or replaced in a partial refret.
Again, some players think that their guitars need a full or partial refret when a fret dress is all that is required. Be assured that I will give the best advice.
See my “How to Refret” Blog post.
Nut replacement
If your guitar nut is worn, and open strings are buzzing then it’s time for a new nut. I can fit nuts made from a variety of materials depending upon the type of guitar and the style of music that you play. I would recommend a bone or Tusq nut for most non-tremolo guitars.
Prices?
Headstock breaks cost between £75 and £200 to repair. The majority of this cost is for refinishing the lacquer around the break in order to make good the guitar’s finish.
A new nut, fitted to your guitar and perfectly cut will cost around £30 in Tusq or £40 in bone. Brass is a little extra!
A full refret starts at £150 for an unbound rosewood fretboard to £200 for the trickier jobs.
