d-basser Posted July 25, 2011 Posted July 25, 2011 (edited) Came back from 2000 trees last week and I just opened my back to find the head has snapped off my acoustic bass! My own stupid fault for not taking the hard case but we couldn't quite squeeze it in the car with all the band gear and Glasgow to Gloucestershire is an uncomfortable enough journey as it is. Do you think the damage is fixable? Thinking about trying it myself with the help of repair books and a helpful tech in the engineering department at uni rather than paying too much since the bass is a cheap Thomann job and not worth a big repair bill. Edited July 27, 2011 by d-basser Quote
Roland Rock Posted July 25, 2011 Posted July 25, 2011 (edited) Ouch! Some luthiers have amazing tricks up their sleeves, but a break across the grain like that is going to be more than difficult to repair to the required strength (not to mention expensive) If it's bolt-on, I'd say a replacement neck (if you can get one to fit the pocket) is the way to go. An e-mail to the manufacturer with pics couldn't do any harm, they may send you a replacement neck out of pity! Edit - just noticed it's an acoustic bass - so replacement neck is out. Sorry, looks like a write-off Edited July 25, 2011 by Roland Rock Quote
Roland Rock Posted July 25, 2011 Posted July 25, 2011 [quote name='jmsjabb' post='1316304' date='Jul 25 2011, 09:24 PM']It should just t-cut out, maybe?[/quote] Quote
Blademan_98 Posted July 25, 2011 Posted July 25, 2011 Looks expensive........ That looks like a difficult break to fix. It's probably cheaper to buy a new one Good luck Quote
Ou7shined Posted July 25, 2011 Posted July 25, 2011 Looks fixable to me. Most important here is to take the strings off - trying not to touch or damage the snaped area any further - and take it to a luthier for a quote. Quote
Blademan_98 Posted July 25, 2011 Posted July 25, 2011 Looking at the darkness of the wood, it looks like it was a fault in the neck to begin with. Normally when they break (my youngest daughter had her classical guitar go) they have multiple splinters. Yours looks very straight with only one shard. Probably fixable but on a cheap bass (with those stresses) maybe not worth it. Get a luthier to have a look Quote
KiOgon Posted July 25, 2011 Posted July 25, 2011 Not exactly hi def photo but that looks like MDF to me! Quote
MB1 Posted July 25, 2011 Posted July 25, 2011 MB1. A break? looks like somebody put a beaver in your gig bag? Quote
Ou7shined Posted July 25, 2011 Posted July 25, 2011 Doesn't really matter, you put it back together with an angled wooden insert along the back of it. Good as new. The tough part is hiding the join. Quote
MB1 Posted July 26, 2011 Posted July 26, 2011 [quote name='Ou7shined' post='1316437' date='Jul 25 2011, 10:45 PM']Doesn't really matter, you put it back together with an angled wooden insert along the back of it. Good as new. The tough part is hiding the join.[/quote] MB1. and the tooth and claw marks. Quote
Ou7shined Posted July 26, 2011 Posted July 26, 2011 [quote name='MB1' post='1316513' date='Jul 26 2011, 01:00 AM']MB1. and the tooth and claw marks.[/quote] Exactly Quote
Ian Savage Posted July 26, 2011 Posted July 26, 2011 Facking hell, that wood looks like total crap; I'd bin it/keep it as a trophy to be honest, with a weather eye on eBay you'd pick up a replacement for less than the repair'd cost. Quote
JTUK Posted July 26, 2011 Posted July 26, 2011 I'd guess that a good reliable repair would cost more than the bass is worth and that would possibly always be a weak point. Get it looked at, by all means, but to all intenst and purposes, that looks a write-off to me. Quote
Musicman20 Posted July 26, 2011 Posted July 26, 2011 Id be tempted to either buy a new one, or use parts off that one to 'make' another (although Im guessing this might not be possible?!). What was the price when you bought it? Anything under about £150 and id just not bother. Quote
Jean-Luc Pickguard Posted July 26, 2011 Posted July 26, 2011 glue a block inside the body, screw on [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bass-Electric-Guitar-Bridge-for-headless-bass-/200634246084"]this[/url] hardware & convert it to headless? probably won't work, but could be fun Quote
d-basser Posted July 26, 2011 Author Posted July 26, 2011 [quote name='Musicman20' post='1316630' date='Jul 26 2011, 09:15 AM']Id be tempted to either buy a new one, or use parts off that one to 'make' another (although Im guessing this might not be possible?!). What was the price when you bought it? Anything under about £150 and id just not bother.[/quote] They are bout £125, I actually didn't pay anything for it, swapped it for an old battered peavey cabinet I couldn't off load couple of years back, so doesn't owe me much. Thinking this might be the perfect excuse to buy a 5 string acoustic instead. Quote
Slipperydick Posted July 26, 2011 Posted July 26, 2011 2 spots of superglue. Then put it in your attic where your nephew - who knows nothing about guitars - will find it. Seems to happen all the time on ebay. lol Quote
Mr. Foxen Posted July 26, 2011 Posted July 26, 2011 [quote name='Johnston' post='1316752' date='Jul 26 2011, 10:46 AM']Headless acoustic. That sounds sweet .[/quote] Yeah, good camping bass. But at this point, I'd strip it and ebay it in separate parts. Quote
Dave Vader Posted July 26, 2011 Posted July 26, 2011 Araldite, clamps, leave it for a bit. If it doesn't work then follow some of the other advice on here instead. Better to try and fail than never try at all... maybe Quote
JTUK Posted July 26, 2011 Posted July 26, 2011 [quote name='d-basser' post='1316713' date='Jul 26 2011, 10:16 AM']They are bout £125, I actually didn't pay anything for it, swapped it for an old battered peavey cabinet I couldn't off load couple of years back, so doesn't owe me much. Thinking this might be the perfect excuse to buy a 5 string acoustic instead.[/quote] see..that is what we wanted to hear. Quote
Ou7shined Posted July 26, 2011 Posted July 26, 2011 [quote name='Dave Vader' post='1316781' date='Jul 26 2011, 11:04 AM']Araldite, clamps, leave it for a bit. If it doesn't work then follow some of the other advice on here instead. Better to try and fail than never try at all... maybe [/quote] True, only once he's tried and failed at this (you are never going to do this without the right tools), he's buggered up the chance at getting it done properly or at least doubled the costs. Get a quote before going any further !!! Quote
Dave Vader Posted July 26, 2011 Posted July 26, 2011 [quote name='Ou7shined' post='1316892' date='Jul 26 2011, 12:26 PM']True, only once he's tried and failed at this (you are never going to do this without the right tools), he's buggered up the chance at getting it done properly or at least doubled the costs. Get a quote before going any further !!![/quote] Not as much fun though, especially if the other option is to skip it or sell it for parts. Quote
Ou7shined Posted July 26, 2011 Posted July 26, 2011 [quote name='Dave Vader' post='1316911' date='Jul 26 2011, 12:41 PM']Not as much fun though, especially if the other option is to skip it or sell it for parts. [/quote] Haha I suppose so. The thing we're losing sight of here though is that it's not just a case of gluing it back together (that will never work). This job requires some woodworking skills. Quote
lemmywinks Posted July 26, 2011 Posted July 26, 2011 If it was mine i would strip it, get as much money back as possible and buy new. Unless you have the skills to repair it (and a workshop) then it's just not gonna be worth it. Quote
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