For those of you who play Gibson...

I just want to warn you all how fragile the neck is on a Gibson. For years, I've heard horror stories about how weak and poorly engineered a Gibson neck is, and I've always dismissed them. There are many Gibson haters out in internet land who exaggerate flaws. Besides, I've had my Gibson Les Paul for over 7 years now, and had no problems. It's been dropped, thrown, kicked, you name it. It seemed like a tank. However, this morning at church, as I was setting up my amp and effects, the guitar stand fell forward and my guitar landed face first on the stage. Seeing how it was a very soft, light fall, I first thought nothing of it. However, when I looked down, I was shocked to see that the headstock cracked, and was hardly on. It must have hit the correct angle, and SNAP. So yes, there indeed is a weakness in the neck.

So, I've spent the better part of the morning gluing the thing back on. An easy fix, yes, and thankfully this is my workhorse guitar that has been dinged and dented already. It should recover with no problem. However, this can be an expensive repair if you want it too look good as new.

This is an interesting article for those interested.... http://www.edroman.com/rants/les_paul_necks.htm

The headstock cracks are exactly identical to mine.

I think Ed is about as full of poop as the inside of a seagull, but I have to agree with pretty much everything he says in that article. I've seen the same damage on a lot of Gibsons. One of mine tipped over and the neck absolutely SHATTERED from a fall that would have merely knocked any other guitar out of tune.

They're lovely, but you gotta baby 'em.

Happened to one of my friends SG's too. I didn't think it was common...guess so.

Uncle-Taco said:

I think Ed is about as full of poop as the inside of a seagull, but I have to agree with pretty much everything he says in that article. I've seen the same damage on a lot of Gibsons. One of mine tipped over and the neck absolutely SHATTERED from a fall that would have merely knocked any other guitar out of tune.

They're lovely, but you gotta baby 'em.

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I think the same thing about him, that's why I scoffed at this when I first read it. However, I guess I learned my lesson in the worst way possible. Sorry to hear about your guitar. I couldn't imagine what I would do if the neck had "shattered". What did you end up doing?

Let me get this straight, you DROPPED your guitar and complain that it did not hold up. Its not a brick of lead, its not made of depleted uranium. Show me one that broke while on stage while playing then you can complain.

What did you expect its a tensioned instrument.

wearymicrobe said:

Let me get this straight, you DROPPED your guitar and complain that it did not hold up. Its not a brick of lead, its not made of depleted uranium. Show me one that broke while on stage while playing then you can complain.

What did you expect its a tensioned instrument.

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First, is the condescending tone really necessary? You are speaking as if I am stupid and no nothing about guitars and string instruments. This is simply not the case. Yes, I understand the concept of "dropping" an instrument and breaking. Of course that can happen. I never said that I was shocked because an instrument broke because it was dropped. In my case, I was pointing out a weak spot in a GIBSON neck that causes a breakage in the neck that other guitars would not have. What was novel about this "drop", or more accurately, a "tip", is that it wasn't a hard fall. This particular instrument has taken some abuse over the years from gigging and accidents and has come out unscathed. In this particular case, it was a weak fall that caused the damage, which on any other neck, would not have broken. That's it.

Second, I was not complaining at all. I was simply putting out a public service announcement, so this doesn't happen to others. I am not saying that I am not at fault for not checking the guitar stand to make sure it was level. That was my bad. I am not trying to knock Gibson, or put anyone or anything down. Can I not offer information from my experiences to help others?

:stop::stop::stop:

Okay Folks, let's try to keep this friendly...

So in reply to the first post, Ed Roman is very well hated in the guitar community. Specifically for the blogs that he posts on his website.

BUT... is he lying ? Nope.

In regards to the Gibson necks, it's a known fact that their neck/headstock break. I'm assuming that companies like Taylor Guitars (and Kanilea ukes) know that and this is why they build their neck and headstock two pieces glued together.