Gibson Les Paul Signature Bass Headstock Repair

Headstock repair

This early 70s Les Paul Signature had suffered a headstock break many years ago and had been left unrepaired.

I was told by the owner that it was this very bass that turned Peter Hook on to semi-acoustics!

Luckily the owner was careful to keep all the parts and I was able to restore the guitar to a playable condition

After careful checking of fit, I glued and clamped the heastock using perspex cauls so that (i) they would not adhere to the aliphatic resin adhesive and (ii) I could see how the joint was going together.

After a few days when the adhesive was dry and at full strength, I removed the clamp and cauls to reveal the repaired headstock. You can see that the repair is almost perfect without refinishing, but some chips of wood were missing from the face. These were filled with wood filler.

The owner was rightly anxious to retain the vintage patina of his guitar and saw the break as a “battle scar”. He asked that the finish was repaired with a light touch and here is the result:

I have repaired many, many headstocks, including the brand new Les Paul GT of Curtis Ward from Bring Me the Horizon.