Fiddle Peghead - Here’s a link to the photos from my last guitar disaster in October of 2012…
It sounds like you have the same sort of thing. ‘Dislocated’ in this case would mean that the parts of the side are no longer in the same plane as each other, whether due to whatever caused the crack, or due to post crack warping… It would make the repair harder to do cleanly, if the two parts had drifted out of alignment.
Meaning: have the sides shifted, or is the crack “in place”? If it is just a crack, and the sides haven’t shifted, then you go through the soundhole, force glue into the crack, and clamp a wood cleat in place to provide more gluing surface. If the crack’s sides have shifted - either because the crack was caused by blunt force trauma, or has been there for a while and the guitar’s strings have pulled things wonky somehow - then more work is needed to get the sides into alignment then glue…
[ETA: What Le Ministre said]
I am assuming it is a simple, non-displaced crack - I would expect the repair cost to be minor, i.e., less than $100 and potentially less than $50 - just guessing here. Again, make sure you go to an authorized Martin repair person - at the very least to get their assessment and cost estimate…
Thanks to both of you. It looks like I’m okay.
Excellent - good guitar karma (“guitarma”?? :p) all around. Accidents happen - we just want them to sound and play good. I just got an old archtop guitar that has a 2" repaired crack off the top f-hole and a 3" scratch at the guitar’s waist. Yeah, I know - tragic; but you know what? I certainly don’t have to give a shit about babying it.
Keep it in its case and never leave it in a car* - anything beyond that is experience…
*I loved this rule as a single guy - I mean, I just had to bring the guitar inside the bar with me when we got drinks after a gig or practice. The insurance company won’t cover gear stolen out of a car, so better to have it with me…
On the subject of repair shops, I need advice. I have an old EKO 700 that needs quite a bit of love to get playable again, including frets and wiring. Is there anything special about working on a neck with a molded plastic back? Do you guys know of someone, preferably in or near TX, that has worked on the Italian plastic fantastics?
My boyfriend is 29 years old and has absolutely no musical experience or talent. This boy can’t carry a tune in a bucket. But he wants to learn to read music and has a burning desire to play guitar. I had piano lessons as a kid, played sax for 15 years, and dabbled with my uncle’s guitar as a teenager–learned how to tune it, played a few chord progressions and the intro to Stairway to Heaven, then got bored. So, I’m going to start teaching him how to read music (well, we’ll probably start with tab).
So my question is: where can I find a decent cheap acoustic guitar for a beginner? I’d like it to be easy to play and something I can figure out how to restring fairly simply. Been looking in the sub-$100 range and found a few candidates on Amazon, but I don’t really even know what I’m looking for. Probably going to buy 2, so we can play together. Don’t need them 'til Christmas, so I’ve got plenty of time to look. Any suggestions?
Decent for sub $100? I don’t think so. Maybe a cheap “classical” guitar with nylon strings. And my experience with people who get them for starter guitars is that they end up leaning on the corner of your bedroom collecting dust. And the owner never learns to play it. For anything close to that budget you’ll get the most bang for your buck with something used. I’d say you should take a tour of local pawn shops. With an experienced guitar player. We love shopping for other people’s guitars. It’s a legitimate excuse for trying out a lot of them and since we’re not making a commission or anything* on it, we won’t push a piece of crap on you.
*Not that we wouldn’t turn down a Wendy’s combo meal or something like that. 
Hmm - no clue. I would find a tech and just talk with them about what needs to be done.
Rachel - good for you for supporting his dream. I’d find something used.
Well, I don’t want to shell out a lot of money for his first guitar in case he doesn’t like it or doesn’t take to it. Even if I shell out $300 for a really good instrument, there’s still a substantial risk that it will end up gathering dust. And I don’t know any guitarists to go shopping with, so I dunno how the used factor is going to work.
Well, that’s an issue. Having a “guitar buddy” is helpful for ANY inexpensive guitar purchase 'cuz you never know what you’re gonna get.
Heck - see what’s on Craig’s list that is cheap enough to be worth a shot even if no Guitar Buddy can check it out??
I am shopping around and considering a Gibson L4 CES. I have seen widely varying asking prices on used ones and having a hard time figuring out what the market price is. The cheaper ones seem to have been used heavily with more normal wear and tear but no unusual damage. But the range I’ve seen is from $2500 to over $4K. Local shop will sell me one new for about $6K.
I am not a real wheeler and dealer when it comes to gear. I am not buying, selling, and trading all the time like a lot of players. In the last 40 years I have sold two guitars, bought five, and only two of the ones I bought were used. So I’m not plugged into the market.
I would hang out on Gbase for a while. See what L-4’s are going for from different years, conditions, and from different dealers.
See, I love a good haggle - I never buy new, never pay asking and usually a trade is involved. I just got an old L-7c acoustic archtop - I am not worthy but am having fun!
If you’re in the Puget Sound area, I have an acoustic that I’m wanting to sell, I upgraded and it’s just been gathering dust. $100-ish, but probably not worth it to pay extra for shipping. It’s an Alvarez, I bought it new around 1988 or so and got a lot of playing out of it. PM me if you’d like.
Great idea, it’s been so long since I’d been on Gbase I had completely forgotten about it. And while searching Gbase I discovered that my favorite local dealer has a D’Angelico New Yorker in stock! Not necessarily what I was thinking about but at least I can go play it.
Hey. Back. Been busy. Still busy, really.
Been working my tail off, opening new shelters and so on, the whole Sandy business has been complicated.
Decided to update my photos after Sandy, just in case. Pictured are the FourForce amp, the Canvas Guitar, and the line of Dano pedals I picked up for cheap.
Got an Ovation for an acoustic. '83 Ultra Deluxe. Very deep, unlike most. It’s got cracks like someone whacked it, but nothing appears to be displaced and the bridge isn’t lifting. For $150, it was worth it.
Oh. And I finally finished upgrading the Canvas.
Sounds real good. Really, really good. Like AC/DC meets Queen.
Middle pickup is rw/rp, so it half-cancels the humbucker, so everything winds up kind of balanced.
As far as playing? Practice practice practice. I finally understand what I’m practicing, though.
CookingWithGas, check out Mandolin Bros. One never knows what sort of great ax you’ll find there and their prices are good. I bought a custom built Martin through them.
I appreciate the offer! Unfortunately, I’m in Illinois, soon to be New York. So I’m pretty much as far away as a person could live from Puget Sound.
I’ve got time, so maybe I can meet a guitar friend between now and then 
Welp, if you want New York, I can help. So can Wordman.
That being said, Ovations aren’t bad, provided you avoid the Celebrity. You can get a decent used one for 200 or so on ebay, generally. And you don’t have to worry about the back being smashed up.
Hey, welcome back, Sabs!! Nice to hear from you. I like the look of the new pups in the Canvas, well done. We’ve been busy, too – I bought two guitars while you were gone. Actually four, but two of them went back before I found the strat I liked. Pic here: new Strat, new LP Classic Plus, and my long-time AD Tele friend.
I seem to remember from my past seeing someone on television, Roger McGuinn maybe, playing a double-neck Rick with a 12-string neck and a 6-string neck. I’ve never found anything like it on the interwebz. Could it have been a one-off creation for McGuinn?
