Advice on Broken-Headstock Epi Vintage Pro T-Bird

Psycho Bass Guy · February 03, 2025, 07:01:51 PM

I was perusing Guitar Center's used gear section one night killing time when I found an outstanding deal on an Epi Vintage Pro T-Bird, $350 for a black one in basically new condition and one of the better-made Indonesian models. There were plenty of pics, a rarity for GC, so I pounced. After a few days of no contact for a shipping notice, I suspected something was up. The warehouse manager called me and said that they couldn't sell the bass because it had been broken by UPS when it was previously sold and they were going to send it off for repair. I asked if I could buy it if they could give me pics of the damage and do any better on the price and and save them some hassle. He sent me four very good pics showing a super clean break.

He said he had to speak to the GM, but he would get back to me. The next day, he called me back and said I could have it for $200 plus shipping and tax but it would be "all sales final." I agreed and he agreed to refund me the difference. It took a bit to get to me, but it's been here for a couple of weeks now. They have not yet refunded the price difference, so I still have an option to return it, but it looks to me like the bass only needs a decent glue-repair and it will be good to go. I took more pics on my phone, but I'm still learning imgur and haven't figured out how to port them over yet, but here are the four he sent me initially:

I have done some woodworking in my life, but I want advice from you guys since you have forgotten more about it than I will ever know. What method and materials would be the best way to fix this break?

Basvarken · February 04, 2025, 03:15:12 AM

Yeah, wick some wood glue (Titebond original for instance) between that crack. Press the parts together and re-open them a few times to make the glue spread well into the crack.
Then clamp it and leave for a day. Don't stress the joint straight after the clamps have been removed.
But after another day it should be good to go.

godofthunder · February 04, 2025, 07:01:17 PM

Follow Robs advice and you should be good to go 👍🏻

Pilgrim · February 05, 2025, 10:35:14 AM

I agree ^^. This is a typical break, but one of the clean ones that should be pretty easy to fix. This is a fix for Titebond, NOT epoxy or other adhesives that cannot be reversed. Heat will release Titebond if something goes wrong.

Rob has a nice description of how to spread the glue well throughout the break, and be very careful with the alignment when clamping. Pad the clamps to prevent damaging the finish.

Psycho Bass Guy · February 17, 2025, 12:11:24 AM

Update: my Titebond wa so old it had separated inside its bottle, but I had some equally ancient Elmer's wood glue that I have been using for Amazon furniture that only needed some minor diluting. I glued the headstock carefully as instructed and clamped it for four days (work kept me away from it). The break is set nicely, strong as new, with only the ugly buckled polyester finish on the lower side of the break showing anything ever having been amiss with it. It's still too high on the neck to interfere with first position, so I'm not worried about sanding down the finish and smoothing it.

Been playing it for about a week. Tuning is stable. Interestingly, its strings appear to be stock, but are worlds better than the stock string that came on my other Epi VP, which I bought new. The neck profile is also slightly chunkier on my new bass, and it has a darker, punchier overall tone. The neck is closer to my Les Paul than to my other Thunderbird, and I like that. Loving it and for $200, I'm exceptionally happy with it.

Dave W · February 17, 2025, 12:35:22 AM

Good to hear.

Pilgrim · February 17, 2025, 05:28:06 PM

Quote from: Psycho Bass Guy on February 17, 2025, 12:11:24 AMUpdate: my Titebond wa so old it had separated inside its bottle, but I had some equally ancient Elmer's wood glue that I have been using for Amazon furniture that only needed some minor diluting. I glued the headstock carefully as instructed and clamped it for four days (work kept me away from it). The break is set nicely, strong as new, with only the ugly buckled polyester finish on the lower side of the break showing anything ever having been amiss with it. It's still too high on the neck to interfere with first position, so I'm not worried about sanding down the finish and smoothing it.

Been playing it for about a week. Tuning is stable. Interestingly, its strings appear to be stock, but are worlds better than the stock string that came on my other Epi VP, which I bought new. The neck profile is also slightly chunkier on my new bass, and it has a darker, punchier overall tone. The neck is closer to my Les Paul than to my other Thunderbird, and I like that. Loving it and for $200, I'm exceptionally happy with it.

Sounds like a nice win!!